Michele Le Doeuff: Operative Philosophy and Imaginary Practice

This collection of essays on the philosophy of Michèle Le Doeuff deals with four themes-the connections between philosophy and the history of philosophy, feminism, and political change; the creation of an "imaginary" domain to sustain the ideas and arguments of philosophy; the problem of making oneself "at home" in philosophy; and concepts of the "self" and the "subject."

Le Doeuff proposes that we create philosophy when we "shift thinking from one state to another." To move between the genres of feminist and already established philosophical writing is thus a preeminently philosophical activity. These essays develop this suggestion in terms of her idea of an "operative" use of philosophy. Feminism is related to philosophy which, in turn, is related to its own history and contemporary problems about "European" and "analytical" practice.

How do we make ourselves "at home" in philosophy? To what extent can philosophy be "at home" in the wider world? This collection develops Le Doeuff's ideas about how the concept of a "subject" gains new vitality by the circulation of concepts among philosophy, history, and literature.