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How to Think Like a Woman: Four Women Philosophers Who Taught Me How to Love the Life of the Mind
From a bold new voice in nonfiction, an exhilarating account of the lives and works of influential 17th- and 18th-century feminist philosophers Mary Wollstonecraft and her predecessors who have been written out of history, and a searing look at the author’s experience of patriarchy and sexism in academia
As a young woman growing up in small-town Iowa, Regan Penaluna daydreamed about the big questions: Who are we and what is this strange world we find ourselves in? In college she fell in love with philosophy and chose to pursue it as an academician, the first step, she believed, to becoming a self-determined person living a life of the mind.
What Penaluna didn’t realize was that the Western philosophical canon taught in American universities, as well as the culture surrounding it, would slowly grind her down through its misogyny, its harassment, its devaluation of women and their intellect. Where were the women philosophers?
One day, in an obscure monograph, Penaluna came across Damaris Cudworth Masham’s name. The daughter of philosopher Ralph Cudworth and a contemporary of John Locke, Masham wrote about knowledge and God, and the condition of women. Masham’s work led Penaluna to other remarkable women philosophers of the era: Mary Astell, who moved to London at age twenty-one and made a living writing philosophy; Catharine Cockburn, a philosopher, novelist, and playwright; and the better-known Mary Wollstonecraft, who wrote extensively in defense of women’s minds. Together, these women rekindled Penaluna’s love of philosophy and awakened her feminist consciousness.
In How to Think Like a Woman, Regan Penaluna blends memoir, biography, and criticism to tell the stories of these four women, weaving throughout an alternative history of philosophy as well as her own search for love and truth. Funny, honest, and wickedly intelligent, this is a moving meditation on what philosophy could look like if women were treated equally.
As a young woman growing up in small-town Iowa, Regan Penaluna daydreamed about the big questions: Who are we and what is this strange world we find ourselves in? In college she fell in love with philosophy and chose to pursue it as an academician, the first step, she believed, to becoming a self-determined person living a life of the mind.
What Penaluna didn’t realize was that the Western philosophical canon taught in American universities, as well as the culture surrounding it, would slowly grind her down through its misogyny, its harassment, its devaluation of women and their intellect. Where were the women philosophers?
One day, in an obscure monograph, Penaluna came across Damaris Cudworth Masham’s name. The daughter of philosopher Ralph Cudworth and a contemporary of John Locke, Masham wrote about knowledge and God, and the condition of women. Masham’s work led Penaluna to other remarkable women philosophers of the era: Mary Astell, who moved to London at age twenty-one and made a living writing philosophy; Catharine Cockburn, a philosopher, novelist, and playwright; and the better-known Mary Wollstonecraft, who wrote extensively in defense of women’s minds. Together, these women rekindled Penaluna’s love of philosophy and awakened her feminist consciousness.
In How to Think Like a Woman, Regan Penaluna blends memoir, biography, and criticism to tell the stories of these four women, weaving throughout an alternative history of philosophy as well as her own search for love and truth. Funny, honest, and wickedly intelligent, this is a moving meditation on what philosophy could look like if women were treated equally.
314 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 14, 2023
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May 24, 2023
How to Think Like a Woman is a blunt look at the deep current of misogyny that runs through the work of many famous thinkers, the logical fallacies and bigotry that caused them to relegate women and people of colour to lower rungs of human existence with lesser abilities of thought blended in with short biographies of four historical female thinkers and the author's own experiences as a female academic in the field of philosophy. That personal element, the ways in which the author was forever changed by her research into forgotten female philosophers, added another layer of complexity and meaning to this work that I (mostly) enjoyed.
I was pleasantly surprised by this book, though I do have some criticisms. I found the insight into the history of female philosophers and their interactions with their male contemporaries of the day fascinating, just as I found the revelations of how they've been plagiarized and erased from the history of the discipline enraging (yet unsurprising).
It's equally as enraging (yet unsurprising) that many of the classic philosophers who are lauded as the greatest thinkers of our species were hugely misogynistic and racist, incapable of viewing women or people of colour as intelligent and worth listening to. T
While I enjoyed the audiobook (it was very well narrated), I believe this book might be better consumed in physical form for ease of making note of quotes, facts, and areas for further research.
In a serendipitous turn of events, I listened to this shortly after finishing Love and Fury, which is a historical fiction novel based on Mary Wollstonecraft's life, who was one of the four philosophers highlighted in this book!
I would have loved a deeper dive into the philosophies of each of the women featured and a little less focus on the facts of their (and the author's) lives. I enjoyed both aspects, but I did feel that the bulk of the work seemed to lean towards (auto)biography rather than focusing on the ideas themselves, which is a disservice to readers unfamiliar with these thinkers' work.
Nonetheless, I would love to read more work by this author, ideally diving even deeper into the minds of many more female philosophers throughout history, sharing their ideas and life stories.
Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC.
Trigger/Content Warnings: misogyny, racism, slavery, sexual assault
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I was pleasantly surprised by this book, though I do have some criticisms. I found the insight into the history of female philosophers and their interactions with their male contemporaries of the day fascinating, just as I found the revelations of how they've been plagiarized and erased from the history of the discipline enraging (yet unsurprising).
It's equally as enraging (yet unsurprising) that many of the classic philosophers who are lauded as the greatest thinkers of our species were hugely misogynistic and racist, incapable of viewing women or people of colour as intelligent and worth listening to. T
While I enjoyed the audiobook (it was very well narrated), I believe this book might be better consumed in physical form for ease of making note of quotes, facts, and areas for further research.
