Regan Penaluna

Apr 17, 2024 | lrb.co.uk | Regan Penaluna |Sophie Smith

Women in philosophy​ have always needed a special stroke of luck. Like men, they have usually had to be well-born, well-off, talented and – in the European tradition at least – white. But most women philosophers before the late 20th century needed something more: access to a man who held the uncommon view that women – or at least certain women – could be serious thinkers too. The odds were long. For centuries, philosophers hammered prejudice into reason.

Jan 26, 2024 | themillions.com | Francesca Peacock |Regan Penaluna

When I caught news of the publication of Francesca Peacock’s biography of Margaret Cavendish, my ears pricked up—I’d just learned about the 17th-century writer and philosopher several months earlier in Regan Penaluna’s excellent book on women philosophers throughout history and was dying to know more about Cavendish in particular. I asked if Peacock and Penaluna might correspond with each another to discuss philosophy, feminism, and Cavendish. They were generous enough to oblige.

Jan 26, 2024 | everand.com | Francesca Peacock |Regan Penaluna

When I caught news of the publication of Francesca Peacock’s biography of Margaret Cavendish, my ears pricked up—I’d just learned about the 17th-century writer and philosopher several months earlier in Regan Penaluna’s excellent book on women philosophers throughout history and was dying to know more about Cavendish in particular. I asked if Peacock and Penaluna might correspond with each another to discuss philosophy, feminism, and Cavendish. They were generous enough to oblige.

Jan 10, 2024 | chireviewofbooks.com | Regan Penaluna

During the launch of her first book, Down Girl, a popular work about sexism and misogyny, Kate Manne was doing what she could to avoid appearing in public. She turned down a book tour and in-person interviews, and supplied media outlets with her own photographs. Manne was self-conscious of her body’s size, and didn’t want to expose herself to public scrutiny.

Jul 25, 2023 | theguardian.com | Regan Penaluna

As a graduate student in philosophy years ago, I had a life-changing insight: there were women philosophers. Lots of them. So many in fact that it was laughably tragic how easy it had been for me to study the history of philosophy completely oblivious to their existence. I also discovered, unsurprisingly, that like their male counterparts, female philosophers were interested in all sorts of topics and represented a rich variety of intellectual sensibilities and temperaments.