Abstract
French philosophy from the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th is considered as a masculine domain. This classical narrative expounds that, before that period, women would hardly be present in the history of French philosophy, regarded as no more than exceptions. I will problematize this prejudice through a socio-historical approach to the history of philosophy. On the one hand, I will show that the 1880-1924 period constitutes a blind spot that is necessary to get out of the silence: many women tried to study philosophy. On the other hand, I bring to light the contradiction between the advent of liberal democracy in France and the official prohibition of philosophy for women by the French state. Then, I will argue that the exclusion of women from the right to access philosophical studies must be regarded as an integral part of the contemporary French philosophy.