In a serendipitous turn of events, I listened to this shortly after finishing Love and Fury, which is a historical fiction novel based on Mary Wollstonecraft's life, who was one of the four philosophers highlighted in this book!
I would have loved a deeper dive into the philosophies of each of the women featured and a little less focus on the facts of their (and the author's) lives. I enjoyed both aspects, but I did feel that the bulk of the work seemed to lean towards (auto)biography rather than focusing on the ideas themselves, which is a disservice to readers unfamiliar with these thinkers' work.
Nonetheless, I would love to read more work by this author, ideally diving even deeper into the minds of many more female philosophers throughout history, sharing their ideas and life stories.
Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC.
Trigger/Content Warnings: misogyny, racism, slavery, sexual assault
You can find me on...
Youtube | Instagram | TikTok
You can join our book club over on Patreon...
PBB Book Club
August 12, 2023
I have such mixed feelings about this book. As a primer on overlooked women philosophers it’s good. But Penaluna also includes personal narrative, and to write truly successful personal narrative, you have to have exorcised self-pity, the tendency to blame others, and the carefully constructed ego-protecting image you want to project. I’m not sure Penaluna has done those things. Sexism is real and it does have an insidious and damaging effect on a woman’s self-perception, and Penaluna clearly encounters sexism in the course of getting her PhD. But you could live in the least sexist society in the world and still marry the wrong person because he represents the career you’ve idealized. And then realize your mistake, get divorced and switch to a career that’s more fulfilling.
I was confused by the section of the book in which she gives voice to the demon of self-doubt that dogs her. I think she was trying to illustrate the way sexism had undermined her confidence, but everyone has self-doubt - even men. And so often the demon was right (“you chose dependency. You made the decision years ago that you would play the passive role because it was easier - it is a role readily available to women.”), making it less the demon of self-doubt and more the demon of shadow truths that we’d all rather not face.
It is galling to realize how little women’s contributions and points of view have been recognized and Penaluna offers a valuable resource for those of us who want to know more about early women thinkers. However, I came to distrust some of Penaluna’s conclusions. Often she quotes a female thinker and draws conclusions that don’t seem supported by the quote. Having read Claire Tomalin’s biography of Mary Wollstonecraft (4 stars) I could see Penaluna’s tendency to smooth out the messiness of women’s lives in her biographical sketches. I’m not sure we’re doing women any favors when we pretend our lives and personalities aren’t complex and full of contradictions.
And for a book about philosophy, Penaluna’s writing doesn’t engage the women’s philosophical ideas very deeply, other than to point out that several of these women speak only to the experience of white, middle- to upper-class women like themselves. Penaluna doesn’t explore the connection between the denigration of sex and the natural world and the denigration of women. In a rather dull catalog of women thinkers, Penaluna mentions several mystics, but doesn’t consider the link between their urge to self-negation in God with the tendency of women to melt into relationships with men. Nor does Penaluna speak to an issue Gloria Steinem raises in Revolution from Within, that the more educated a woman is, the lower her self-esteem.
So while I’m grateful for this book, I also found it unsatisfying.
I was confused by the section of the book in which she gives voice to the demon of self-doubt that dogs her. I think she was trying to illustrate the way sexism had undermined her confidence, but everyone has self-doubt - even men. And so often the demon was right (“you chose dependency. You made the decision years ago that you would play the passive role because it was easier - it is a role readily available to women.”), making it less the demon of self-doubt and more the demon of shadow truths that we’d all rather not face.
It is galling to realize how little women’s contributions and points of view have been recognized and Penaluna offers a valuable resource for those of us who want to know more about early women thinkers. However, I came to distrust some of Penaluna’s conclusions. Often she quotes a female thinker and draws conclusions that don’t seem supported by the quote. Having read Claire Tomalin’s biography of Mary Wollstonecraft (4 stars) I could see Penaluna’s tendency to smooth out the messiness of women’s lives in her biographical sketches. I’m not sure we’re doing women any favors when we pretend our lives and personalities aren’t complex and full of contradictions.
And for a book about philosophy, Penaluna’s writing doesn’t engage the women’s philosophical ideas very deeply, other than to point out that several of these women speak only to the experience of white, middle- to upper-class women like themselves. Penaluna doesn’t explore the connection between the denigration of sex and the natural world and the denigration of women. In a rather dull catalog of women thinkers, Penaluna mentions several mystics, but doesn’t consider the link between their urge to self-negation in God with the tendency of women to melt into relationships with men. Nor does Penaluna speak to an issue Gloria Steinem raises in Revolution from Within, that the more educated a woman is, the lower her self-esteem.
So while I’m grateful for this book, I also found it unsatisfying.
February 13, 2023
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Many thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
What a fantastic, dedicated and inspiring work!
"How to think like a woman" is such a provocative title that I immediately clicked on it, thinking "surely this can't be what it seems, surely we're not still publishing this kind of stuff in 2023". We probably are, but it was not this case. I love works dedicated to expanding the canon to include the forgotten (or ignored) voices of history, so I was grateful and excited when I got this copy.
Penaluna mixes the historical accounts of four influential XVII and XVIII century feminist philosophers with her own memoirs as a contemporary philosopher in a male-dominated field that still ponders "the woman question" in a discussion we're not supposed to take part in. The author, then, takes us on a journey through her days in academia, when she has to struggle with the "male glance", her feelings of inadequacy, her slow realization that she was never going to be able to shake off her identity as a *woman* philosopher and think in the abstract, and the ways in which she found and connected with Astell, Masham, Wollstonecraft and Cockburn through time and space. We're then introduced to each of these philosophers, to their works, their personal lives, their cultural impact at the time and the revelations they inspired in Penaluna.
