“Women and Lockean Theory: John Locke, Rachel Speght, and Egalitarian Personhood

Authors

Katherine Gillespie, Chapman UniversityFollow
Bas van der Vossen, Chapman UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-10-2024

Abstract

Liberal political thought affirms the moral equality of all persons. The Lockean tradition within liberalism captures this equality by endowing people with equal natural rights. However, a powerful line of criticism holds that the theory fails to live up to its egalitarian billing by treating men and women differently. This article offers a rational reconstruction of the Lockean position on gender equality, and the rights of women in particular. We propose a novel interpretative method which puts Locke into conversation with a contemporary female author, Rachel Speght. In Speght, we find an interesting argument supporting an egalitarian Lockean view, grounded in familiar Lockean assumptions, using familiar Lockean arguments. Voices like Speght have long been unjustly neglected in the liberal tradition. By constructing this imagined conversation, we offer a stronger foundation for Lockean liberalism, and begin to incorporate excluded voices in the formulation of that tradition.

Comments

This article was originally published in Locke Studies, volume 24, in 2024. https://doi.org/10.5206/ls.2024.16916

Recommended Citation

Gillespie, Katharine, and Bas van der Vossen. 2024. “Women and Lockean Theory: John Locke, Rachel Speght, and Egalitarian Personhood”. Locke Studies 24 (June):1-26. https://doi.org/10.5206/ls.2024.16916

Peer Reviewed

1

Copyright

The authors

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