Germaine de Staël (1766–1817)

The excerpts from Staël’s work presented here include her discussion of women intellectuals and gender bias, her original assessment of Kant’s critical philosophy, and her understanding of the significance of German idealism on the scientific thinking of the day. The chapter demonstrates the breadth of Staël’s thought: from an analysis of the prejudices that intellectual women encounter to a detailed consideration of contemporary philosophy and science.