I found the writing overall to be clear and engaging enough that even someone who doesn't have much patience for philosophy could enjoy. As serious as this book was, it also had a good dose of humour - I choked at the author wondering whether Aristotle liked to tongue ass, or what else we might willingly ignore about him in order to take him as an authority figure even today, even though he didn't think of women as his equals.
At the same time, this carefully created structure feels disjointed when it falls in the cracks, and we get a somewhat disconnected compilation of mini-bios about other important yet generally forgotten/ignored women from history. Here is when my attention drifted and I began to wonder when the chapter would end (since my copy wasn't properly formatted, I had no way of knowing). Maybe it's on me, but I failed to see the connecting thread in those sections, which was a jarring contrast to the clarity with which Penaluna weaves her story with that of our star philosophers.
The issues of formatting also meant that I couldn't check the references as I read along, which is important to me when reading academic non-fiction - I want to see those sources! But I assume (hope) this problem will be solved in the final ebook edition.
While the author is focusing on the struggles of cis women in academia, and the four philosophers chosen are white European women, the author did take an intersectional perspective in her analysis that included critiques to her objects of study, references to non-white philosophers and an acknowledgment of her own limitations, which I really appreciated.
I cannot recommend this book enough, whether you're interested in philosophy specifically or if you merely like learning about interesting women we don't hear enough of in academia.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
What a fantastic, dedicated and inspiring work!
"How to think like a woman" is such a provocative title that I immediately clicked on it, thinking "surely this can't be what it seems, surely we're not still publishing this kind of stuff in 2023". We probably are, but it was not this case. I love works dedicated to expanding the canon to include the forgotten (or ignored) voices of history, so I was grateful and excited when I got this copy.
Penaluna mixes the historical accounts of four influential XVII and XVIII century feminist philosophers with her own memoirs as a contemporary philosopher in a male-dominated field that still ponders "the woman question" in a discussion we're not supposed to take part in. The author, then, takes us on a journey through her days in academia, when she has to struggle with the "male glance", her feelings of inadequacy, her slow realization that she was never going to be able to shake off her identity as a *woman* philosopher and think in the abstract, and the ways in which she found and connected with Astell, Masham, Wollstonecraft and Cockburn through time and space. We're then introduced to each of these philosophers, to their works, their personal lives, their cultural impact at the time and the revelations they inspired in Penaluna.
I found the writing overall to be clear and engaging enough that even someone who doesn't have much patience for philosophy could enjoy. As serious as this book was, it also had a good dose of humour - I choked at the author wondering whether Aristotle liked to tongue ass, or what else we might willingly ignore about him in order to take him as an authority figure even today, even though he didn't think of women as his equals.
At the same time, this carefully created structure feels disjointed when it falls in the cracks, and we get a somewhat disconnected compilation of mini-bios about other important yet generally forgotten/ignored women from history. Here is when my attention drifted and I began to wonder when the chapter would end (since my copy wasn't properly formatted, I had no way of knowing). Maybe it's on me, but I failed to see the connecting thread in those sections, which was a jarring contrast to the clarity with which Penaluna weaves her story with that of our star philosophers.
The issues of formatting also meant that I couldn't check the references as I read along, which is important to me when reading academic non-fiction - I want to see those sources! But I assume (hope) this problem will be solved in the final ebook edition.
While the author is focusing on the struggles of cis women in academia, and the four philosophers chosen are white European women, the author did take an intersectional perspective in her analysis that included critiques to her objects of study, references to non-white philosophers and an acknowledgment of her own limitations, which I really appreciated.
I cannot recommend this book enough, whether you're interested in philosophy specifically or if you merely like learning about interesting women we don't hear enough of in academia.
March 5, 2023
part memoir, part history, this is an interesting topic written in an engaging way. i never really thought about it but i've taken a couple philosophy courses at university and couldn't name a single female philosopher before this. i read this book especially for women's history month and i wish we could all learn more about women's contributions in history. this is a book i would like to go back to from time to time. thanks to netgalley for this arc ♡
February 2, 2023
this one was a rather frustrating read. i liked the prologue, and i thought the way penaluna’s life story was interwoven with the female philosophers from the late 17th-early 18th century that have shaped her career in academia would be very interesting; i particularly loved the discussion on the inherent sexism that some professors still display to this day, and the way it affected her interventions in class, as well as her sense of self-worth as a graduate student. but her life story soon became somewhat of a drag, and i found myself skimming most of those chapters; i feel awful for saying this, i ultimately couldn’t care less about the end of her marriage and the way it was all thrown into the middle of an otherwise interesting book.
i also thought the chapters regarding the female philosophers were too biographical and lacked a deeper discussion on their philosophical viewpoints, but i get that it’s not meant to be a philosophy handbook, but rather a discussion on how reading these women’s ideas has shaped penaluna herself as a philosopher. still, i do wish the book had appealed more to me than it ultimately did, because i genuinely thought that i’d love it — but alas, i didn’t.
thank you to netgalley for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
i also thought the chapters regarding the female philosophers were too biographical and lacked a deeper discussion on their philosophical viewpoints, but i get that it’s not meant to be a philosophy handbook, but rather a discussion on how reading these women’s ideas has shaped penaluna herself as a philosopher. still, i do wish the book had appealed more to me than it ultimately did, because i genuinely thought that i’d love it — but alas, i didn’t.
thank you to netgalley for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
November 4, 2023
This is an important book, that does what the title promises: to show How to Think Like a Woman. The author does exactly that, focusing on four women philosophers who have been dangerously close to history's fringed cliffs over which the forgotten, never named plunge every day.
Her women heroes, from who she furiously and feverishly studies are these:
◼ Mary Astell, 1666 - 1731, England
◼ Damaris Cudworth Masham, 1659 - 1708, England
◼ Mary Wollstonecraft, 1759 - 1797, England; and
◼ Catherine Trotter Cockburn, 1679 - 1749, England
While the author's admiration and wisdom gained from each of these shape her growth as a philosopher, she also pulls in many others, and often brings them forth to defend against male philosophers who rest comfortably and with no small amount of arrogance in their centuries' old easy chairs:
The female is like a "disabled male," [Artistotle] wrote. A "natural mutilation." One after another a similar view is presented. . .and where were the women? Everyone of those men had a mother, and likely sisters, daughters and life partners who were women, who would mind the kids, cows, and home fires. It is enough to get this reader's blood boiling and more than a little pissed off. And history marches on, with 98% of male philosophers writing the tomes that carry philosophy forward, busy writing that 2% of non-male philosopher voices into silence and obscurity. Grrgh.
When I started this read, all I wanted was to get that damned cover off that girl's head, free her head, eyes, ears and voice. At its end, I want a helluva lot more than that. We need a revolution that has sharper teeth and longer, deeper thinking than we've been using. I hear and receive the author's points, her questions answered and unanswered, her mind changed and unchanged. I appreciated her sharing of her own complex and ongoing life while she was actively engaged at the front in this philosophic battle and war. . .for isn't that truly how all wars are fought? Stolen time from lives being daily lived on all sides?
5 stars for taking the time out of fighting in that war, to report how it goes in the field.
*A sincere thank you to Regan Penaluna, Grove Atlantic, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.* #HowtoThinkLikeaWoman #NetGalley
Her women heroes, from who she furiously and feverishly studies are these:
◼ Mary Astell, 1666 - 1731, England
◼ Damaris Cudworth Masham, 1659 - 1708, England
◼ Mary Wollstonecraft, 1759 - 1797, England; and
◼ Catherine Trotter Cockburn, 1679 - 1749, England
While the author's admiration and wisdom gained from each of these shape her growth as a philosopher, she also pulls in many others, and often brings them forth to defend against male philosophers who rest comfortably and with no small amount of arrogance in their centuries' old easy chairs:
The female is like a "disabled male," [Artistotle] wrote. A "natural mutilation." One after another a similar view is presented. . .and where were the women? Everyone of those men had a mother, and likely sisters, daughters and life partners who were women, who would mind the kids, cows, and home fires. It is enough to get this reader's blood boiling and more than a little pissed off. And history marches on, with 98% of male philosophers writing the tomes that carry philosophy forward, busy writing that 2% of non-male philosopher voices into silence and obscurity. Grrgh.
When I started this read, all I wanted was to get that damned cover off that girl's head, free her head, eyes, ears and voice. At its end, I want a helluva lot more than that. We need a revolution that has sharper teeth and longer, deeper thinking than we've been using. I hear and receive the author's points, her questions answered and unanswered, her mind changed and unchanged. I appreciated her sharing of her own complex and ongoing life while she was actively engaged at the front in this philosophic battle and war. . .for isn't that truly how all wars are fought? Stolen time from lives being daily lived on all sides?
5 stars for taking the time out of fighting in that war, to report how it goes in the field.
*A sincere thank you to Regan Penaluna, Grove Atlantic, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.* #HowtoThinkLikeaWoman #NetGalley
January 16, 2024
I really wanted to love this book and I should have : I'm a feminist who studied philosophy (a very long time ago), but while I did love reading about women philosophers, cause let's be real we don't talk about them enough, there are so many parts of that book that drove me mad.
First, the memoir part which I expected (because of the title) but which took way more room than I thought it would and the thing with memoir is that it can turn someone "normal" into someone you despise quite easily. I know scholars (and philosophers) are usually quite self centered (myself included) but wow that was annoying in this book. I'm also never comfortable with books that talk about former partners or friends who did not commit any crime, but who do end up in someone else's story in usually a not favourable light. Big debate with French auto fiction, I know.
I'm petty but the fact that bibliothèque is not spelled correctly pissed me off, you're a scholar, please spell check the 3 French words you use in the book.
So yeah, great that we're writing about women thinkers, but do we need another memoir of a very privileged person having an existential crisis? Maybe not
First, the memoir part which I expected (because of the title) but which took way more room than I thought it would and the thing with memoir is that it can turn someone "normal" into someone you despise quite easily. I know scholars (and philosophers) are usually quite self centered (myself included) but wow that was annoying in this book. I'm also never comfortable with books that talk about former partners or friends who did not commit any crime, but who do end up in someone else's story in usually a not favourable light. Big debate with French auto fiction, I know.
I'm petty but the fact that bibliothèque is not spelled correctly pissed me off, you're a scholar, please spell check the 3 French words you use in the book.
So yeah, great that we're writing about women thinkers, but do we need another memoir of a very privileged person having an existential crisis? Maybe not
August 10, 2023
ehhh like 3.25/5
this was okay! i appreciated the personal kind of sub plot (weird to think that non fiction can have a plot), it was really vulnerable and interesting. the philosophy part was fine! i'm a little confused bc all i've learned is that thinking like a woman is probably the same as thinking like a man? but also the opposite? gender binaries are complicated and i'm not sure they were navigated with grace. learned about a lot of cool ladies tho!!
anywho, quotes!
