Background
Le Doeuff, Michele was born in 1948.
Le Doeuff, Michele was born in 1948.
Awarded ‘ ërégée de Philosophie.
Teaches Philosophy at L'Ecole Normale Supérieure de Fontenay: researcher in philosophy at the CNRS.
Le Doeulf's writings are wide-ranging, covering literary criticism, history of philosophy and the philosophy of science. Her major concern is the analysis of the imaginary in philosophy and its relation to feminist theory. She has also carried out empirical research into the historical role of women in philosophy. Le Doeuff argues that philosophy attempts to purify itself of images and concentrate on concepts, thus distinguishing itself from other activities such as poetic or literary pursuits. She maintains that it is in fact dependent upon metaphors in order to say what it cannot otherwise express. In analysing and assessing types of image, how images are integrated in the text and make the text operate, Le Doeuff has sought to uncover forms of confusion in philosophical thinking and exclusions colluded to in the major canons of philosophy. She shows that the discipline is elitist and sexist. The clarity which marks her work has won acclaim from many authors interested in feminist philoso- phy and women’s studies, especially in comparison with the enigmatic Luce Irigary and Julia Kristeva. Further, by arguing that it is not just women who are excluded by the language and canon of philosophy, Le DoeufF has proposed a more wide-ranging and inclusive response, "an ethics of solidarity and the obligation to help whoever is in danger'.