ABSTRACT

Contemporary philosophers of religion tend to hold gender assumptions which have been determined by the social constructions of western patriarchy. One critical dimension of the obstacle which needs to be addressed is the normative function of patriarchy in Anglo-American philosophy of religion. The re-visioning of the gender paradigm for a woman philosopher would have to inspire women and men in philosophy, through the collective characters and stories of a feminist imagination. The conceptual pair of feminism and patriarchy initially set out in this chapter supports a material analysis of women, men and the impact of their philosophical, theological and/or literary ideals on social reality. Feminist creativity, in re-visioning gender, continues to produce messengers of hope for a world freed from oppressive material and social relations. Myth has emerged in the histories of humankind to tell stories about the origins of human goodness and evil, human culture and social contracts.