"I sometimes wonder what Aristotle was like in bed. Did gold chains hit his chest? Did he like to tongue ass?"
"Masham was an early adopter of a different take on love, one that is messy and sticky, one that leans into our sociability, one that asks us to fall for our lover, to stitch our heart to our baby's so much our stomach does flips. Her message is that the only path to enlightenment is transcendence through interdependence."
"To one pesky suitor, Hypatia offered her menstrual rag rather than her hand."
"O sensual one. Seek another sensual like thyself. Hast thou seen any sign of desire in me?" -sick burn from Rabia al-Adawiyya
this was okay! i appreciated the personal kind of sub plot (weird to think that non fiction can have a plot), it was really vulnerable and interesting. the philosophy part was fine! i'm a little confused bc all i've learned is that thinking like a woman is probably the same as thinking like a man? but also the opposite? gender binaries are complicated and i'm not sure they were navigated with grace. learned about a lot of cool ladies tho!!
anywho, quotes!
"I sometimes wonder what Aristotle was like in bed. Did gold chains hit his chest? Did he like to tongue ass?"
"Masham was an early adopter of a different take on love, one that is messy and sticky, one that leans into our sociability, one that asks us to fall for our lover, to stitch our heart to our baby's so much our stomach does flips. Her message is that the only path to enlightenment is transcendence through interdependence."
"To one pesky suitor, Hypatia offered her menstrual rag rather than her hand."
"O sensual one. Seek another sensual like thyself. Hast thou seen any sign of desire in me?" -sick burn from Rabia al-Adawiyya
March 3, 2023
This is a story about a female psychologist's experience with sexism in academia. I loved the cover, the title, and the description. I was engaged the first 30%, and was enjoying the framework. The writing was good. Eventually, it felt like a pretentious memoir and really awkward history lesson. I doubt I will recommend this book.
Thank you Netgalley for the arc, in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you Netgalley for the arc, in exchange for an honest review.
September 6, 2023
After reading this book, I feel like I can now confidently state that reading Descartes and Hobbes was the equivalent to getting a rectal exam, and not feel stupid for it. What a time to be alive 😎
September 8, 2023
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Do you mean to tell me that all our great philosophical "deep-thinking" men (including those teaching today at elitist schools) are inherently bigots, racists and misogynists who believe women and POC are less intelligent and not worth listening to???
Eat my ass, Aristotle.
⭐⭐⭐½ | 3.5 stars rounded up
Do you mean to tell me that all our great philosophical "deep-thinking" men (including those teaching today at elitist schools) are inherently bigots, racists and misogynists who believe women and POC are less intelligent and not worth listening to???
Eat my ass, Aristotle.
⭐⭐⭐½ | 3.5 stars rounded up
February 15, 2024
Actual rating: 2.5
To be clear, this is more memoir than philosophical book. Divorce memoir at that, which I wouldn’t have felt the need to specify if it didn’t ultimately take up most of the book.
Penaluna’s conclusions from her research, while notable, I don’t feel carried the impact she anticipated they would because her discussions of female philosophy is underdeveloped. While the personal lives of the woman are detailed and intriguing, their philosophies are summarized quickly and honestly they all come across as talking about the same thing. Penaluna provides a reason for this but it doesn’t save her writing from becoming tedious.
I am a huge fan of personal exposition in scholarship (Greenblatt simp) so really have no issue with the memoir aspect at its face, but this became more an overly enthusiastic journal article that lacked an editor instead of what I expected it to be- a book on the philosophies of women.
To be clear, this is more memoir than philosophical book. Divorce memoir at that, which I wouldn’t have felt the need to specify if it didn’t ultimately take up most of the book.
Penaluna’s conclusions from her research, while notable, I don’t feel carried the impact she anticipated they would because her discussions of female philosophy is underdeveloped. While the personal lives of the woman are detailed and intriguing, their philosophies are summarized quickly and honestly they all come across as talking about the same thing. Penaluna provides a reason for this but it doesn’t save her writing from becoming tedious.
I am a huge fan of personal exposition in scholarship (Greenblatt simp) so really have no issue with the memoir aspect at its face, but this became more an overly enthusiastic journal article that lacked an editor instead of what I expected it to be- a book on the philosophies of women.
May 25, 2023
Būna, pasitaiko knyga vietoje ir laiku. Įsigijau suviliota pavadinimo ir amerikietiško leidimo viršelio, o paskutinį puslapį užverčiau sužavėta. Tai memuarų, biografijų ir feministinės kritikos mišinys. Pasakodama apie keturias nepelnytai pamirštas ir/ar nuvertintas XVII–XVIII a. mąstytojas (Damaris Cudworth Masham, Mary Astell, Catharine Cockburn ir Mary Wollstonecraft), autorė pasakoja ir apie save – filosofijos studijas, patirtą sisteminį seksizmą akademinėje aplinkoje, iširusią santuoką, brandą ir vidinį augimą. Man toks derinys labai patiko. Patiko asmeniškas rašymo stilius (lengvas, publicistinis, todėl skaityti tiesiog smagu), kaip autorė susiejo visas filosofes su savo patirtimi. Patiko ir tai, kad, net pripažindama progresyvias iškilių moterų idėjas, ji asmenybių neišaukština, pateikia įvairiapusiškus portretus su visomis dorybėmis ir trūkumais.
Kad mėgautumeisi, tvirti filosofijos pagrindai nebūtini – Penaluna pristato pagrindines visų filosofų, apie kuriuos kalba, idėjas.
