Feminist Philosophy of Mind
Jennifer McWeeny
The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Philosophy May 12, 2021 DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190628925.013.13 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Key points | Argues that feminist philosophy of mind, drawing on Elisabeth and Descartes, Beauvoir, and Scheman, challenges the assumptions that minds are ahistorical, universal, and nonrelational, proposing instead that minds are substantively affected by oppression. |
Abstract
Abstract: A feminist approach to philosophy of mind asks whether mind is gendered, raced, classed, and so on, and whether differences of gender, race, class, and other social categories are a matter of mind. This chapter outlines the scope, content, and aims of this emerging field with reference to three decisive moments in its evolution. First, the correspondence between Princess Elisabeth and Descartes is examined, with particular emphasis on Descartes’s claim that those who do not have the habit of philosophizing will be more apt to perceive the union of mind and body than their separation. Second, the chapter investigates Simone de Beauvoir’s contention that woman’s consciousness in a sexist society is a doubled or divided consciousness. Third, the chapter turns to Naomi Scheman’s criticism of the view that beliefs, desires, and emotions are individuated, identifiable states. Taken together, these arguments challenge the assumptions that minds are ahistorical, universal, and nonrelational and suggest instead that minds are is affected in substantive ways by oppression.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience: a framework linking biology, phenomenology, and pharmacology in schizophrenia. | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From dopamine to salience to psychosis--linking biology, pharmacology and phenomenology of psychosis. | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How do the brain's time and space mediate consciousness and its different dimensions? Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC). | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |