How to Think Like a Woman: Four Women Philosophers Who Taught Me How to Live a Life of the Mind

What an absolutely vital piece of writing. It is enraging to realize how much intellectual history has been stolen from us through the deliberate erasure of women. Penaluna writes with a sharp, clear-eyed anger that I found totally infectious. I loved the way she took down the 'great thinkers' like Aristotle for their blatant bigotry. The book isn't just a dry history; it’s a living, breathing struggle to find a place for oneself in a world that wasn't built for you. The blend of memoir and biography worked perfectly for me because it showed that these issues aren't just historical—they are happening right now in lecture halls across the country. Every woman who has ever felt 'less than' in an intellectual space needs to read this immediately.

Picked this up on a whim and couldn't put it down. It is such a refreshing change of pace from traditional philosophy books. Penaluna doesn't just present these women as statues; she shows them as real, messy humans who had to navigate incredible obstacles to be heard. I particularly loved the section on Mary Wollstonecraft. The author doesn't try to smooth out the contradictions in her life, which made her feel so much more relatable. This book made me angry, inspired, and curious all at once. It’s a great read for anyone who wants to understand how the history of thought has been shaped—and distorted—by the exclusion of half the population. Seriously, eat my ass, Aristotle. Five stars for the attitude alone.

Finally got around to reading this and it's a total game-changer. The way we teach philosophy is so broken, and this book highlights exactly why. It’s not just that women were excluded; it’s that the very definition of 'reason' was built to keep them out. Penaluna’s voice is clear, witty, and deeply personal. I loved how she used her own experiences to illustrate the insidious effects of sexism. It’s a great read that manages to be both educational and deeply emotional. I finished it feeling like I finally had a lineage of thinkers I could claim as my own. Highly recommended for anyone interested in intellectual history.

As a former philosophy student, I found this book incredibly validating. Penaluna does a fantastic job of highlighting the "male glance" that dominates academia, making it clear why so many women feel like outsiders in their own field. The recovery of voices like Mary Astell and Damaris Masham is handled with a sense of urgency that I really appreciated. However, the narrative balance felt a bit off at times. While the personal memoir sections about her PhD journey and divorce were relatable, they occasionally overshadowed the philosophical analysis. I wanted a deeper dive into the actual arguments these women made against their male contemporaries. Still, it’s a thought-provoking read that exposes the deep-seated misogyny in the canon. It’s about time we stopped treating Aristotle’s views on women as a minor footnote.

Ever wonder where all the women were while the 'Great Men' were busy defining human nature? This book provides a much-needed answer. Penaluna brings figures like Mary Astell and Damaris Masham into the light, showing how they fought for the right to education long before the formal feminist movement took off. I found the historical sections absolutely fascinating and well-researched. The author’s writing style is engaging and avoids the stuffiness you usually find in academic non-fiction. My only minor complaint is that the structure felt a bit disjointed in the middle, and I noticed a few typos in the French phrases. Despite that, it’s an insightful read that challenged me to rethink everything I learned in my undergrad classes. It’s a great addition to any feminist’s bookshelf.

I'm so glad I chose the audiobook version of this, as the narration was excellent. Penaluna does a fantastic job of weaving the historical with the personal, creating a narrative that feels both scholarly and intimate. The way she describes her struggles in graduate school really resonated with me—the feeling of being 'too much' and 'not enough' all at once. The research into these forgotten women is top-notch, and it’s genuinely shocking to see how their ideas were stolen or ignored. While I would have liked more intersectional analysis earlier in the book, I appreciate that she acknowledges her own limitations and the whiteness of her primary subjects. It’s a readable, necessary, and ultimately very moving book.

The chapter on Mary Wollstonecraft alone is worth the price of admission. I’ve read a few biographies of her, but Penaluna brings a unique perspective by focusing on her philosophical contributions rather than just her scandalous personal life. To be fair, the book does lean heavily into the author's own life story, which might not be for everyone. At times, the memoir felt like it was treading water. But the core message—that we need to diversify the canon to truly understand human thought—is undeniable. The writing is sharp, and the research into Mary Astell and Catherine Cockburn is fantastic. It’s a provocative and insightful work that definitely sparked some long conversations in my book club. A solid 4-star read.

Look, I really wanted to love this, but I ended up with very mixed feelings. On one hand, the biographical sketches of these forgotten female thinkers are vital and well-researched. Learning about Catherine Trotter Cockburn was a highlight for me. On the other hand, the memoir aspect felt somewhat self-indulgent. I found the sections focusing on the author's 'demon of self-doubt' to be a bit repetitive and, frankly, a little exhausting. It felt more like a personal catharsis than a rigorous exploration of philosophy. The writing is accessible, which is a plus, but the connection between the historical figures and the author's personal life felt forced in several chapters. It's an important book for the history of feminism, but perhaps not the definitive philosophical work I was hoping for.

There is a lot to admire here, but I found the execution a bit uneven. The premise of weaving the author's life with the lives of four 17th and 18th-century philosophers is brilliant in theory. In practice, however, some of the connections felt thin. I enjoyed learning about the 'woman question' and the blatant plagiarism by male contemporaries, but the memoir portions often felt like they belonged in a different book. Specifically, the details about the end of the author's marriage didn't always serve the larger philosophical points she was trying to make. I also wished for more discussion on the link between the denigration of women and the natural world. It’s a decent primer on overlooked thinkers, but it leaves some of the most interesting questions unanswered.

The truth is, this felt more like a therapy session than a philosophical inquiry. I picked this up expecting a rigorous look at the ideas of Mary Wollstonecraft and others, but instead, I got pages and pages of the author’s personal grievances. Sexism in academia is real, and it’s a problem worth discussing, but the tone here often veered into self-pity. There was a strange tendency to blame every personal mistake or bad relationship on the patriarchy, which felt like a reach. Also, the writing lacks depth when it actually comes to the philosophy. She mentions several mystics and thinkers but barely scratches the surface of their logic. If you're looking for a memoir of an existential crisis, you might like this, but if you want to actually learn how to think like a woman philosopher, look elsewhere.