Hypatia 29 (4):908-924 (2014)
Authors |
|
Abstract |
Independence is a central and recurring theme in Mary Wollstonecraft's work. Independence should not be understood as an individualistic ideal that is in tension with the value of community but as an essential ingredient in successful and flourishing social relationships. I examine three aspects of this rich and complex concept that Wollstonecraft draws on as she develops her own notion of independence as a powerful feminist tool. First, independence is an egalitarian ideal that requires that all individuals, regardless of sex, be protected to a comparable extent in all areas of social, political, and economic life, no matter whether this is in the public or private sphere. Second, so long as this egalitarian condition is not compromised, independence allows for individuals to perform differentiated social roles, including along gendered lines. Finally, the ongoing and collective input of both women and men is required to ensure that the conditions necessary for social independence are maintained. In Wollstonecraft's hands, then, independence is a powerful ideal that allows her to argue that women must be able to act on their own terms as social and political equals, doing so as women whose perspectives and interests may differ from men's.
|
Keywords | Wollstonecraft Freedom as Independence Freedom as non-domination Republicanism Women in the History of Philosophy |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
DOI | 10.1111/hypa.12093 |
Options |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Download options
References found in this work BETA
Mary Wollstonecraft, Freedom and the Enduring Power of Social Domination.Alan M. S. J. Coffee - 2013 - European Journal of Political Theory 12 (2):116-135.
[Book Review] Women and the Public Sphere in the Age of the French Revolution. [REVIEW]Joan B. Landes - 1990 - Science and Society 54 (3):378-382.
Feminism and Republicanism: Is This a Plausible Alliance?Anne Phillips - 2000 - Journal of Political Philosophy 8 (2):279–293.
View all 15 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Two Spheres of Domination: Republican Theory, Social Norms and the Insufficiency of Negative Freedom.Alan M. S. J. Coffee - 2015 - Contemporary Political Theory 14 (1):45-62.
Freedom as Independence: Mary Wollstonecraft and the Grand Blessing of Life.Alan M. S. J. Coffee - 2013 - Hypatia (1):908-924.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Mary Wollstonecraft on the Imagination.Martina Reuter - 2017 - British Journal for the History of Philosophy 25 (6):1138-1160.
Catharine Macaulay’s Republican Conception of Social and Political Liberty.Alan M. S. J. Coffee - 2018 - Political Studies 4 (65):844-59.
Radicalism, Religion and Mary Wollstonecraft.Sarah Hutton - 2021 - Intellectual History Review 31 (1):181-198.
View all 8 citations / Add more citations
Similar books and articles
Freedom as Independence: Mary Wollstonecraft and the Grand Blessing of Life.Alan M. S. J. Coffee - 2013 - Hypatia (1):908-924.
Independence as Relational Freedom.Alan M. S. J. Coffee - 2018 - In Sandrine Berges & Siani Alberto (eds.), Women Philosophers on Autonomy. London, UK: pp. 94-112.
Mary Wollstonecraft and Freedom as Independence.Lena Halldenius - 2016 - In . Oxford University Press.
Mary Wollstonecraft, Public Reason and the Virtuous Republic.Alan M. S. J. Coffee - 2016 - In Sandrine Berges & Alan Coffee (eds.), The Social and Political philosophy of Mary Wollstonecraft. Oxford University Press. pp. 183-200.
Mary Wollstonecraft, Freedom and the Enduring Power of Social Domination.Alan M. S. J. Coffee - 2013 - European Journal of Political Theory 12 (2):116-135.
Mothers and Independent Citizens: Making Sense of Wollstonecraft's Supposed Essentialism.Sandrine Berges - 2013 - Philosophical Papers 42 (3):259 - 284.
Mary Wollstonecraft's Feminist Critique of Property: On Becoming a Thief From Principle.Lena Halldenius - 2014 - Hypatia 29 (4):942-957.
Catharine Macaulay's Influence on Mary Wollstonecraft.Alan M. S. J. Coffee - 2019 - In Sandrine Berges, Eileen Hunt Botting & Alan M. S. J. Coffee (eds.), The Wollstonecraftian Mind. London: pp. 198-210.
Koncasinda Koparilmiş Akil: Kadin Haklarinin Gerekçelendirilmesinde Özgürlük Ve Eğitim.Sandrine Berges - 2011 - Felsefe Tartismalari 46:18-38.
Mary Wollstonecraft on Motherhood and Political Participation: An Overlooked Insight Into Women's Subordination.Valerie Williams - 2019 - Hypatia 34 (4):802-826.
Feminist Interpretations of Mary Wollstonecraft.Maria J. Falco (ed.) - 1995 - Pennsylvania State University Press.
The Social and Political Philosophy of Mary Wollstonecraft.Sandrine Bergès & Alan M. S. J. Coffee (eds.) - 2016 - Oxford University Press UK.
Independence of Irrelevant Alternatives Revisited.Susumu Cato - 2014 - Theory and Decision 76 (4):511-527.
The Proper Lady and the Woman Writer: Ideology as Style in the Works of Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley, and Jane Austen.Mary Poovey - 1984 - University of Chicago Press.
Analytics
Added to PP index
2020-01-12
Total views
13 ( #772,900 of 2,520,967 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
3 ( #205,180 of 2,520,967 )
2020-01-12
Total views
13 ( #772,900 of 2,520,967 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
3 ( #205,180 of 2,520,967 )
How can I increase my downloads?
Downloads