Abstract
Mary Wollstonecraft is best known as the author of The Vindication of The Rights of Women. Many of the male authors of her contemporaries justified the suppression of women on the grounds that women are less rational and more impulsive and emotional than men. Wollstonecraft argues against those views, and claims that all human beings, regardless of sex, are born as rational beings, and therefore have equal capabilities for rational thinking and acting. Women become irrational and ignorant because they are denied proper education and basic political rights. Ultimately, the consequence of denying women attaining knowledge and the opportunity to work and to participate in the political life of the society, is obstruct their opportunity to fulfill their Good—given duty to develop as rational beings. She calls for a “Revolution on Female Manners”. This requires a reconstruction of notions of female identity, as well as political and legal reforms. This paper is a discussion of Wollstonecrafts argument for gender equality with particular emphasis on her ideas of citizenship and education.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Aasen, E. (2010). Opplysningstidens kvinner. Oslo: Pax forlag A/S.
Burke, E. (2007). Betraktinger over revolusjonen I Frankrike. Oslo: Pax forlag A/S.
Engster, D. (2001). Mary Wollstonecraft’s nurturing liberalism: Between an ethic of justice and care. The American Political Science Review, 95(3), 577–588.
Ferguson, S. (1999). The radical ideas of Mary Wollstonecraft. Canadian Journal of Political Science, 32(3), 427–450.
Furniss, T. (2006). Mary Wollstonecraft’s French Revolution. In Cambridge companion to Mary Wollstonecraft. Cambridge Online, Cambridge University Press.
Gatens, M. (1986). Rousseau and Wollstonecraft: Natur vs. reason. The Australian Journal of Philosophy, 64(1), 1–15.
Gilligan, C. (1992). In a different voice, psychological theory and women’s development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Held, V. (1995). Non-Contractual Society. In P. Weiss & M. Friedman (Eds.), Feminism and community. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Holst, C. (2009). Hva er Feminisme? Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
Janes, R. M. (1978). On the reception of Mary Wollstonecraft’s: A vindication of the rights of women. Journal of the History of Ideas, 39(2), 293–302.
Jones, C. (2006). Mary Wollstonecraft’s Vindications and their political tradition. In Cambridge companion to Wollstonecraft. Cambridge Online, Cambridge University Press.
Kuklick, B. (1989). Paine. Political writings, Cambridge texts in the history of political thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Locke, J. (1993). Two treatise of government [1689] (M. Goldie, Ed.). London: Everyman.
MacKenzie, C. (1993). Reason and sensibility: The ideal of women’s self-governance in the writing of Mary Wollstonecraft. Hypatia, 8(4), 35–55.
Malnes, R. (2007). Innledning I Edmund Burke, Betrakninger over revolusjonen I Frankrike. Oslo: Pax forlag A/S.
Mellor, A. (2006). Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and the women writers of her day. In Cambridge companion to Mary Wollstonecraft. Cambridge Online, Cambridge University Press.
Merriam, C. E., Jr. (1899). Thomas Paine’s political theories. Political Science Quarterly, 14(3), 389–403.
Mill, J. S. (2006). Kvinneundertrykkelsen. Oslo: Pax forlag A/S.
Nagel, A. H. (1999). Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797) – Rettighetsforsvareren. In Kjønnsperspektiver i filosofihistorien. Oslo: Pax forlag A/S.
Nilsen, H. (2009). Quentin Skinner og politikken. In Q. Skinner (Ed.), Vilkårlig makt. Essays om politisk frihet. Oslo: Res Publica.
Price. R. (1776). Observation on the nature of civil liberty. http://www.constitution.org/price/price_3.htm
Rønning, A. H., & Hanssen, T. (1994). Feminismens klassikere. Oslo: Pax forlag.
Rousseau, J. J. (1921). Emile, or on education. (trans: Barbara, Foxley). London/Toronto/New York: J.M Dent and Sons. http://oll.Libertyfund.org/titles/2256
Rousseau, J. J. (1984). Om ulikheten mellom menneskene – dens opprinnelse og grunnlag. Oslo: Aschehaug Forlag.
Rousseau, J. J. (1994). Fra Emile, eller om oppdragelsen. In A. H. Rønning & T. Hanssen (Eds.), Feminismens klassikere. Oslo: Pax forlag.
Richardson, A. (2006). Mary Wollstonecraft on education. In Cambridge companion to Mary Wollstonecraft. Cambridge Online, Cambridge University Press.
Rustad, L. (2003). Innledende essay. In Mary Wollstonecraft, Et forsvar for kvinners rettigheter. Oslo: Bokklubbens kulturbibliotek.
Skinner, Q. (2002). A third concept of liberty. In Proceedings of the British Academy (Vol. 117, pp. 237–268). Oxford: The British Academy.
Skinner, Q. (2009). Vilkårlig makt. Essays om politisk frihet. Oslo: Res Publica.
Svendsen, L. (2009). Mary Wollstonecraft. In S. Lars (Red.), Liberalisme. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
Taylor, B. (2006). The religious foundation of Mary Wollstonecraft’s Feminism. In Cambridge companion to Mary Wollstonecraft. Cambridge Online, Cambridge University Press.
Taylor, B., & Taylor, B. (1992). Mary Wollstonecraft and the wild wish of early feminism. History Workshop, 33, 197–219.
Thomas, D. O. (1959). Richard price and Edmund Burke: The duty to participate in government. Philosophy, 34(131), 303–322.
Walker, T. C. (2000). The forgotten prophet: Tom Paine’s cosmopolitanism and international relations. International Studies Quarterly, 44, 51–72.
Wollstonecraft, M. (1988). In P. Carol (Ed.), A vindication of the rights of women (2nd ed.). New York/London: W. W. Norton & Co.
Wollstonecraft, M. (1996). The vindication of the rights of men. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wollstonecraft, M. (2003a). Et forsvar for kvinners rettigheter (T. Hansen, Trans.). Oslo: Bokklubbens kulturbibliotek.
Wollstonecraft, M. (2003b). Et forsvar for menneskerettighetene. In S. Lars (Red.), Liberalisme. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Fjørtoft, K. (2015). Mary Wollstonecraft – The Call for a Revolution of Female Manners. In: Fløistad, G. (eds) Philosophy of Justice. Contemporary Philosophy: A New Survey, vol 12. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9175-5_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9175-5_15
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-017-9174-8
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-9175-5
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawPhilosophy and Religion (R0)