Skip to main content

The Philosopher Queens - edited by Rebecca Buxton and Lisa Whiting


I'm on the blog tour today for this wonderful book.


Description

Where are the women philosophers? The answer is right here.

The history of philosophy has not done women justice: you've probably heard the names Plato, Kant, Nietzsche and Locke but what about Hypatia, Arendt, Oluwole and Young?

The Philosopher Queens is a long-awaited book about the lives and works of women in philosophy by women in philosophy. This collection brings to centre stage twenty prominent women whose ideas have had a profound but for the most part uncredited impact on the world.

You'll learn about Ban Zhao, the first woman historian in ancient Chinese history; Angela Davis, perhaps the most iconic symbol of the American Black Power Movement; Azizah Y. al-Hibri, known for examining the intersection of Islamic law and gender equality; and many more.

For anyone who has wondered where the women philosophers are, or anyone curious about the history of ideas it's time to meet the philosopher queens.

Review

This is a beautifully illustrated book and just to have and hold it is an experience in itself. Inside are larger versions of the cover illustrations.  I certainly never knew of the existence of the majority of these women philosophers or their work. It was a real eye opener to discover that some of them hail from many centuries ago. If you think this book is a complete guide, think again as there is a list of many more inside. But for now this is a very decent start.

I had intended to read a "Queen" a day but once I got started I found that I wanted to read more and so I did far many more than that in one sitting. I've never studied philosophy although I have read a few books on the subject over the years.  What I liked about this (apart from spotlighting unsung women) is that each philosopher has their life span shown and some background about their life is given as well as the basic concept of their take on philosophy. If you want to read more you can easily research using the information given. Also at the back of the book is a handy section about the individual authors who contributed to this book.

Two of the philosophers stood out for me. One was Mary Midgley who had a late start in life but wrote over 200 hundred books, articles and chapters between the ages of 59 and 99. She passed away in 2018. The other was Elizabeth Anscombe who wrote a ground breaking work entitled "Intention". This was mainly in response to the decision President Truman made to drop the atomic bomb in 1945. I found myself thinking of a parallel in the decisions made by world leaders during the pandemic times of 2020. There's certainly plenty of food for thought in this collection. 

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars and my thanks to Random Things Tours for a copy of the book to review.




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Those leaving a comment on any post on this blog do so in the knowledge that their name and blog link are visible to all who visit this blog and by providing their comment they have published their own personal details on this blog and also consented to our use of that personal information for that specific purpose.

Popular posts from this blog

No One Would Do What The Lamberts Have Done - Sophie Hannah

  Description The twistiest murder mystery you are ever likely to read? A story about a family that does the unthinkable in order to save the life of one of its beloved members? Both? Or something else altogether? You'll have to read until the very last word in order to find out… You think it will never happen to you: the ring of the bell, the policeman on the doorstep. What he says traps you in a nightmare that starts with the words, 'I'm afraid…' Sally Lambert is also afraid, and desperate enough to consider the unthinkable. Is it really, definitely, impossible to escape from this horror? Maybe not. There's always something you can do, right? Of course, no one would ever do this particular something – except the Lamberts, who might have to. No one has ever gone this far. Until Sally decides that the Lamberts will… 'An incident involving a dog in a small village escalates to an all-out conflict, turning neighbour against neighbour, and culminating in murder. Bu...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Dilemmas of Work Women - Fumio Yamamoto

  Description The classic Japanese bestseller published in English for the very first time -  a darkly funny and relatable book portraying the lives of five women 'Witty, wise and thought-provoking' Cecelia Ahern 'Crackles and pops with humour, empathy and intelligence' Lisa Owens, author of  Not Working 'So brilliantly written that I kept trying to memorise sentences in order to repeat them to people later' Roxy Dunn, author of  As Young as This Izumi  needs to get a job. Haruka  needs to stop talking about how she once had cancer. Katō  needs to get through a shift at the convenience store without being harassed. Mito  needs to break up with her boyfriend - or marry him. Sumie  just needs somewhere to live. In this classic Japanese bestseller, published in English twenty-five years after it took Japan by storm, the lives of five ordinary women are depicted with irresistible humour and searing emotional insight. Review A collection of short ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins

Description THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER. YOU DON'T KNOW HER. BUT SHE KNOWS YOU. Rear Window  meets  Gone Girl , in this exceptional and startling psychological thriller Review I must be one of the last people to read this book. I did apply for a review copy but unfortunately wasn't successful. I then waited for the book to come down in price which it didn't - so I decided I would buy it and read it straight away! I'm sure it will be a film and before anyone gives away what happens I felt I really needed to get it read, so it jumped the TBR queue. There is not much plot outline from the publisher as you can see in the description above, so there wasn't a lot to go on when I began to read the book. First of all the book jumps around date wise - past and present and also between the main characters. I did have a little trouble remembering who was who and which time frame we were in - but that soon settled down. I also had to re-read the beginning because I th...
3 comments
Read more