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The Bloomsbury Handbook of Émilie Du Châtelet

The Bloomsbury Handbook of Émilie Du Châtelet cover

The Bloomsbury Handbook of Émilie Du Châtelet

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Pre-order. Available 19 Mar 2026
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Description

The first scholarly volume on Émilie Du Châtelet's philosophy highlights her novel contributions to metaphysics, philosophy of science, and ethics.

As an understudied figure in the history of early modern philosophy, this volume re-positions her thinking alongside philosophical predecessors like Leibniz, Newton, Wolff, and Voltaire, as well as considering her own influence in the decades and centuries after her death.

Established and emerging scholars of early modern philosophy cover all aspects of Du Châtelet's philosophical work including her metaphysical views on the Principle of Sufficient Reason, the Principle of Contradiction, and natural theology, as well as her writings on epistemology, space and time, philosophy of mathematics, freedom, imagination and happiness. By positioning Du Châtelet firmly within the history of philosophy and the philosophy of science, Fatema Amijee's edited volume contributes to the renewed scholarly attention on early modern women philosophers. Essential reading for students and scholars of early modern philosophy, history of science, philosophy of science, and feminist philosophy, this go-to text on Du Châtelet marks a new era of scholarly attention for a formerly neglected figure.

Table of Contents

Introduction, Fatema Amijee (University of British Columbia, Canada)
Part I Émilie Du Châtelet's Epistemology

The Principle of Sufficient Reason and the Principle of Contradiction in Du Châtelet, Michael Della Rocca (Yale University, USA)

The Principle of Contradiction and its role in Du Châtelet's Account of Knowledge, Clara Carus (Paderborn University, Germany)

The Limits of Knowledge in Du Châtelet's Philosophy, Anne-Lise Rey (University Paris Nanterre, France)


Part II Émilie Du Châtelet's Philosophy of Science and Metaphysics

Du Châtelet's Natural Theology, Stephen Harrop (Yale University, USA)

The Principle of Sufficient Reason as a Principle of Reasoning in Du Châtelet, Fatema Amijee (University of British Columbia, USA)

Du Châtelet's Philosophy of Mathematics, Aaron Wells (Paderborn University, Germany)

Émilie Du Châtelet on Space, Jeffrey McDonough (Harvard University)

Émilie Du Châtelet on the Role of Hypotheses, Karen Detlefsen (confirmation from author pending)


Part III Émilie Du Châtelet on Happiness, Freedom and the Imagination

Èmilie Du Châtelet on Freedom, Reason, and Happiness, Marcy P. Lascano (University of Kansas, USA)

Du Châtelet on Happiness and the Good Life, Julia Jorati (University of Massachusetts, USA)

The Power of Illusion: Du Châtelet on the Liberating Force of the Imagination, Julia Borcherding (University of Cambridge, UK)


Part IV The Impact of Leibniz, Wolff and Newton on Du Châtelet's Philosophy

A Revisit to the Manuscript of the Institutions de Physique: New Insights into the Wolffian Impact, Phillip Sloan (University of Notre Dame, France)

Newton and Newtonianism in Emilie Du Châtelet's Instituions de physique, Sarah Hutton (University of York, UK)

Beyond Newton and Leibniz: Du Châtelet's Novel Argument in her Institutions de Physique, Andrew Janiak (Duke University, USA)

Émilie Du Châtelet's Influence

Potential contributors:
Qiu Lin (Duke University)
Casper Jacobs (University of Pittsburgh)
George E. Smith (Tufts University)
Monica Solomon (Bilkent University)
Bryce Gessell (Southern Virginia University)

Index

Product details

Bloomsbury Academic Test
Published 19 Mar 2026
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 288
ISBN 9781350343054
Imprint Bloomsbury Academic
Dimensions 244 x 169 mm
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Anthology Editor

Fatema Amijee

Fatema Amijee is Assistant Professor of Philosophy…

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