The Inclusion of Women in the Curriculum of Philosophy: Challenges and Solutions

Abstract

Abstract Recently, an overwhelming amount of philosophical works by women has been made available by historians of philosophy. However, this (re)discovery is not adequately reflected in the curricula of philosophy departments in general. This paper discusses which argumentative strategy is most feasible in order to include significantly more women in the philosophy curriculum. In From the Exclusion of Women to the Transformation of Philosophy: Reclamation and its Possibilities (2014), Sarah Tyson identifies four reclamation models, which feminist scholars have utilized to contend why and how women should be included in the philosophy canon. It is shown that the key difference between the so-called corrective and transformative model is whether misogyny is considered an intrinsic feature of philosophy or merely an unfortunate development. It is argued that regardless of the ontological status of the philosophical discipline, both strategies promote engagement with women’s work in a way that revolutionizes current philosophical practice.