Džiaugiausi, kad autorės patirtys surezonavo su manosiomis, puslapiuose radau ne tik paguodos, bet ir atsakymų į netrumpai lydėjusius klausimus.
“Masham wrote about what prevents a woman from committing to an intellectual life: the unwritten, automatic, continual message that she isn’t fit for it. Censure, ridicule, and isolation are strong enough forces to make her doubt herself.”
“<..>being a feminist leads to a fractured sense of self. There is the you who you want to be and the you who you are. The you who is free and the you who is subservient. The part of yourself you love and the part you loathe.”
Kad mėgautumeisi, tvirti filosofijos pagrindai nebūtini – Penaluna pristato pagrindines visų filosofų, apie kuriuos kalba, idėjas.
Džiaugiausi, kad autorės patirtys surezonavo su manosiomis, puslapiuose radau ne tik paguodos, bet ir atsakymų į netrumpai lydėjusius klausimus.
“Masham wrote about what prevents a woman from committing to an intellectual life: the unwritten, automatic, continual message that she isn’t fit for it. Censure, ridicule, and isolation are strong enough forces to make her doubt herself.”
“<..>being a feminist leads to a fractured sense of self. There is the you who you want to be and the you who you are. The you who is free and the you who is subservient. The part of yourself you love and the part you loathe.”
June 8, 2023
I really enjoyed this! women ❤️
I enjoyed the way the author’s personal journey in academia/self possession was woven in with the exploration of the lives and work of the women philosophers included in this book. I thought it drove home the point that a lot of the things that burden and/or interest women now were the same things that were on the minds of women throughout history, and some of these women who had the means and opportunity were able to dedicate their work to these topics. I also think this book makes it very clear that there are multiple examples of women philosophers across different cultures and the only reason we don’t know abt them is because we choose not to know them. the type of thing that is heartening and upsetting at the same time. anyways idk I love to muse on what it means to be a woman in the world and I love to pretend to be an intellectual so this was a cool read.
I enjoyed the way the author’s personal journey in academia/self possession was woven in with the exploration of the lives and work of the women philosophers included in this book. I thought it drove home the point that a lot of the things that burden and/or interest women now were the same things that were on the minds of women throughout history, and some of these women who had the means and opportunity were able to dedicate their work to these topics. I also think this book makes it very clear that there are multiple examples of women philosophers across different cultures and the only reason we don’t know abt them is because we choose not to know them. the type of thing that is heartening and upsetting at the same time. anyways idk I love to muse on what it means to be a woman in the world and I love to pretend to be an intellectual so this was a cool read.
February 8, 2023
My bare bones knowledge of philosophy comes from the one year I had it in high school, and out of the 4 women Penaluna writes about, I knew Mary Shelley supposedly had sex on Wollstonecraft's grave. I was happy to expand my knowledge but I was taken on a much richer and more personal journey than I expected in this book and I'm pleasantly susprised.
How to Think Like a Woman and its four women philosophers, what I assumed would be a simple account of their lives and work, turned out to be an exemplary work of nonfiction. Penaluna mirrors her personal life story to the lives of these women, weaving in and out of these narratives smoothly, something I don't usually encounter in these types of works. I particularly appreciated that these four were not the only women philosophers included, but that other notable women thinkers outside of Europe got mentioned.
The accounts weren't dry, but to the point, interesting and highly relatable. There's those moments of the subtle (and not so subtle) misogyny being put into words that just click and you feel connected to these women who lived centuries ago.
Whether you're interested in philosophy or not, I highly recommend this book. It's riveting, eye opening, and will have you mad, annoyed and hopeful.
Thank you to Grove Press and NetGalley for providing this ARC.
April 2, 2023
4.5 and I'm hungry for more
January 3, 2025
Yeah it was cool to start thinking about feminism not just as a social study but as a philosophy matter as well that should be as important as any other. And also about how it’s so hard to develop your own perspective when you’ve only read men’s thoughts.
November 15, 2024
I had a hard time deciding what to say about this book. I appreciated the dive into feminist philosophy and the contributions women have made from the beginnings of philosophical thought. I even connected to some of the comparisons that she made between her own life and those of women throughout history and the idea that the more things change, the more they stay the same. However, the memoir style of book didn't always work for me and I found some of the author's insights into her own life taking away from the narrative. I wanted to learn more about the highlighted philosophers and others that she mentioned and less about the author's romantic and interpersonal struggles.
As for the audio narration, it wasn't my favorite. With nonfiction, the narrator has a big job to communicate all the facts in an engaging and informative way. I don't know if the narrator always succeeded. Also, I had some issues with pronunciations. The narrator went out of her way to pronounce French names, places, and ideas with the proper French pronunciation, but then mispronounced some British English place names, like Magdalene College at Cambridge, which is 'Maudlyn' in British vernacular.
Thank you Dreamscape Media for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
As for the audio narration, it wasn't my favorite. With nonfiction, the narrator has a big job to communicate all the facts in an engaging and informative way. I don't know if the narrator always succeeded. Also, I had some issues with pronunciations. The narrator went out of her way to pronounce French names, places, and ideas with the proper French pronunciation, but then mispronounced some British English place names, like Magdalene College at Cambridge, which is 'Maudlyn' in British vernacular.
Thank you Dreamscape Media for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
January 22, 2023
This was an interesting read — I was drawn to the premise because when I thought about it, I realized that I couldn’t think of a single female philosopher. This is a personal memoir that leans heavily on the author’s study of four prominent female philosophers, and how their ideas mirror her experience as a woman, academic, and mother. Penaluna is an engaging writer and I like the way that she combines a personal narrative with a broader examination of how women who were interested in writing and philosophical ideas have been treated throughout history. I particularly liked her brief summaries of female intellectuals outside of the four core women that make up the bulk of the narrative. Overall, I feel like I learned some things about philosophy, like the fact that female philosophers have always existed but they’ve simply been left out of the canon.
