"Feminist Readings of Thomas Hobbes": Reading Workshop with Laetitia Ramelet (University of Lausanne)

In this special session of the SWIP Bern reading group we will discuss "Feminist Readings of Thomas Hobbes" with our guest Laetitia Ramelet (University of Lausanne). Hereto we will read: Carole Pateman (1989) "'God Hath Ordained to Man a Helper': Hobbes, Patriarchy and Conjugal Right". Please register at swip.switzerland@gmail.com to receive the text.

Abstract: This session is about Thomas Hobbes's thoughts on the status of women. His remarkable contribution has been to acknowledge the natural equality of women and men. In 17th-century political theory, women were usually deemed to be inferior to men and doomed to subordination. In contrast, Hobbes has provided original philosophical arguments to refute this mistaken assumption. Feminist and Hobbes scholars consider these arguments to be of great historical significance (even though Hobbes did not advocate for a full political recognition of gender equality).

In this meeting, we will read Hobbes's passages on women together, and discuss the feminist literature on Hobbes, which I will present to you (works of Carole Pateman, Nancy Hirschmann and Gordon Schochet, among others).