Patriarchal Context Of The Scientific Revolution

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An Analysis of the Important Contributions of Women in the patriarchal Context of the Scientific Revolution This historical study will define the important contributions of women I the patriarchal culture of the Scientific Revolution. In general terms, the Scientific Revolution was an era of new scientific breakthroughs, which was dominated by primarily male scientists and scholars of the 17th and 18th centuries. In this male-dominant culture, women were perceived as being intellectually inferior, and it was customary to not allow a woman to enter into university or be allowed in scientific organizations. However, certain women, such as Margaret Cavendish, were also part of the burgeoning new scientific theories that denounced Aristotelian mechanical philosophy through…show more content…
The male-dominant culture of the 17th and 18th centuries illustrates how men falsely identified women as being intellectually inferior and incapable of scientific thought. However, Margaret Cavendish refutes these arguments due to her ability to refute scientific theories (such as Aristotle’s mechanical philosophy) and to communicate with Thomas Hobbes and Rene Descartes as part of her typical discussions with major thinkers of the era. Cavendish is a unique example of the role of women in the Scientific Revolution, but it does provide a basis for rejecting the overall patriarchal assumptions made against women by 17th and 18th century male scientists. Certainly, the Scientific Revolution was a patriarchal scientific movement, which wrongfully excluded women in the development of “enlightened” thought in the historical period. Margaret Cavendish is one example of the important contributions that women brought to the Scientific Revolution, which should be included in the innovations of enlightenment thought in the 17th and 18th

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