Feminist & Gender Studies - Mary Wollstonecraft and Rationality

"Cogito, Ergo Sum" (I think, therefore I am)
- This Cartesian statement posits that the essence of Being is a thinking being, meaning the essence is rationality.
- It comes from René Descartes, a major philosophical figure.
The Cartesian Subject
- Is founded on the mind/body split, as articulated in Descartes' definitive statement, "I think, therefore I am."
- This split, where the mind/body/spirit are distinct, is central to Descartes' philosophy.
- The Cartesian subject is, by definition, necessarily rational and immaterial.
- This description was presented as an objective truth about the human condition.
- However, the capacity for this kind of rationality and recognition of this subjective experience was historically only afforded to a select group of people, perpetuating exclusions.

Descartes' work and his legacy are deeply embedded in numerous philosophical discourses.
His foundational ideas have been critiqued for having problematic gendered and even racist implications.
Feminist Response to Cartesian Thinking
- Feminist thought has consistently engaged with and responded to the pervasive influence of Cartesian ideas.
- This engagement specifically addresses how Cartesian thinking has negatively impacted the material conditions of women, people of color, and even perceptions of nature.

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)
- A prominent British writer, philosopher, and an early feminist figure.
- She was a contemporary of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and extensively read his works.
- Wollstonecraft was highly critical of Rousseau's gendered perspectives.
- She specifically challenged his famous declaration: "Man is born free yet everywhere he is in chains," highlighting its inherently gendered language and its limited application to only certain categories of people (i.e., men).

Wollstonecraft's seminal work, published in 1792, is considered one of the earliest and most significant expressions of feminist writing.
Core Arguments
- Wollstonecraft contended that women are not inherently inferior to men, a common belief of her time.
- She passionately argued that women are entitled to the same fundamental rights as men.
- The text outlines clear reasons and methods for how women could and should become active, contributing members of society.
- She specifically advocated for:
  - Public education for both boys and girls.
  - Women's active participation in fields like politics and medicine.

Wollstonecraft directly addressed the prevailing notion that women were not "rational."
She argued that women were perceived as irrational not due to any natural deficiency, but because they were systematically denied the opportunities to develop their inherent rationality.
Her core assertion was that women possess the same rational capacities as men but have been prevented from expressing and cultivating them due to societal constraints and lack of education.

Despite its groundbreaking nature and courage for its time, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman has been subject to criticism and nuanced analysis by later feminists.
Key Criticisms Include:
- Reification of the Mind-Body Split: The text is seen by some as inadvertently reinforcing Descartes' mind-body dichotomy, rather than challenging the fundamental framework.
- Replacement of Hierarchies: Critics argue that instead of dismantling hierarchical structures altogether, Wollstonecraft's work, in some aspects, replaces one form of hierarchy with another.
- Lack of Intersectionality: A significant criticism is the text's absence of intersectional awareness.
- Homogenous Experience of Womanhood: Wollstonecraft's work is seen as assuming a universal experience of oppression among women. It largely fails to account for and address the diverse circumstances that shape different experiences of womanhood, overlooking crucial factors such as race, class, culture, and other intersecting aspects of individual identity and oppression.