Feminist Interpretations of Thomas Hobbes

313 Pages·2012·2.098 MB·English

by  Nancy J. Hirschmann, Joanne H. Wright

hirschmann
R E - R E A D I N G T H E C A N O N
and
wright
PHILOSOPHY / POLITICAL SCIENCE / WOMEN’S STUDIES
F E M I N I ST
Feminist Interpretations of Thomas Hobbesfeatures the work of feminist scholars who are central- I N T E R P R E TAT I O N S
F
ly engaged with Hobbes’s ideas and texts and who view Hobbes as an important touchstone in E
M
modern political thought. Bringing together scholars from the disciplines of philosophy, history,
I
N
political theory, and English literature who embrace diverse theoretical and philosophical
I O F
S
approaches and a range of feminist perspectives, this interdisciplinary collection aims to appeal to
T
an audience of Hobbes scholars and nonspecialists alike.
I
N
T t h o m a s h o b b e s
As a theorist whose trademark is a compelling argument for absolute sovereignty, Hobbes may seem ini- E
R
tially to have little to offer twenty-first-century feminist thought. Yet, as the contributors to this collection P
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demonstrate, Hobbesian political thought provides fertile ground for feminist inquiry. Indeed, in engaging
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T
Hobbes, feminist theory engages with what is perhaps the clearest and most influential articulation of
A
EDITED BY
the foundational concepts and ideas associated with modernity: freedom, equality, human nature, author- T
I
O
ity, consent, coercion, political obligation, and citizenship.
N Nancy J. Hirschmann
S
Aside from the editors, the contributors are Joanne Boucher, Karen Detlefsen, Karen Green, Wendy O and
F
Gunther-Canada, Jane S. Jaquette, S. A. Lloyd, Su Fang Ng, Carole Pateman, Gordon Schochet,
Joanne H. Wright
t
Quentin Skinner, and Susanne Sreedhar.
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o
m
Nancy J. Hirschmann is Professor of Political Science at The University of Pennsylvania. She is also
a
co-editor with Kirstie McClure of Feminist Interpretations of John Locke(Penn State, 2007). s

