The Most Dangerous Woman of the French Enlightenment
Andrew Janiak discusses his new book, The Enlightenment’s Most Dangerous Woman: Émilie Du Châtelet and the Making of Modern Philosophy, in conversation with Christia Mercer and Laurence Marie
Just as the Enlightenment was gaining momentum throughout Europe, philosopher Émilie Du Châtelet broke through the many barriers facing women at the time and published a major philosophical treatise in French. Within a few short years, she became famous: she was read and debated from Russia to Prussia, from Switzerland to England, from up north in Sweden to down south in Italy. This was not just remarkable because she was a woman, but because of the substance of her contributions. While the men in her milieu like Voltaire and Kant sought disciples to promote their ideas, Du Châtelet promoted intellectual autonomy. She counselled her readers to read the classics, but never to become a follower of another’s ideas. Her proclamation that a true philosopher must remain an independent thinker, rather than a disciple of some supposedly “great man” like Isaac Newton or René Descartes, posed a threat to an emerging consensus in the Enlightenment. And that made her dangerous.
Andrew Janiak is Professor of Philosophy and co-leader of Project Vox at Duke University.
Christia Mercer is Gustave M. Berne Professor of Philosophy.
Laurence Marie is a Lecturer in the Department of French at Columbia.
The event is co-sponsored by the Columbia Maison Française and the Department of Philosophy.
