Recognizing Women’s Contribution to the History of Republican Theorizing

Abstract In this introduction, the authors give a brief overview of the history of republican theory, both as political and institutional practice and as a set of philosophical principles that link freedom, equality, and virtue with government for the common good. They also outline the history of women’s exclusion in republican discourse, not only as citizens but conceptually in the masculine language and ideas embedded in its key terms, such as virtue, that have been transmitted across generations even where the original contexts have been lost. Thirdly, they show how, by starting with women authors as philosophers who work within but challenge and modify the intellectual paradigms they encounter, one can better appreciate their originality and philosophical contributions to republican theory. Finally, the authors place the legacy of women’s republican theorizing in current debates.