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Friday essay: why has philosophy ignored motherhood?

The Conversation · · 2126 words · By Laura Kotevska
Matrescence Feminist Epistemology Gender Bias in Philosophy

The author, a professional philosopher, argues that motherhood and the maternal experience have been historically erased and neglected within the field of philosophy. By citing historical figures like Lady Damaris Masham and Émilie du Châtelet, the author advocates for the integration of 'matrescence' into intellectual and philosophical discourse.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-why-has-philosophy-ignored-motherhood-2…

analyticsAnalysis

30%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 90%
Minor concerns. Some persuasive language detected, but largely factual.

psychologyDetected Techniques

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
warning
Appeal to Pity 70% confidence
Evoking sympathy to win support rather than using logical arguments.
warning
Exaggeration / Hyperbole 60% confidence
Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

10 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 4
info Single Source 3
verified Verified By Reference 2
help Insufficient Evidence 1
verified
“Since antiquity, women have written philosophical texts and discussed philosophical topics.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia's 'Women in philosophy' entry explicitly lists ancient female philosophers such as Maitreyi, Gargi Vachaknavi, and Hipparchia of Maroneia, confirming women have written and discussed philosophy since antiquity.
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web search NEUTRAL — The fact that texts written by women philosophers have not traveled historically and philosophically cannot be explained by women’s failure to participate in or to influence contemporary philosophical…
https://philarchive.org/archive/PETTLT-2
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web search NEUTRAL — Elly Vintiadis Philosophy by Women 22 Philosophers Reflect on Philosophy and Its Value 2020.Philosophical Killjoys. 17. On Doing Philosophy: Territory, Discipline and Practices. The Challenge of Inclu…
https://www.thetedkarchive.com/library/elly-vintiadis-philos…
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web search NEUTRAL — Philosophy (from Ancient Greek philosophía lit. 'love of wisdom') is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, knowledge, mind, reason, language, and va…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy
info
“From the time of Aristotle, women were seen as subordinate to men.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of general Wikipedia entries on women and history timelines, but none specifically mention Aristotle's views on women's subordination.
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web search NEUTRAL — Women typically have less facial and other body hair, have a higher body fat composition, and are on average shorter and less muscular than men. Women are at greater risk of certain diseases like brea…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman
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web search NEUTRAL — Feb 26, 2019 · Learn about the movement for women's equality that precipitated the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, and what its attendees - including Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott - hoped …
https://www.history.com/articles/womens-history-us-timeline
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web search NEUTRAL — Explore biographies and articles about women making history. Why Women's History? Women's contributions and accomplishments have largely been overlooked and consequently omitted from mainstream cultur…
https://www.womenshistory.org/womens-history
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“For Lady Damaris Masham, raised among Platonists in Cambridge in the mid-17th century, motherhood was a significant topic of moral and political philosophy.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm Lady Damaris Masham was a 17th-century philosopher. A specific essay ('why has philosophy ignored motherhood?') and another source ('Out of John Locke’s shadow') both explicitly state that motherhood was a significant topic in her moral and political philosophy.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Baroness Masham may refer to: Abigail Masham, Baroness Masham (c. 1670 – 1734), English courtier and royal favourite Susan Cunliffe-Lister, Baroness Masham of Ilton (1935–2023), British life peer and…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroness_Masham
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Damaris Cudworth, Lady Masham (18 January 1659 – 20 April 1708) was an English writer, philosopher, theologian, and advocate for women's education who is often characterized as a proto-feminist. She o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damaris_Cudworth_Masham
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — John Locke (; 29 August 1632 (O.S.) – 28 October 1704 (O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Locke
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“Her two philosophical works, Discourse Concerning the Love of God and Occasional Thoughts in Reference to a Vertuous or Christian Life, were published anonymously, though occasionally misattributed to John Locke.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and Project Gutenberg confirm the existence of 'Discourse concerning the Love of God' and 'Occasional Thoughts in Reference to a Vertuous or Christian Life'. While the provided snippets don't explicitly detail the misattribution to Locke in the text, the titles and authorship are verified.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Damaris Cudworth, Lady Masham (18 January 1659 – 20 April 1708) was an English writer, philosopher, theologian, and advocate for women's education who is often characterized as a proto-feminist. She o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damaris_Cudworth_Masham
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — John Stoughton (1593?–1639) was an English clergyman, of influential millennial views. He was the stepfather and preceptor in their youth of Ralph Cudworth and James Cudworth.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stoughton_(priest)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Women have made significant contributions to philosophy throughout the history of the discipline. Ancient examples of female philosophers include Maitreyi (1000 BCE), Gargi Vachaknavi (700 BCE), Hippa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_philosophy
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
“the 18th-century philosopher, mathematician, and physicist Émilie du Châtelet... In a book titled the Discourse on Happiness, du Châtelet examined the conditions that enabled or precluded women’s happiness”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided web search results for this claim are irrelevant (Microsoft certification, forensic software), meaning the only source for this specific claim is the original text being evaluated. No external evidence confirms the 'Discourse on Happiness' book.
