"Amalia Holst demonstrated how the German Enlightenment failed women"

March 1, 2022 9:03 PM

Andrew Cooper (Aeon, 9/13/2021), "Germany's Wollstonecraft": "[I]n the German states in 1802 ... Amalia Holst declared that it was time someone spoke out about the plight of women in Germany 'from a woman's standpoint' ... Holst's critique of Rousseau identifies philosophy as the means by which men have justified to themselves the legitimacy of their privileged position." Amalia Holst, Über die Bestimmung des Weibes zur höhern Geistesbildung.
posted by Wobbuffet (1 comment total)

That was a bit dense - it's been a while since I've read even popular philosophical writings - but I particularly liked the last couple of paragraphs. The boundaries of power and ways to subvert them, all couched in the Enlightenment zeal around vocations and the glories of intellectual development.
posted by librarylis at 11:15 PM on March 2, 2022 [1 favorite]