Women's Reception of Kant\, 1790&ndash\;1810.
\nThis paper looks critically at the early reception of Kant&rsquo\;s philosophy in the works of three women\, Elise Reimarus (1735&ndash\;1805)\, Isabelle de Charriè\;re (1740&ndash\;1806)\, and Germaine de Staë\;l (1766\;&ndash\;1817). Beginning with Reimarus\, it argues that although aware of Kant&rsquo\;s philosophy\, the political ideas that she developed were closer to the Lockean inspired\, natural law theories found in the English women\, Catharine Cockburn (1679&ndash\;1749) and Catharine Macaulay (1731&ndash\;1791)\, than to Kant&rsquo\;s mature philosophy. Turning to Charriè\;re\, the paper suggests that her reading of Kant\, while not grounded in a thorough knowledge of his works\, nevertheless points to the fact that he does not really escape the problematic aspects of this earlier ethical and political outlook\, grounded in natural law. Finally\, the readings of Reimarus and Chariè\;re&rsquo\;s responses to Kant are used to critically evaluate Staë\;l&rsquo\;s high estimation of his importance\, and to suggest that\, had she been more aware of and appreciative of earlier female interpreters of Locke&rsquo\;s philosophy\, she would have had a greater understanding of Locke&rsquo\;s metaphysics of morals\, and a less naï\;ve optimism with regard to the capacity of Kant&rsquo\;s philosophy to escape the metaphysical difficulties that had faced natural law theories of the Lockean kind.
\nHonorary Professorial Fellow Karen Green is based in Historical and Philosophical Studies at Melbourne University
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ORGANIZER;CN=Petra Brown: METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR