James, Susan (2016) Mary's Wollstonecraft's conception of rights. In: Berges, S. and Coffee, A. (eds.) The Social and Political Philosophy of Mary Wollstonecraft. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 148-165. ISBN 9780198766841.
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Wollstonecraft paper, published version.pdf - Published Version of Record Restricted to Repository staff only Download (109kB) |
Abstract
Mary Wollstonecraft is celebrated for her Vindication of the Rights of Woman. However, while her title suggests that rights must play an important part in improving women’s situation, it is less clear how she envisages them. What does she think rights are and how are they to transform women’s lives? I argue that Wollstonecraft blends two traditions, a republican conception of rights as powers to act, and a distinct conception of natural rights. She offers a radical development of republican rights theory, but, in order to resolve one of the problems it poses, resorts to divinely-ordained rights of nature. Is she alone in combining these two stances? In the final part of the chapter I show that she is not. Her position belongs to a historical trend in which republicanism gives way to a liberal outlook grounded on individual natural rights.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Book Section |
|---|---|
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Historical Studies |
| Depositing User: | Susan James |
| Date Deposited: | 23 Feb 2017 09:20 |
| Last Modified: | 06 Jul 2025 05:12 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/18071 |
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