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An Alternative Enlightenment: The Moral Philosophy of Jeanne Marie Le Prince de Beaumont (1711-1780)

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Date Issued:
2008
Summary:
The ceuvre of Jeanne Marie Le Prince de Beaumont, the public intellectual whose pedagogical journals and epistolary novels were routinely shelved in private eighteenthcentury libraries alongside the works of the period's most famous philosophes, today remains virtually unknown. Beyond the scant available studies limited to her pedagogy and fairy tales, it is time to explore the theoretical aspects of those and other of her texts as significant alternatives to traditional Enlightenment discourse as epitomized in the contemporary philosophes. Through her personal roles of governess to British and French aristocracy, editor of a French-language periodical featuring such contributors as Voltaire and Graffigny, and author of internationally recognized pedagogical manuals, the most famous of which included her timeless version of "Beauty and the Beast," Beaumont challenged a nascent female audience to actively participate in the intellectual discourse of their society, and used her real-world experience to develop a pedagogical methodology founded on the ideals of thought, debate, and action ("penser, parler, agir"). A Cartesian insistence on the separation of mind and body informed much of her argument in favor of women's intellectual capacity, and carried through to her discussion of such socio-political topics as women's equality, agrarian reform, religious tolerance, and social stratification. Not just a gatekeeper of information or a synthesizer of male-produced theories on education and other issues of social concern, she was rather an innovative thinker advancing active, personal commitment to public issues at all levels regardless of gender or social status. Also, promoting theories rooted in the mentoring of women by women as a means of personal realization, Beaumont further advanced French Enlightenment universalism through debate, reason, and action.
Title: An Alternative Enlightenment: The Moral Philosophy of Jeanne Marie Le Prince de Beaumont (1711-1780).
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Name(s): Schaller, Margaret P.
Hokenson, Jan W., Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2008
Date Issued: 2008
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 282 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: The ceuvre of Jeanne Marie Le Prince de Beaumont, the public intellectual whose pedagogical journals and epistolary novels were routinely shelved in private eighteenthcentury libraries alongside the works of the period's most famous philosophes, today remains virtually unknown. Beyond the scant available studies limited to her pedagogy and fairy tales, it is time to explore the theoretical aspects of those and other of her texts as significant alternatives to traditional Enlightenment discourse as epitomized in the contemporary philosophes. Through her personal roles of governess to British and French aristocracy, editor of a French-language periodical featuring such contributors as Voltaire and Graffigny, and author of internationally recognized pedagogical manuals, the most famous of which included her timeless version of "Beauty and the Beast," Beaumont challenged a nascent female audience to actively participate in the intellectual discourse of their society, and used her real-world experience to develop a pedagogical methodology founded on the ideals of thought, debate, and action ("penser, parler, agir"). A Cartesian insistence on the separation of mind and body informed much of her argument in favor of women's intellectual capacity, and carried through to her discussion of such socio-political topics as women's equality, agrarian reform, religious tolerance, and social stratification. Not just a gatekeeper of information or a synthesizer of male-produced theories on education and other issues of social concern, she was rather an innovative thinker advancing active, personal commitment to public issues at all levels regardless of gender or social status. Also, promoting theories rooted in the mentoring of women by women as a means of personal realization, Beaumont further advanced French Enlightenment universalism through debate, reason, and action.
Identifier: FA00000992 (IID)
Degree granted: Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2008.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Subject(s): Enlightenment--France
Leprince de Beaumont,--Madame--(Jeanne Marie),--1711-1780--Criticism and interpretation
Leprince de Beaumont,--Madame--(Jeanne Marie),--1711-1780--Influence
Philosophy, Modern--18th century
France--Intellectual life--18th century
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00000992
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.