Enlightment and emancipation of women in the philosophy of David Hume

Abstract

In this paper we focus on two questions: (a) can women be enlightened subjects from Hume's perspective, and if so, (b) is this enlightenment emancipatory in feminist terms?

Firstly, we reconstruct the main lines of feminist interpretations of Hume's work in order to situate our proposal within an interpretative strand that has not yet been explored. Secondly, we specify the meaning that the notion of "enlightenment" adopts in Hume's philosophy, against the background  of debates in contemporary secondary literature. Thirdly, we concentrate on the first question in order to find out whether and under what conditions women are included as enlightened subjects according to the enlightened features we can recognise in Hume’s thought. Fourthly and finally, we focus on the second question: whether what we regard as feminine enlightenment in Humean terms constitutes a path to emancipation from patriarchal domination or, on the contrary, it reinforces the subjugation of women.