The Social Philosophy Of Mary Astell

Mary Astell (1666-1731) is increasingly recognized as a centrally important figure in the history of philosophy. One distinctive quality of Astell’s thought is her recognition of social influences on the individual, both in term of one’s thought and practical activities. For Astell, the social permeates human existence, our relationship to other beings is part of our very nature as human. Still, this invites many questions: Why does it matter that we are social beings according to Astell? Does she think our creaturely interdependence is necessary or merely instrumental? What are the distinctive benefits or harms of our existence as social creatures and how do these come about? Why are they important? What is Astell’s conception of the bond of love and what does it reveal about how we ought to value each other?

We are pleased to announce two invited speakers, Alice Sowaal (San Francisco State University) and Jacqueline Broad (Monash University).

Additionally, we are issuing an open call for submissions from early career researchers, graduate students, post-docs, and junior faculty. We invite abstracts of 500-1000 words for papers addressing some aspect of Astell’s social philosophy. Presenters will have 45 minutes in which to present their paper followed by a discussion Q&A of 45 minutes.

Deadline for submissions: June 1st, 2021

Please e-mail submissions to [email protected]

Please prepare abstracts for anonymous review as a .doc of .pdf file

Notifications of acceptance will be sent by June 21st, 2021

***In light of the global Covid-19 pandemic, this event will take place online***

More information about how to access and attend this even online will be made available soon. In the meantime, please e-mail a request for notification to [email protected]

This workshop is organized by the Society For The Friends Of Mary Astell. Our goal is to support scholarly research about the philosophy of Mary Astell.