What is it about?
Does philosophy demand a special kind of talent? And if so, do women possess this talent—traditionally called ingenium—to the same degree as men? This question sparked intense debate during the Early Modern period and beyond. In this chapter, I explore different facets of this debate, focusing on arguments from scholars who shaped it in the German context. I argue that discussions about ingenium were often used to question women’s capacity for thought and philosophical inquiry, thereby excluding them from philosophy.
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Why is it important?
This chapter helps explain why culture has long linked intellectual talent with men rather than women, and how this belief contributed to the exclusion of women philosophers—both in historical accounts and in philosophy today.
Perspectives
I wrote this chapter to uncover how cultural and philosophical assumptions about intellectual talent have historically excluded women from philosophy. By analysing Early Modern debates and the case of Elisabeth of Bohemia, I aim to show how these ideas shaped philosophical historiography and why this still matter today.
Sabrina Ebbersmeyer
University of Copenhagen
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This page is a summary of: Can Women Philosophers Be Ingenious? On the Debate about the Ingenium Philosophicum and the Case of Elisabeth of Bohemia, October 2025, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.1163/9789004703155_003.
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