Kantian Relationality: A Reinterpretation of the Kantian Self through Feminist and Intersectional Discourses

This thesis examines the relationship of ‘remote discursive precursorship’ between feminist writing on selfhood and concepts relating to selfhood from the philosophy of Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). Apart from providing a rereading of the Kantian subject from a feminist perspective, its aim is to present and apply workable frames of thought for philosophical analysis that can be used in the (post-)Kantian canon and beyond. Drawing upon findings from both Kritik der reinen Vernunft (1781/1787), which contains the theoretical fundaments of Kantian selfhood, and thematically selected works of Kant featuring gender norms, I explore the implications of the Kantian self on the discursive landscape of (intersectionally informed) feminism. Due to the epistemological ramifications of Kant’s notion of reality in general, and the Kantian self in particular, this endeavour is largely rooted in questions of knowledge and understanding. Both self-knowledge and knowledge of the outside world are affected by the unknowable Things in Themselves in the Kantian paradigm, which this thesis places in the context of a relational analysis of Kantian selfhood. I aim to illuminate the philosophical base layer of relational selfhood in Kant and feminism, and explore the possibility for intellectual space in Kant’s writings for epistemic justice and intersectional awareness. It is both a genealogical effort to trace present-day ideas of selfhood and knowledge back to Kant and his historical context, and a search for the present-day potential of Kant’s writings. Overall, this thesis uncovers a complicated relationship between Kantian philosophy and feminist and intersectional discourses. It challenges either outright adoption or outright dismissal of Kantian ideas, instead focusing on notions of remote discursive precursorship. It draws attention to the feminist and intersectional implications of concepts often read as either separate from Kant’s discriminatory writings, or as rendered completely unusable by them.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Cambridge

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Hondebrink, Lotte

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Woodford, Charlotte

• Kant
• Feminism
• Philosophy
• Intersectionality
• Selfhood

Licence

• https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/ec02f9bf-6b86-4089-8b07-ae2881b4ec02/download
• http://purl.org/NET/rdflicense/allrightsreserved

DOI dc:identifier.doi

https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.120301

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/387560