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Joanne H. Wright is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of New Brunswick.
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e
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RE-READING THE CANON
isbn 978-0-271-05636-4
THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS
UNIVERSITY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA
WWW.PSUPRESS.ORG
P E N N
STATE
PRESS
FEMINIST
INTERPRETATIONS
Of
thomas hobbes
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PAGEi
NANCYTUANA,GENERALEDITOR
This series consists of edited collections of essays, some original and some previously published,
offering feminist re-interpretations of the writings of major figures in the Western philosophical
tradition.Devotedtotheworkofasinglephilosopher,eachvolumecontainsessayscoveringthefull
rangeofthephilosopher’sthoughtandrepresentingthediversityofapproachesnowbeingusedby
feministcritics.
Alreadypublished:
NancyTuana,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofPlato(1994)
MargaretSimons,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofSimonedeBeauvoir(1995)
BonnieHonig,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofHannahArendt(1995)
PatriciaJagentowiczMills,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofG.W.F.Hegel(1996)
MariaJ.Falco,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofMaryWollstonecraft(1996)
SusanHekman,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofMichelFoucault(1996)
NancyHolland,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofJacquesDerrida(1997)
RobinMaySchott,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofImmanuelKant(1997)
Ce´lineLe´onandSylviaWalsh,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofSorenKierkegaard(1997)
CynthiaFreeland,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofAristotle(1998)
KellyOliverandMarilynPearsall,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofFriedrichNietzsche(1998)
MimiReiselGladsteinandChrisMatthewSciabarra,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofAynRand(1999)
SusanBordo,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofRene´Descartes(1999)
JulienS.Murphy,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofJean-PaulSartre(1999)
AnneJaapJacobson,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofDavidHume(2000)
SarahLuciaHoaglandandMarilynFrye,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofMaryDaly(2000)
TinaChanter,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofEmmanuelLevinas(2001)
NancyJ.HollandandPatriciaHuntington,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofMartinHeidegger(2001)
CharleneHaddockSeigfried,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofJohnDewey(2001)
NaomiSchemanandPegO’Connor,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofLudwigWittgenstein(2002)
LyndaLange,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofJean-JacquesRousseau(2002)
LorraineCode,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofHans-GeorgGadamer(2002)
LynnHankinsonNelsonandJackNelson,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofW.V.Quine(2003)
MariaJ.Falco,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofNiccolo`Machiavelli(2004)
Rene´eJ.Heberle,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofTheodorAdorno(2006)
DorotheaOlkowskiandGailWeiss,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofMauriceMerleau-Ponty(2006)
NancyJ.HirschmannandKirstieM.McClure,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofJohnLocke(2007)
PennyA.WeissandLorettaKensinger,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofEmmaGoldman(2007)
JudithCheliusStark,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofAugustine(2007)
JillLockeandEileenHuntBotting,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofAlexisdeTocqueville(2008)
MoiraGatens,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofBenedictSpinoza(2009)
MarianneJanack,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofRichardRorty(2010)
MauriceHamington,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofJaneAddams(2010)
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PAGEii
FEMINIST
INTERPRETATIONS
Of
thomas hobbes
EDITED BY
Nancy J. Hirschmann
and
Joanne H. Wright
the pennsylvania state university press
university park, pennsylvania
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PAGEiii
Chapter5waspreviouslypublishedasGordonJ.Schochet,‘‘ThomasHobbesonthe
FamilyandtheStateofNature,’’PoliticalScienceQuarterly82(September1967):427–45.
ReprintedbypermissionfromtheAcademyofPoliticalScience.
Anearlierversionofchapter9waspreviouslypublishedasWendyGunther-Canada,
‘‘CatharineMacaulayontheParadoxofPaternalAuthorityinHobbesianPolitics,’’
Hypatia21(May2006):150–73.(cid:2)WendyGunther-Canada.Materialusedwithpermissionfrom
JohnWileyandSons.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
FeministinterpretationsofThomasHobbes/editedbyNancyJ.HirschmannandJoanneH.Wright.
p. cm.—(Re-readingthecanon)
Summary:‘‘Acollectionofessaysanalyzingtheseventeenth-centuryBritishpoliticaltheorist
ThomasHobbesfromafeministperspective’’—Providedbypublisher.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-271-05635-7(cloth:alk.paper)
ISBN978-0-271-05636-4(pbk.:alk.paper)
1. Hobbes,Thomas,1588–1679.
2. Feministtheory.
I.Hirschmann,NancyJ.
II.Wright,JoanneH.(JoanneHarriet),1966–
B1247.F46 2012
192—dc23
2012028428
Copyright(cid:2)2012ThePennsylvaniaStateUniversity
Allrightsreserved
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
PublishedbyThePennsylvaniaStateUniversityPress,
UniversityPark,PA16802-1003
ThePennsylvaniaStateUniversityPressisamemberoftheAssociationof
AmericanUniversityPresses.
ItisthepolicyofThePennsylvaniaStateUniversityPresstouseacid-freepaper.
PublicationsonuncoatedstocksatisfytheminimumrequirementsofAmericanNational
StandardforInformationSciences—PermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibraryMaterial,
ANSIZ39.48-1992.
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PAGEiv
To Ross Rudolph, who first cultivated my interest
in Hobbes and his world.—J.W.
To Dick Flathman, who taught me about Hobbes
as much by example as by exegesis.—N.H.
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PAGEv
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PAGEvi
Contents
Preface ix
NancyTuana
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction:TheMany Facesof‘‘Mr.Hobs’’ 1
JoanneH.Wright andNancyJ.Hirschmann
1 Hobbes,History,Politics,andGender:AConversationwith
CarolePatemanandQuentinSkinner 18
Conductedby NancyJ.HirschmannandJoanneH.Wright
PartOne:ClassicQuestions,NewApproaches
2 PowerandSexualSubordinationinHobbes’sPoliticalTheory 47
S.A.Lloyd
3 DefendingLiberalFeminism:Insights fromHobbes 63
JaneS.Jaquette
4 HobbesandtheBestialBodyofSovereignty 83
SuFangNg
PartTwo:TheGenderedPoliticsofGratitude,Contract,andtheFamily
5 ThomasHobbesontheFamilyandtheStateofNature(1967) 105
GordonJ.Schochet
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PAGEvii
viii Contents
6 GordonSchochetonHobbes,Gratitude,andWomen 125
NancyJ.Hirschmann
PartThree:Hobbes andHis(torical)Women
7 MargaretCavendishandThomasHobbesonFreedom,
Education,andWomen 149
KarenDetlefsen
8 WhenIsaContract TheoristNotaContract Theorist?
Mary AstellandCatharineMacaulay asCriticsof
ThomasHobbes 169
KarenGreen
9 CatharineMacaulay’s‘‘LooseRemarks’’onHobbesian
Politics 190
WendyGunther-Canada
PartFour:Hobbes intheTwenty-FirstCentury, or
What HasHobbesDone forYouLately?
10 ThomasHobbesandtheProblemofFetalPersonhood 219
JoanneBoucher
11 ChoiceTalk,BreastImplants,andFeministConsent
Theory:Hobbes’sLegacyinChoiceFeminism 240
JoanneH.Wright
12 TowardaHobbesianTheoryof Sexuality 260
SusanneSreedhar
NotesonContributors 281
Index 285
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PAGEviii
Preface
Nancy Tuana
Take into your hands any history of philosophy text. You will find com-
piled therein the ‘‘classics’’ of modern philosophy. Since these texts are
oftendesignedforuseinundergraduateclasses,theeditorislikelytooffer
an introduction in which the reader is informed that these selections
representtheperennialquestionsofphilosophy.Thestudentistoassume
that she or he is about to explore the timeless wisdom of the greatest
mindsofWesternphilosophy.Noonecallsattentiontothefactthatthe
philosophersareallmen.
Thoughwomenareomittedfromthecanonsofphilosophy,thesetexts
inscribethenatureofwoman.Sometimesthephilosopherspeaksdirectly
about woman, delineating her proper role, her abilities and inabilities,
her desires. Other times the message is indirect—a passing remark hint-
ingatwomen’semotionality,irrationality,unreliability.
This process of definition occurs in far more subtle ways when the
central concepts of philosophy—reason and justice, those characteristics
that are taken to define us as human—are associated with traits histori-
cally identified with masculinity. If the ‘‘man’’ of reason must learn to
control or overcome traits identified as feminine—the body, the emo-
tions, the passions—then the realm of rationality will be one reserved
primarily for men,1 with grudging entrance to those few women who are
capable oftranscendingtheirfemininity.
Feminist philosophers have begun to look critically at the canonized
textsofphilosophyandhaveconcludedthatthediscoursesofphilosophy
are not gender-neutral. Philosophical narratives do not offer a universal
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