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A Manual for the Freest Spirits - (Women Philosophers Heritage Collection) by Helene Druskowitz (Hardcover)
About this item
Highlights
- Helene Druskowitz (1856-1918) was the first German-speaking women to acquire a PhD in philosophy.
- About the Author: Luka Borsic and Ivana Skuhala Karasman, University of Zagreb, Croatia.
- 310 Pages
- Philosophy, History & Surveys
- Series Name: Women Philosophers Heritage Collection
Description
Book Synopsis
Helene Druskowitz (1856-1918) was the first German-speaking women to acquire a PhD in philosophy. She explored free will, religion, metaphysics, and feminism. In the four small books presented in this volume, she discusses previous attempts to replace religion (esp. Comte, Mill, Feuerbach, Lange, Nietzsche, Duboc, Düring, and Salter), advocates replacing religion with knowledge-based worldviews, proposes a dualism between matter and transcendent reality, and argues for moral responsibility without free will.
The book includes the English translations, a comprehensive introduction, and the German text.
As a radical feminist, Druskowitz advocated for gender segregation and women-led societal reform, even proposing human extinction as a moral imperative. Her ideas on male dominance and environmental degradation anticipated later eco-feminist thought. Though not widely recognized in her time, Druskowitz's work offers valuable insights into feminist philosophy, eco-feminism, and discussions on free will and criticisms of religion, providing historical context for these ideas' evolution in the 20th and 21st centuries.
About the Author
Luka Borsic and Ivana Skuhala Karasman, University of Zagreb, Croatia.