The Gendered Character of Knowledge

1. The Gendered Character of Knowledge • Feminine characterizations of knowledge aim at explanation and understanding instead of an adversarial determination of “facts” removed from their contexts Lorraine Code • Feminism questions philosophical assumptions about mind and thinking by showing how emotions and feelings are sources of truth and guides for reasoning Morwenna Griffiths

2. “Feminism, Feelings, and Philosophy” • Emotions (e.g., fear, love, pride) are not simply intellectual judgments that result in action, and feelings (e.g., sexuality, hunger) are not simply bodily sensations • This insight challenges the philosophic inclination to portray emotions and feelings in terms of a dualism of mind and body • Emotions and feelings cannot easily be linked to mind or body exclusively, and neither mind nor body dominates

3. The Feminist Alternative • Feelings become meaningful as human emotions over time and in social (e.g., linguistic) contexts when they are understood and acted upon • This means that feelings affect and are affected by our understanding and our communal interactions—and thus guide our philosophical enquiries