Disrupting the Canon with Ancient Women Philosophers

This episode challenges the conventional history of philosophy, arguing that the Western canon is not a neutral archive of the world’s greatest ideas but a historically constructed power structure shaped by exclusion. The discussion reveals that the familiar, male-dominated, and Euro-centric curriculum is a relatively recent invention, solidified in the 19th century through an ideological project that deliberately erased a millennia-old, diverse global tradition. This recovery is more than a simple corrective exercise of "adding missing figures." It is a conceptual transformation that forces a redefinition of philosophy itself._____________________________________________________________________________________Further Reading:Dahg Herbjornsrud, "First Women of Philosophy" (Aeon Magazine, 2018).Danielle Layne, "Hypatia: The Good Woman?" (APA Blog, 2018) .Peter K.J. Park, "Africa, Asia, and the History of Philosophy: Racism in the Formation of the Philosophical Canon" (SUNY Press, 2013).Episode CreditsProducer and Editor: Dr. Christopher C. KirbyThis work is made possible by the Jeffers W. Chertok Memorial Endowment at Eastern Washington University.**The views expressed in this program are not necessarily those of Eastern Washington University