I received an ARC of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ARC of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 23, 2024
this book had so many ups and downs for me.. i loved the topic and concept but the execution prevented me from truly enjoying the book
i found the interweaving of the author’s life and the lives of these women philosophers to be an intriguing storytelling method, but it was just too weighed down by droning biographies instead of the meat of these women’s ideas.
i also found it hilarious the author angles herself at the end as a champion for inclusivity of poc philosophers but only focused on white philosophers in the majority of the book. Don’t worry she threw in a word vomit chapter at the end just rattling off the wikipedia page intro for some.. sigh
i found the interweaving of the author’s life and the lives of these women philosophers to be an intriguing storytelling method, but it was just too weighed down by droning biographies instead of the meat of these women’s ideas.
i also found it hilarious the author angles herself at the end as a champion for inclusivity of poc philosophers but only focused on white philosophers in the majority of the book. Don’t worry she threw in a word vomit chapter at the end just rattling off the wikipedia page intro for some.. sigh
April 3, 2023
хочеться вірити, що якби ця книга існувала, коли мені було 17, я би зекономила собі роки внутрішньої (та зовнішньої) мізогінії та постійного внутрішнього дисонансу від контакту з філософією.
відправляю її на ментальну поличку книг, які потрібно передати у спадок своїй дочці.
відправляю її на ментальну поличку книг, які потрібно передати у спадок своїй дочці.
June 24, 2024
Reading this made me feel smarter, which is nice. It also made me want to go to grad school, which is less nice.
August 18, 2025
“i sometimes wonder what aristotle was like in bed. did gold chains hit his chest? did he like to tongue ass? what do we ignore about aristotle to take him seriously, for his legacy to endure?”
i agree with another reviewer that this was a sort of catalogue of female philosophers — not satisfying because she didn’t engage super deeply with any of their ideas. but to be fair that wasn’t the point of the book. the purpose is to examine what it is like to exist as a woman in academia, and provide context for all these feelings.
i think that if you are a woman in academia this is a really important read. it feels comforting. all the concerns and many of the frustrations i’ve had are reflected in here.
it’s not like a deep and complex philosophy book. but it is important.
i agree with another reviewer that this was a sort of catalogue of female philosophers — not satisfying because she didn’t engage super deeply with any of their ideas. but to be fair that wasn’t the point of the book. the purpose is to examine what it is like to exist as a woman in academia, and provide context for all these feelings.
i think that if you are a woman in academia this is a really important read. it feels comforting. all the concerns and many of the frustrations i’ve had are reflected in here.
it’s not like a deep and complex philosophy book. but it is important.
March 14, 2023
This is the perfect read for #womenshistorymonth 💪 Penaluna writes about her life in academia, as a philosophy student and teacher, and reflects on how female philosophers and their contributions are simply not talked about.
The author was able to write a book that not only explores interesting themes, but it is written in a way that is accessible for all readers. I believe that even people who don’t usually read nonfiction will enjoy this book. I would recommend the audiobook narrated by Angie Kane as I simply could not put it down (or pause it, I guess 😅)!
Thank you to @netgalley and @dreamscape_media for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
The author was able to write a book that not only explores interesting themes, but it is written in a way that is accessible for all readers. I believe that even people who don’t usually read nonfiction will enjoy this book. I would recommend the audiobook narrated by Angie Kane as I simply could not put it down (or pause it, I guess 😅)!
Thank you to @netgalley and @dreamscape_media for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
July 18, 2023
Interesting mix of the authors own life and the lives of female philosophers. At times the author's assessment of the ideas of these women falls a little short, as she judges some of their ideas through a 21st century lens which does not lend itself well to understanding the importance of these ideas in their time. Even so, the book was a good way to become more familiar with female philosophers and thinkers I hadn't heard about before.
August 28, 2023
I cried at the end… wonderfully written and extremely intelligent. Just a great read and def one I will return to.
March 15, 2023
Thanks to Dreamscape Media through Net Galley who allowed me to listen to the audio version of this book.
This book draws striking parallels between the author’s life and experiences and those of several women philosophers who lived hundreds of years before her. First, Regan Penaluna tells the story of her journey as a philosopher. Even before college, she loved philosophy. But her undergraduate years were difficult being one of the only women in her philosophy program. She dealt with feeling like she didn’t belong. One her professor openly doubted that women were intelligent enough to succeed in philosophy. But while working on her dissertation, Penaluna was shocked to discover several women philosophers from the 18th century. Some of these women were Mary Astell, Damaris Cudworth Masham, Catharine Cockburn, and later, Mary Wollstonecraft. For the rest of the book, Penaluna switches between the stories of their lives and thoughts and her own.
Since the book is called “How to Think Like a Woman”, I kept waiting for a systematic and “objective” description of how women think and how I (as a man) could learn to think like a woman. But Penaluna argues that my thinking is limited by the male concept of “real” philosophy. “Real” philosophy is devoid of emotion, personal experience, and mostly focused on epistemology. Penaluna believes that legitimate philosophy also includes fighting the misogynistic beliefs that still hold sway over both philosophy and our society.
The women philosophers’ lives in this book are inspiring and very different from my normal conceptions of women’s lives during the 18th century. I now want to learn about more women philosophers throughout history. I also want to hear more of Regan Penaluna’s philosophy.
