"To be a philosopher and to be a feminist are one and the same thing. A feminist is a woman who does not allow anyone to think in her place."-from Hipparchia's Choice A work of rare insight and irreverence, Hipparchia's Choice boldly recasts the history of philosophy from the pre-Socratics to the post-Derrideans as one of masculine texts and male problems. The position of women, therefore, is less the result of a hypothetical "femininity" and more the fault of exclusion by men. Nevertheless, women have been and continue to be drawn to "the exercise of thought." So how does a female philosopher become a conceptually adventurous woman? Focusing on the work of Sartre and Beauvoir (specifically, his sexism and her relation to it), Michele Le Doeuff shows how women philosophers can reclaim a place for feminist concerns. Is The Second Sex a work of philosophy, and, if so, what can it teach us about the relation of philosophy to experience? Now with a new epilogue, Hipparchia's Choice points the way toward a discipline that is accountable to history, feminism, and society.

Your book is a joy. It has a strength which permeates its every tone of voice. You are renewing the whole problem of thought, tracking down a distinctively masculine cogito. Already you are sketching the outline of a thought which would be free from such constraints, and estimating its cost. I admire your book and am impatient for the next one. Think of me as someone close to you and be assured, if you will, of my friendship. -- Gilles Deleuze Le Doeuff is a feminist thinker of unparalleled brilliance and originality. Hipparchia's Choice is a deep, sustained series of meditations on women and philosophy; it is perhaps even more important and relevant now than it was when first published. I cannot recommend a book with more enthusiasm. -- Nancy Bauer, Tufts University and author of Simone de Beauvoir, Philosophy, and Feminism Hipparchia's Choice takes many of the themes and problems brought to life by Simone de Beauvoir fifty years ago and deepens and recreates them for the twenty-first century. -- Emily Grosholz, Pennsylvania State University

About the Author
Michele Le Doeuff is a director of research in philosophy at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris. She is also the author of The Philosophical Imaginary and The Sex of Knowing.

Reviews
Informally ordered yet tightly argued, Hipparchia's Choice ranges from brief close readings of Aristotle and Husserl to investigation of local 1970s French campaigns for reproductive rights and educational equality, with lengthy (but never self-indulgent) biographical and autobiographical digressions, always in search of the solid ground of shared political realism. -- Meryl Altman Women's Review of Books To see Hipparchia's Choice simply as an excellent feminist text is not enough: the point is that it is also excellent philosophy... Le Doeuff's book is a challenge to what has rapidly become the received wisdom of a large section of Western feminism. -- Toril Moi Times Literary Supplement Hipparchia's Choice is a book to be picked up again and again... it will keep encouraging its readers fully to engage in philosophy, critically and intelligently. -- Marije Altor Literature & Theology A testimony to the continuing importance of Michele Le Doeuff's groundbreaking work... Selous's translation gives a sparkling rendition of the text. -- Margaret Sankey, University of Sydney MLR A rare and inspiring work of philosophy in that it is scrupulous in argumentation and a great pleasure to read. -- Marguerite La Caze Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy



Book Information
ISBN 9780231138956
Author Michele Le Doeuff
Format Paperback
Page Count 392
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press