ABSTRACT
The sections of this chapter are organized around four figures: Anna Maria van Schurman (1607–1678), Jacqueline de Pascal (1625–1661), Madame De Maintenon (1635–1719) and Mary Astell (1668–1731). Joint reflection on these works reveal thematic connections through which early modern European women’s philosophies of education can be understood, including whether education ought to aim at moral and/or intellectual improvement, what these two kinds of improvement consist in and how they relate to each other, and whether education ought to aim at promoting a particular relation to the divine, or, whether the ends of education ought to be construed in more secular terms. Another theme concerns the possibility and value of self-tuition or auto-didacticism versus the benefits of institutional educational settings. Some of these reflections anticipate contemporary perspectives on education that address questions about who is educable, how education should reflect the social realities of its subject and how educating a member of a socially subordinated group can benefit other members of that group.
