Upcoming events
Workshop on Astell’s Social Philosophy
Online, September 18th & 19th 2021
***Please note the change of date***
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 friendsofmaryastell@gmail.com
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 friendsofmaryastell@gmail.com
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 friendsofmaryastell@gmail.com
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 friendsofmaryastell@gmail.com
Past events
Inaugural Meeting of the Friends of Mary Astell
APA-East, Philadelphia PA, US
Colin Chamberlain, Temple: "'A Decaying Carkass'? Astell on the Embodied Self"
Astell’s account of the self is puzzling. On the one hand, Astell suggests that an account of the self is crucial. Care of the self is appropriate, Astell argues, so long as this care is directed towards one's true self. People are often mistaken about where their real interests lie because they are confused about their nature. On the other hand, Astell is unclear about the kinds of beings we are, or, in other words, what the self is. In some passages, she claims that we are minds, in other passages, that we are composites of mind and body. Thus, Astell’s account of the self lacks the clarity that, by her own lights, we so urgently need. My proposal is that Astell’s considered view is that we are composites of mind and body, but with a twist. The two elements from which human beings are composed—namely, mind and body—are hierarchically ordered. When Astell seems to identify us with our minds, she’s really just calling attention to the fact that our minds are the most important part of ourselves, not the only part of ourselves. Astell’s hierarchical analysis of human nature also helps explain her account of our well-being.
Timothy Yenter, Mississippi: "Mary Astell on the Metaphysics of Love"
[no abstract]
Penny Weiss, St. Louis University: "A Political Reading of Astell's Serious Proposal"
Analyzing the pedagogical tools and distinctive setting of Mary Astell’s female retreat, I reveal its most progressive promise. In this political reading of A Serious Proposal, Astell emerges as a foremother in the broad political tradition of female resistance to patriarchal domination. She enables a subordinated group of women to arrive at new and oppositional ways to understand themselves, each other, and even the world, and to act for change. The methods and tactics she employs in her retreat reveals the surprisingly democratic and very feminist dimensions of Mary Astell.
APA-East, Philadelphia PA, US
Colin Chamberlain, Temple: "'A Decaying Carkass'? Astell on the Embodied Self"
Astell’s account of the self is puzzling. On the one hand, Astell suggests that an account of the self is crucial. Care of the self is appropriate, Astell argues, so long as this care is directed towards one's true self. People are often mistaken about where their real interests lie because they are confused about their nature. On the other hand, Astell is unclear about the kinds of beings we are, or, in other words, what the self is. In some passages, she claims that we are minds, in other passages, that we are composites of mind and body. Thus, Astell’s account of the self lacks the clarity that, by her own lights, we so urgently need. My proposal is that Astell’s considered view is that we are composites of mind and body, but with a twist. The two elements from which human beings are composed—namely, mind and body—are hierarchically ordered. When Astell seems to identify us with our minds, she’s really just calling attention to the fact that our minds are the most important part of ourselves, not the only part of ourselves. Astell’s hierarchical analysis of human nature also helps explain her account of our well-being.
Timothy Yenter, Mississippi: "Mary Astell on the Metaphysics of Love"
[no abstract]
Penny Weiss, St. Louis University: "A Political Reading of Astell's Serious Proposal"
Analyzing the pedagogical tools and distinctive setting of Mary Astell’s female retreat, I reveal its most progressive promise. In this political reading of A Serious Proposal, Astell emerges as a foremother in the broad political tradition of female resistance to patriarchal domination. She enables a subordinated group of women to arrive at new and oppositional ways to understand themselves, each other, and even the world, and to act for change. The methods and tactics she employs in her retreat reveals the surprisingly democratic and very feminist dimensions of Mary Astell.
