François Poullain de la Barre (; July 1647 – 4 May 1723) was an author, Catholic priest, and a Cartesian philosopher.

Life

François Poullain de la Barre was born during July 1647 in Paris, France, to a family with judicial nobility. He added "de la Barre" to his name later in life. After graduation in 1663 with a master of arts, he spent three years at the

College of Sorbonne The College of Sorbonne () was a theological college of the University of Paris, founded in 1253 (confirmed in 1257) by Robert de Sorbon (1201–1274), after whom it was named. The Sorbonne was disestablished by decree of 5 April 1792, after th ...

where he studied theology. In 1679, he became an ordained

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

priest. From 1679 to 1688, he led two modest parishes, Versigny and La Flamengrie, in

Picardy Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...

in northern France. In 1688, the Catholic Church was critical of

Cartesianism Cartesianism is the philosophical and scientific system of René Descartes and its subsequent development by other seventeenth century thinkers, most notably François Poullain de la Barre, Nicolas Malebranche and Baruch Spinoza. Descartes i ...

, a philosophy that he had embraced early in his career, causing Poullain de la Barre to leave the priesthood and

. Initially, he returned to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. By 1689, he had moved to

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

where he converted to

Calvinism Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...

, a branch of

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

. The following year, he married Marie Ravier. After a year as a tutor, he took a position teaching at a local Genevan university. After the

Edict of Fontainebleau The Edict of Fontainebleau (18 October 1685, published 22 October 1685) was an edict issued by French King Louis XIV and is also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes (1598) had granted Huguenots the right to prac ...

revoked the

Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes () was an edict signed in April 1598 by Henry IV of France, King Henry IV and granted the minority Calvinism, Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was predominantl ...

, he was exiled in the Republic of Geneva, where he obtained citizenship (bourgeoisie) in 1716. He spent the remainder of his life in Geneva, where he died on 4 May 1723.

Work

During a physiology conference in 1667, a friend of Poullain de la Barre introduced him to

, the philosophy of

René Descartes René Descartes ( , ; ; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and Modern science, science. Mathematics was paramou ...

. Poullain de la Barre later adopted the philosophy and applied Cartesian principles to

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

thought. He wrote many texts of

social philosophy Social philosophy is the study and interpretation of society and social institutions in terms of ethical values rather than empirical relations. Social philosophers emphasize understanding the social contexts for political, legal, moral and cultur ...

that denounced injustice against

women A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...

and their social inequality. He opposed the

discrimination Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...

women experienced and championed

social equality Social equality is a state of affairs in which all individuals within society have equal rights, liberties, and status, possibly including civil rights, freedom of expression, autonomy, and equal access to certain public goods and social servi ...

between women and men. Six years after his introduction to Cartesianism, Poullain de la Barre published a three part series on the condition of women. In 1673, he published ''On the Equality of the Two Sexes:'' ''A Physical and Moral Discourse, Which Shows That it is Important to Rid Oneself of Prejudice'', which argues that the difference between men and women goes beyond the body, but is in the "constitution of the body". He rejected the idea that the minds of men and women differ, historically proclaiming "the mind has no sex". In claiming sexual difference lies in part through the "constitution of the body", Poullain de la Barre argued the unequal treatment that women experience in religious and educational instruction, and the effects of the environment, create a perceived apparent innate difference between the sexes. In his assessment, this does not have a natural basis, it is not essential, nor is it innate, but proceeds from cultural prejudice, and can be understood as

social constructionism Social constructionism is a term used in sociology, social ontology, and communication theory. The term can serve somewhat different functions in each field; however, the foundation of this Conceptual framework, theoretical framework suggests ...

. Poullain de la Barre advocated for equal education of women, emphasizing that women should receive a true and quality education. He also asserted that all careers, including scientific ones, should be open to them.
De l’Égalité des deux sexes, discours physique et moral où l’on voit l’importance de se défaire des préjugez
', 2nd edition, Paris, 1679 (annotated transcript in modern French spelling) In 1674, he published ''On the Education of Ladies:'' ''To Guide the Mind in Sciences and Morals'', continuing his reflection on the education of women, but using Socratic dialogue in his thesis. He addresses the historical constrains of the time. In 1675, François Poullain de la Barre published the third in his series, ''On the Excellence of Men:'' ''Against the Equality of the Sexes''". The title was sarcastic, instead the work is a rebuttal of those opposed to gender equality.

Responses and critiques

Opinions about Poullain de la Barre's place in the history of feminism vary considerably, but his theories have often been used by others, such as

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...

Pierre Bayle Pierre Bayle (; 18 November 1647 – 28 December 1706) was a French philosopher, author, and lexicographer. He is best known for his '' Historical and Critical Dictionary'', whose publication began in 1697. Many of the more controversial ideas ...

has advanced the theory that Poullain may have refuted his own thesis because he felt threatened, but the arguments antifeminists advanced are doubtful of this refutation. Simone de Beauvoir includes a quotation from Poullain de la Barre in an epigraph to '' The Second Sex'' in 1949: "All that has been written about women by men should be suspect, for the men are at once judge and party."

Works

*
De l’Éducation des dames pour la conduite de l’esprit dans les sciences et dans les mœurs
', Paris, J. Du Puis, 1674 *
De l’Excellence des hommes contre l’égalité des sexes
', Paris, J. Du Puis, 1675 *
De l’Égalité des deux sexes, discours physique et moral où l’on voit l’importance de se défaire des préjugez
', Paris, J. Du Puis, 1676 *
De l’Égalité des deux sexes, discours physique et moral où l’on voit l’importance de se défaire des préjugez
', 2nd edition, Paris, 1679 (annotated transcript in modern French spelling) *''La Doctrine des protestans sur la liberté de lire l’Ecriture sainte, le service divin en langue entenduë, l’invocation des saints, le sacrement de l’Eucharistie'', Genève, 1720.

References

External links

''Siep STUURMAN: François Poulain de la Barre and the Invention of Modern Equality''. Cambridge (Mass.), Harvard University Press, 2004, X-361 pages
book reviewby Marie-Frédérique Pellegrin and Nicole Pellegrin *
XVIIIème siècle: La femme entre nature et société
' on Thucydide {{DEFAULTSORT:Poullain De La Barre, Francois 1647 births 1723 deaths 17th-century French philosophers Converts to Calvinism from Roman Catholicism Scholars of feminist philosophy French feminists 18th-century French philosophers Philosophers from the Republic of Geneva Writers from the Republic of Geneva French Protestants Male feminists Calvinist and Reformed philosophers Writers from Paris French male non-fiction writers 17th-century male writers Cartesianism