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| Author(s): |
Sarah Bonfim Matos Nunes
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Master's Dissertation |
| Press: | Campinas, SP. |
| Institution: | Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas |
| Defense date: | 2021-03-01 |
| Examining board members: |
Monique Hulshof;
Nathalie de Almeida Bressiani;
Yara Adario Frateschi
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| Advisor: | Monique Hulshof |
| Abstract | |
In the introduction to Vindication of the Rights of Woman, published in 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) raises the following assumptions: "either nature has made a big difference between one man and another, or the civilization that we have known so far has been very partial . " (WOLLSTONECRAFT, 2016, p. 25). These assumptions refer to the condition of the woman, that is, total dependence on her male peers. Wollstonecraft assumes that the first assumption can only be wrong, since she argues that nature would not make a human being smaller than another, since minority cannot be defined by the biological sex. Thus, Wollstonecraft starts from the second assumption, attributing to society the exclusion of women not only from the public sphere, but also from the possibility of improving the rational faculty. By identifying female submission as a social problem, the philosopher sheds light on the effects of this problem that prevails in society, which keep women in this place of dependence. Indeed, Wollstonecraft builds criticism for theorists, in particular, those engaged in education. One of these theorists is highlighted. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) and his Emile or on Education (1762) is a central theme for what Wollstonecraft calls injustice against women. According to Wollstonecraft's argument, by attributing to the female sex a reason that does not abstract or generalize, Rousseau is contributing to the maintenance of women in a place of dependence, potentiating inequality between the sexes. Thus, in identifying reason as a central element for female emancipation, Wollstonecraft has education as the subject of her writings. In order to provide philosophical arguments that can deconstruct artificial structures of prejudice, Wollstonecraft presents the basic principles that start from three conceptions: reason, virtue and knowledge. These principles allow Wollstonecraft to not only claim a place in humanity for women, but also to demand that they be included in public education systems. This dissertation aims to address the problem of the development of female reason and its consequences. Starting from the basic principles and investigating the political issues involved in the Rights of Women, the question of reason as an essential element for female emancipation becomes central to the understanding of what Wollstonecraft considered as ideal for human formation and the consequent improvement of the species. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 19/02493-0 - The Mary Wollstonecraft's education project: the use of reason as emancipator element feminine |
| Grantee: | Sarah Bonfim Matos Nunes |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Master |