- Home
- ACADEMIC
- Philosophy
- Philosophy of Science
- The Bloomsbury Handbook of Émilie Du Châtelet
The Bloomsbury Handbook of Émilie Du Châtelet
The Bloomsbury Handbook of Émilie Du Châtelet
You must sign in to add this item to your wishlist. Please sign in or create an account
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
1. Introduction, Fatema Amijee (University of British Columbia, Canada)
2. The Primacy of Reason: Contextualizing Du Châtelet's Examens de la Bible, Julia Borcherding (University of Cambridge, UK)
3. Blazing: Du Châtelet as Central to the First Paradigm in Newtonian Mechanics, Holly Andersen (Simon Fraser University, Canada)
4. Émilie Du Châtelet's Principle of Contradiction, Clara Carus (Paderborn University, Germany)
5. Du Châtelet's First Cosmological Argument, Stephen Harrop (Yale University, USA)
6. Emilie Du Châtelet and Isaac Newton, Sarah Hutton (University of York, UK)
7. Émilie Du Châtelet's “On Liberty” and the Influence of Locke, Marcy P. Lascano (University of Kansas, USA)
8. Du Châtelet's Epistemology of Space, Qiu Lin (Duke University, USA)
9. Émilie Du Châtelet Against Spatial Metaphysics, Jeffrey McDonough (Harvard University, USA)
10. Du Châtelet's Philosophy of Mathematics, Aaron Wells (Paderborn University, Germany)
11. Experimenting with Metaphysics: Du Chatelet's Dissertation on Fire, Michael Veldman (Hamilton College, USA)
Annotated Bibliography
Index
Product details
| Published | 22 Jan 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (Epub & Mobi) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Pages | 264 |
| ISBN | 9781350343078 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
-
In this volume, scholars and experts summarise the key topics of Du Châtelet's research, providing an overview of her work which has now been disseminated around the world. This handbook comprehensively presents the essential concepts and topics from the various areas of Du Châtelet's philosophy, metaphysics, epistemology, natural sciences, mathematics and religion.
Ruth Edith Hagengruber, Director Centre for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientist, Univ. Paderborn
-
Though long neglected, Du Châtelet is starting to be considered a central figure in eighteenth-century philosophy. This impressively comprehensive volume includes contributions by leading experts who jointly demonstrate the richness and philosophical importance of Du Châtelet's thought. It is an invaluable resource for students and scholars of early modern philosophy.
Julia Jorati, Professor of Philosophy, University of Massachusetts Amherst
-
This volume provides an accessible introduction to Du Châtelet's wide-ranging philosophical interests, while at the same time making important new contributions to our understanding of her work. For anyone interested in 17th and 18th century European philosophy, it will be an engaging and enjoyable read, offering something for students and specialists alike.
Katherine Brading Professor of Philosophy Duke University, USA
-
In recent years, there has been an explosion of interest in the philosophy of Émilie Du Châtelet, the Enlightenment's most famous woman. This volume represents the state of the art. It covers a wide range of topics from Biblical criticism and Newtonian science to issues in epistemology and the nature of liberty. Highly recommended
Andrew Janiak, Professor of Philosophy, Duke University.
-
This is an excellent exploration of Émilie du Châtelet's original and profound theories. This volume sheds light on major philosophical questions such as the principles of reason and contradiction, space, freedom, etc and establishes the central place that Emilie du Châtelet now occupies in the history of philosophy.
Anne-Lise Rey, Full Professor of Philosophy of Science, Paris Nanterre University, France
ONLINE RESOURCES
Bloomsbury Collections
This book is available on Bloomsbury Collections where your library has access.
























