International Women's Day - Three women philosophers

Saturday the 8th March is International Women's Day and to celebrate this year we want to share with you three books by women philosophers. From Socrates to Slavoj Žižek we often think of philosophy as a male dominated realm, but there have been many women philosophers who have created works from a female perspective.

Our first suggested book is Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the rights of Women, which was originally written in 1792 and has just been re-published by Harper Collins. This essay is often described as laying the foundation of modern feminism.

Recommendations for books written by women philosophers would not be complete without including The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir. In this book, which is as relevant today as when it was first published in 1949, de Beauvoir argues that female liberation entails challenging traditional perceptions of the social relationship between the sexes and, crucially, in achieving economic independence.

Our final recommendation is Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals by Iris Murdoch, in which Murdoch draws on her insight into art, literature and psychology and debates the answers to some of the most complex questions of our time. Can we defend any 'moral values' against the constant encroachments of technology? Are we in danger of losing most of the qualities which make us truly human? 

We hope you enjoy our International Women's Day female philosophers selection