I listened to the audiobook version of this book narrated by Angie Kane. Kane did an excellent job bringing this book to life through her voice.
This book draws striking parallels between the author’s life and experiences and those of several women philosophers who lived hundreds of years before her. First, Regan Penaluna tells the story of her journey as a philosopher. Even before college, she loved philosophy. But her undergraduate years were difficult being one of the only women in her philosophy program. She dealt with feeling like she didn’t belong. One her professor openly doubted that women were intelligent enough to succeed in philosophy. But while working on her dissertation, Penaluna was shocked to discover several women philosophers from the 18th century. Some of these women were Mary Astell, Damaris Cudworth Masham, Catharine Cockburn, and later, Mary Wollstonecraft. For the rest of the book, Penaluna switches between the stories of their lives and thoughts and her own.
Since the book is called “How to Think Like a Woman”, I kept waiting for a systematic and “objective” description of how women think and how I (as a man) could learn to think like a woman. But Penaluna argues that my thinking is limited by the male concept of “real” philosophy. “Real” philosophy is devoid of emotion, personal experience, and mostly focused on epistemology. Penaluna believes that legitimate philosophy also includes fighting the misogynistic beliefs that still hold sway over both philosophy and our society.
The women philosophers’ lives in this book are inspiring and very different from my normal conceptions of women’s lives during the 18th century. I now want to learn about more women philosophers throughout history. I also want to hear more of Regan Penaluna’s philosophy.
I listened to the audiobook version of this book narrated by Angie Kane. Kane did an excellent job bringing this book to life through her voice.
July 10, 2023
3.5 ⭐️ rounded up
Will be coming back to this again at a later date, but this was quite an informative read. Lengthy history lesson on women philosophers. Minus the part memoir though, I’m not sure that added anything of value….
Will be coming back to this again at a later date, but this was quite an informative read. Lengthy history lesson on women philosophers. Minus the part memoir though, I’m not sure that added anything of value….
February 4, 2023
"...when I stared into the carnival mirror of the philosophers' words, I took them not as a sign of who I was but rather as a warning: because I was a woman, I would always struggle in this field."
"Whether it's expressed in a thought to yourself or in an essay, to think like a woman, to produce and create like a woman, often involves anger. It's a feature of a woman's psyche as she comes into her own in a world that (still) does not want her to."
This book is a wonderful depiction of the biases and hypocrisies of early day philosophers regarding their opinions about both the women in their life and women in general.
Focusing on four, but mentioning many more women involved in philosophy through time, Penaluna writes of her own journey through her philosophical career, and how the women forgotten to time (either purposefully or naturally) had a huge impact on her own story. These women's writings and experiences had Penaluna questioning her own baises and blind spots when it came to philosophy and life as a whole.
As a reader who isn't a philosopher myself, I feel like I, too, am making this rediscovery of female philosophers along with the author.
It's frustrating and comforting to know women have been exasperated for centuries by men thinking they know everything about women. This mentality pops up in the foundations of most topics, especially scholarly ones. Probably every woman in every college major has had that moment of "what the hell did he just say?" It's both disheartening and somehow calming to realize this has been happening for as long as there has been written (or unwritten) history.
The idea of women being seen through history only in how they relate to a man, and usually in how they are found lacking in relation to men, is horrifying and has had a hand in shaping the world we live in today.
In a similar vein, if you read and liked the book Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez, you'll find similar vibes in this book.
"Whether it's expressed in a thought to yourself or in an essay, to think like a woman, to produce and create like a woman, often involves anger. It's a feature of a woman's psyche as she comes into her own in a world that (still) does not want her to."
This book is a wonderful depiction of the biases and hypocrisies of early day philosophers regarding their opinions about both the women in their life and women in general.
Focusing on four, but mentioning many more women involved in philosophy through time, Penaluna writes of her own journey through her philosophical career, and how the women forgotten to time (either purposefully or naturally) had a huge impact on her own story. These women's writings and experiences had Penaluna questioning her own baises and blind spots when it came to philosophy and life as a whole.
As a reader who isn't a philosopher myself, I feel like I, too, am making this rediscovery of female philosophers along with the author.
It's frustrating and comforting to know women have been exasperated for centuries by men thinking they know everything about women. This mentality pops up in the foundations of most topics, especially scholarly ones. Probably every woman in every college major has had that moment of "what the hell did he just say?" It's both disheartening and somehow calming to realize this has been happening for as long as there has been written (or unwritten) history.
The idea of women being seen through history only in how they relate to a man, and usually in how they are found lacking in relation to men, is horrifying and has had a hand in shaping the world we live in today.
In a similar vein, if you read and liked the book Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez, you'll find similar vibes in this book.
April 27, 2023
If only this book had just focused on the lives and ideas of the author’s four female subjects (Astell, Masham, Wollstonecraft, and Cockburn), rather than on her own personal romantic foibles and obvious hang-ups. As someone who left graduate school because I realized as much as I loved my discipline, I didn’t love academia, I feel like I can speak with a bit of authority when I say that sometimes it’s just not the right fit, and it isn’t necessarily the academy’s job to cater to your feelings of insecurity. So, yeah, this book bugged me. Also, can we talk about the complete self-own near the beginning, where she mentions that some time into her philosophy program she “realized that [she] didn’t didn’t know of any woman philosophers who had lived prior to the eighteenth century.” Seriously, both Mary Astell and Mary Wollstonecraft are discussed in the 9th grade history textbook I teach from. If you didn’t know about them — as a philosophy student, no less — that’s on you.
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