ENN New Voices: Women and the 'Ingenium Philosophicum': Interview with Sabrina Ebbersmeyer

In this episode, Jacinta Shrimpton speaks with Sabrina Ebbersmeyer, Professor of Philosophy at Copenhagen University, about the perceived suitability of women for philosophy in the 17th and 18th centuries, especially in the Nordic and German context. We focus on two key figures, philosophers Anna Maria van Schurman and Elisabeth of Bohemia, and one key concept, ingenium. Professor Ebbersmeyer goes in depth about how philosophers thought about ingenium during this period (today we might use a different phrase such as ‘talent,' or ‘ingeniousness'), and she talks about how Schurman cleverly turned the concept to her own purpose of advocating for women’s education. Elisabeth of Bohemia, on the other hand, was held up as an exemplar of ingenium during her time. Professor Ebbersmeyer wraps up the episode with her thoughts on the importance of including women philosophers in the philosophy curriculum, and how impactful it is for female students to be presented with them.
 
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Works mentioned in the episode
 
Christine de Pisan. The Book of the City of Ladies. London: Picador, 1983.

Ebbersmeyer, Sabrina. “Can Women Philosophers Be Ingenious? On the Debate about the Ingenium Philosophicum and the Case of Elisabeth of Bohemia.” In Shaping Women Philosophers. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004703155_003.

Ebbersmeyer, Sabrina, ed. Shaping Women Philosophers. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, October 20, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004703155.
Heumann, Christoph August. Acta Philosophorum, das ist: Gründliche Nachrichten aus der Historia Philosophica. 1716.

Schurman, Anna Maria van. The Learned Maid; or, Whether a Maid May Be a Scholar? A Logick Exercise. London: Printed by John Redmayne, 1659. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2003&res_id=xri:eebo&rft_val_fmt=&rft_id=xri:eebo:image:154403.

Shapiro, Lisa, ed. The Correspondence between Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia and René Descartes. 1st ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007. https://doi.org/10.7208/9780226204444.