Works by Poulain de la Barre
Original Works
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Les rapports de la langue Latine avec la Françoise pour traduire élégamment et sans peine, Paris: C. Thibout, 1672.
De l'égalité des deux sexes: Discours physique et moral où l'on voit l'importance de se défaire des préjugés, Paris: Jean du Puis, 1673.
De l'éducation des dames pour la conduite de l'esprit, dans les sciences et dans les moeurs: Entretiens, Paris: Jean du Puis, 1674; the date on the title page is given incorrectly as 1671.
De l'excellence des hommes, contre l'égalité des sexes, Paris: Jean du Puis, 1675.
Essai des remarques particulieres sur la langue françoise, pour la ville de Geneve, Geneva, 1691.
La Doctrine des protestans sur la liberté de lire l'Ecriture Sainte, le service divin en langue entendue, l'invocation des saints, le sacrament de l'eucharistie. Justifiée par le Missel Romain & par les Réfléxions sur chaque point. Avec un commentaire philosophique sur ces paroles de Jesus-Christ, Ceci est mon Corps; Ceci est mon Sang, Matth. Chap. XXVI, v. 26, Geneva: Fabri & Barrillot, 1720.
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English Translations
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The Woman as Good as the Man: Or, The Equality of Both Sexes, trans. A. L., London, N. Brooks, 1677.
The Equality of the Sexes, trans. D. M. Clarke, Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 1990.
Three Cartesian Feminist Treatises, introd. by M. Maistre Welch, trans. V. Bosley, Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2002.
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The Equality of the Sexes: Three Feminist Texts of the Seventeenth Century, trans. Desmond M. Clarke, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Secondary Sources
​La Vopa, Anthony J. “Sexless Minds at Work and at Play: Poullain de La Barre and the Origins of Early Modern Feminism.” Representations 109, no. 1 (2010): 57–94. https://doi.org/10.1525/rep.2010.109.1.57.
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This article serves to contextualize the life and work of Poulain de la Barre within its historical setting. La Vopa claims that Poulain's writings fuse Cartesian philosophy with the discourse of honnetete popular in Parisian salons. The article concludes that his feminism was extremely radical for both its own time and even compared to later feminist thinkers.
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Reuter, Martina, "François Poulain de la Barre." The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2019 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2019/entries/francois-barre/.
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This source provides a general overview of Poulain de la Barre's philosophy. The article includes bibliographic information, a gloss of the Cartesian underpinnings of Poulain's work, and a summary of the central claims and arguments found in the writings of Poulain. There is also discussion of the philosophical successors of Poulain in later periods of feminism.
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Reuter, Martina, "Subjugation, Freedom, and Recognition in Poulain de la Barre and Simone de Beauvoir", British Journal for the History of Philosophy (2022): 1-18, https://doi.org/10.1080/09608788.2022.2074364
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This text is a comparative analysis of the arguments made by Poulain de la Barre and those made by the 20th century feminist Simone de Beauvoir. It explores how each thinker discusses the influence of prejudice and male self-interest in the construction of womanhood and the relationship between freedom and materiality. Reuter argues that, although they differ in certain regards, both Poulain and Beauvoir share an optimistic view about human potential.
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Schmitter, Amy M. "Cartesian Prejudice: Gender, Education and Authority in Poulain de la Barre." Philosophy Compass 13, no 12 (2018): https://doi.org/10.1111/phc3.12553
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This article makes clear the connections between Descartes and Poulain de la Barre. Schmitter argues that the two writers have shared understandings of dualism, epistemic authority, and prejudice. She goes on to claim that Poulain expands on Cartesian themes by holding that commonly held prejudices about gender differences could not rationally be justified. The central claim of the text is that Cartesian philosophy can logically lead to arguments for social progress.
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