Blackwell Reference Online

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P hilosophical method The French philosopher and writer Heloise was seduced and later betrayed by her private tutor, the scholastic philosopher Peter Abelard . Nevertheless, Heloise retained a strong passion for Abelard and wrote books and letters addressed to him. According to Michèle Le Doeuff , in the Heloise complex feminists tend to give priority to a male exponent of feminism or to a male philosopher whose ideas have been borrowed to justify feminist claims. As a result, we have, for example, Lacanian feminism or Foucaultian feminism. This tendency generally treats the philosophy of the male master as complete in itself and requiring no more than application to issues concerning women. Le Doeuff claims that the tendency contradicts the spirit of feminism and undermines the independence of feminist thinking about issues concerning women. “Since the days of antiquity, women have been admitted into the field of philosophy chiefly when they took on the role of the loving admirer: we can call this the ‘Heloise Complex’.” Le Doeuff, Hipparchia's Choice ... log in or subscribe to read full text