Joanna Baillie on Sympathetic Curiosity and Elizabeth Hamilton's Critique

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21876352
AutoresDeborah Boyle (0000-0003-2975-2268, College of Charleston, autor de correspondencia)
Año2025
Volumen11
Número1
Páginas20-41
Fecha de publicación2025-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of the American Philosophical Association (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2053-4477 • E-ISSN: 2053-4485
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/apa.2024.1
OpenAlexW4392914554
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas37

Scholars working on recovering forgotten historical women philosophers have noted the importance of looking beyond traditional philosophical genres. This strategy is particularly important for finding Scottish women philosophers. By considering non-canonical genres, we can see the philosophical interest of the works of Scottish poet and playwright Joanna Baillie (1762–1851), who presents an account of “sympathetic curiosity” as one of the basic principles of the human mind. Baillie's work is also interesting for being a rare case of a woman's philosophical work that was discussed in print by another woman philosopher – in this case, by Elizabeth Hamilton (1758–1816), who argues for the importance of a feature of human nature that she calls the “selfish principle.” The article suggests that focusing on critical engagements between historical women philosophers can help integrate their texts into the history of philosophy without presenting them as “handmaidens” to male philosophers

Curiosity · Psychoanalysis · Sociology · Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes · Literature: history, themes, analysis · Philosophy · Psychology · Religion, Gender, and Enlightenment · Social Psychology