About the Project
Almost every discipline within philosophy has its own established feminist version. Thus we can talk about “feminist epistemology”, “feminist metaphysics”, “feminist philosophy of language”, etc. The exception to this rule is – logic. Its feminist analysis is much less often mentioned as a separate field of research.
The “feminist logic” project was founded by Val Plumwood (1993), who argued that logic, albeit a formal discipline, is subject to feminist analysis, criticism, and reform. She thereby responds to the feminist logical abolitionism proposed by Andrea Nye (1990), who claimed that formal logic is by its very nature opposed to feminist goals. In the last few years there has been a surge of interest in feminist philosophy of logic (see, for example, Cook 2023; Eckert and Donahue 2020; Ferguson 2023; Mangraviti 2023a, 2023b; Restović 2023; Russell 2020, 2024; Saint-Croix and Cook 2024). The research project Feminist Philosophy of Formal Logic wants to join this positive trend.
Is logic as a philosophical discipline exceptional to the point that it cannot be the subject of feminist critique? If so, what are the (essential) properties of logic that prevent such critique? If not, can feminist analysis yield “feminist logic”, or is the discipline itself anti-feminist (for example, due to its inherent abstractness and consequent possible inapplicability to lived experience)? Is Nye right when she advocates for the abolition of formal logic, or is Plumwood closer to the truth when she calls for a reform of our understanding of logic in the light of logical pluralism? Are there any conceptions of logic that are not compatible with feminism (e.g., monism or apriorism)? Can approaches from the broader field of feminist philosophy of science be mapped onto feminist philosophy of logic, whereby feminist logic could be logic guided by feminist values and/or logic derived from feminist standpoints? What are the epistemological ramifications of the feminist perspective on formal logic? Why has formal logic resisted feminist criticism for so long? From a feminist perspective, how indicative is the fact that logic is understood as an image and paradigm of rationality? This research project investigates these and related questions.
Research project Feminist philosophy of formal logic (acronym: FFFL) is conducted at the Institute of Philosophy in Zagreb in the period 2024–2027, reviewed by the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia and financed through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.