List Price: $80.00

Tags: Nonfiction, Women's Studies, Feminist Theory,

Book Description:
Because of his misogyny and disdain for the body, Kant has been a target of much feminist criticism. Moreover, as the epitome of 18th-century Enlightenment philosophy, his thought has been a focal point for feminist debate over the Enlightenment legacy - whether its conceptions of reason and progress offer tools for women's emancipation and empowerment or rather have contributed to the historical subordination of women in Western society. This volume presents divergent interpretations of Kant from feminist perspectives. Some essays see Kant as having contributed significantly to theories of rationality and autonomy in ways that can further feminist projects. Other essays argue that Kant is a pre-eminent exponent of patriarchal views and that gender hierarchies are inscribed in the very structure of his theories of morality and aesthetic judgement. But both critics and sympathizers challenge the accepted topography of Kantian philosophy by which central philosophical concerns are defined as those that are abstract, universal and transcendental. Instead, these feminist writers resituate Kantian questions in the politics of everyday life and emphasize the embodied nature of knowledge, morality and aesthetics. They analyze dilemmas that face concrete subjects, involving issues of friendship, collective responsibility, xenophobia and colonialism, among others. Contributors are: Annette C. Baier, Marcia Baron, Monique David-Menard, Kim Hall, Cornelia Klinger, Jane Kneller, Sarah Kofman, Marcia Moen, Herta Nagl-Docekal, Adrian M.S. Piper, Jean P. Rumsey, Robin May Schott, Hannelore Schroder, Sally Sedgwick and Holly L. Wilson.