Natalia L. Zorrilla Sirlin

Émilie Du Châtelet (1706-1749) produced a wide array of philosophical and scientific texts that attest to the salience of her intellectual legacy. However, when comparing her stance on God’s existence and religious morality in her edited works, on one hand, and in her manuscript essays (which circulated covertly among her intellectual peers), on the other, scholars find noticeable conceptual tensions that pose a challenge to the reconstruction of her philosophical thought.

This project seeks to take on that challenge by studying Du Châtelet’s engagement with clandestine philosophical literature, specifically focusing on identifying clandestine manuscripts that Du Châtelet critically discusses in her works, in order to assess their impact on her philosophy. The general objectives of the project are thus to promote a comprehensive view of Du Châtelet’s œuvre, to understand her role as an Enlightenment philosopher, and to contribute to the retrieval of the works of women philosophers.