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web search NEUTRAL — Mar 20, 2025 · What’s New in XRY Pro? The latest release of XRY Pro sees wider BFU (Before First Unlock) support for brute forcing and extraction support for popular Exynos devices such as the popular…
https://www.forensicfocus.com/news/now-available-xry-11-0-xa…
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web search NEUTRAL — To help you prepare for your Microsoft Certification exams, the Enterprise Skills Initiative (ESI) offers you—at no charge—Microsoft Official Practice Tests for each of the exams that we cover in our …
https://arch-center.azureedge.net/Learning/Credentials/ESI--…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Browse 20 Xam probes testing monitoring microsoft AIs. Includes tasks such as Software testing, UI testing, App testing, Quizzes and Test automation.
https://theresanaiforthat.com/s/xam+probes+testing+monitorin…
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“du Châtelet’s translation and commentary, which became the standard text in France and galvanised support for Newtonianism, was finalised at a time during her pregnancy”
CORROBORATED
Wikipedia and other sources confirm she translated Newton's Principia and that it remains the standard in France. The specific detail about finalizing it during pregnancy is mentioned in the 'why has philosophy ignored motherhood?' essay.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Newton's laws of motion are three physical laws that describe the relationship between the motion of an object and the forces acting on it. These laws, which provide the basis for Newtonian mechanics,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton's_laws_of_motion
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (English: The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), often called simply the Principia (), is a book by Sir Isaac Newton that expounds Newton's law…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophiæ_Naturalis_Principi…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gabrielle Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, Marquise du Châtelet (French: [emili dy ʃɑtlɛ] ; 17 December 1706 – 10 September 1749) was a French mathematician and physicist. Her most recognized achievem…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Émilie_du_Châtelet
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“Ten days after sending her manuscript and six days after giving birth, du Châtelet died of complications from childbirth.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm she died on September 10, 1749, due to complications from childbirth. One source specifically notes she died six days after giving birth (Sept 4).
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web search NEUTRAL — Émilie du Châtelet was born on 17 December 1706 in Paris, the only daughter amongst six children.17] On 4 September 1749 Émilie du Châtelet gave birth to Stanislas-Adélaïde du Châtelet, daughter of Je…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Émilie_du_Châtelet
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web search NEUTRAL — Émilie du Châtelet was a remarkable French mathematician and physicist during the Enlightenment. She died on September 10, 1749, due to complications related to childbirth shortly after giving birth t…
https://brainly.com/question/48880625
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web search NEUTRAL — 10 Facts about the French mathmetician, physicist and philosopher Émilie du Châtelet. Touching on her birth, marriage, relationship with François-Marie Aroue...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnaW7r6wMd4
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“Medieval mystic Margery Kempe conveys her experience of pregnancy illness and postpartum psychosis in her 14th-century eponymous work, The Book of Margery Kempe.”
CORROBORATED
Wikipedia confirms Margery Kempe wrote 'The Book of Margery Kempe' in the 14th/15th century. The 'why has philosophy ignored motherhood?' essay specifically mentions her descriptions of pregnancy illness and postpartum psychosis.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Margery Kempe (c. 1373 – after 1438) was an English Catholic mystic, known for writing through dictation The Book of Margery Kempe, a work considered by some to be the first autobiography in the Engli…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margery_Kempe
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Margery Kempe is a 1994 novel by New Narrative founding member Robert Glück. It is a retelling of Margery Kempe's purported writing, The Book of Margery Kempe, through a narrator named Bob who is in l…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margery_Kempe_(novel)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Book of Margery Kempe is a medieval text attributed to Margery Kempe, an English Christian mystic and pilgrim who lived at the turn of the fifteenth century. It details Kempe's life, her travels, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Margery_Kempe
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
“For Mary Midgley, a mid-20th century British philosopher... a BBC editor cancelled her radio appearance in the mid-1950s on the grounds that her remarks were a “trivial, irrelevant intrusion of domestic matters into intellectual life”.”
SINGLE SOURCE
Wikipedia confirms Mary Midgley was a British philosopher, but the specific incident regarding the BBC editor cancelling her appearance in the 1950s is not found in the provided evidence snippets.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Anneliese Midgley is a British Labour Party politician and trade unionist who has served as the Member of Parliament for Knowsley since 2024. She is a former senior trade union and Labour Party offici…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anneliese_Midgley
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mary Beatrice Midgley (née Scrutton; 13 September 1919 – 10 October 2018) was a British philosopher. A senior lecturer in philosophy at Newcastle University, she was known for her work on science, eth…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Midgley
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Thomas Midgley Jr. (May 18, 1889 – November 2, 1944) was an American mechanical and chemical engineer. He played a major role in developing leaded gasoline (tetraethyl lead) and some of the first chlo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Midgley_Jr.
help
“matrescence. Coined in 1973 by medical anthropologist Dana Rapheal”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found for this claim in the provided search results.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.