Elisabeth of Bohemia (1618–1680): A Philosopher in her Historical Context

Sarah Hutton editor Sabrina Ebbersmeyer editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Springer Nature Switzerland AG

Published:7th Oct '22

Should be back in stock very soon

This paperback is available in another edition too:

Elisabeth of Bohemia (1618–1680): A Philosopher in her Historical Context cover

This book showcases Elisabeth of Bohemia, Princess Palatine (1618-1680), one of the foremost female minds of the 17th century. Best known today for her important correspondence with the philosopher René Descartes, Elisabeth was famous in her own time for her learning, philosophical acumen, and mathematical brilliance. She was also well-connected in the seventeenth-century intellectual circles. Elisabeth’s status as a woman philosopher is emblematic of both the possibilities and limitations of women's participation in the republic of letters and of their subsequent fate in history. Few sources containing her own views survive, and until recently there has been no work on Elisabeth as a thinker in her own right. This volume brings together an international team of scholars to discuss her work from a cross-disciplinary perspective on the occasion of her fourth centenary. It is the first collection of essays to examine a range of her interests and to discuss them in relation to her historical context. The studies presented here discuss her educational background, her friendships and contacts, her interest in politics, religion, and astronomy, as well as her views on politics, her moral philosophy and her engagement with Cartesianism. The volume will appeal to historians of philosophy, historians of political thought, philosophers, feminists and seventeenth-century historians.

“The excellent essays in this volume combine the expertise and insight of scholars in philosophy, history, religion, literature, and gender studies to give the best and most comprehensive account of Elisabeth’s thinking and context to date. … Many early modern scholars will find the volume of interest, especially those engaged in the ongoing recovery project concerning women philosophers and scientists. It would also be an excellent source of secondary literature for graduate seminars on Elisabeth.” (Alauren Samantha Forbes, Journal of the History of Philosophy, Vol. 61 (3), July, 2023)

ISBN: 9783030715298

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

218 pages

1st ed. 2021