We will deviate a little from the Memesletter format that you know and love. However, we will not dispense with a philosophical question. And so, we pose to you: Who owns philosophy? And perhaps, more to the point, who is allowed to philosophize? 

Roots of Gatekeeping

Philosophy as the Western world knows it is generally considered to start with the Ancient Greeks. Here, the most lauded philosophers tend, historically speaking, to be European men. Attend Philosophy 101 and you will encounter the likes of Plato, Descartes, Nietzsche and Sartre. See any similarities? 

Philosophy appears to be a male-dominated field, and, while many of us know who Kant and Marx are, the common assumption about female philosophers is that they only write about feminism, while philosophers of color only write about race. And while both of these topics are essential in philosophy and in the world, they are not the entirety of philosophy beyond the “usual” demographic.

But what we must ask ourselves is this: who owns philosophy? Are only certain groups of people allowed to curiously question the world and systems around themselves? What is philosophy, after all, other than a desire to increase one’s knowledge and wisdom? 

Meet Your Memesletter Writer

From experience, your Memesletter writer knows a few things about the act of gatekeeping in philosophy. Having received my undergraduate degree in the subject years ago, I held certain assumptions about who philosophy was for. 

Allow me to break the fourth wall and introduce myself. I am the person who writes the Memesletter for The Philosopher’s Shirt. Years ago, I studied philosophy as an undergraduate. More recently, I picked up a Master’s degree in technical writing. Both educations have informed the other, helping make me a better (and more lucid) writer.

Active in online communities for over 20 years, I found myself in spaces from IRC chat rooms to social media groups to Discord servers. I became moderator for both the IRC and Discord groups. 

After graduating, I applied for a few PhD programs in philosophy. I missed being able to talk about my favorite thinkers and ideas at home, a dull suburban Georgia city. Like many people at the time, I took to the internet to find like minded friends who understood and enjoyed the same things I did. And a big part of this was philosophy.

However, while I, hailing from a small women’s liberal arts college, thought I would be taken seriously in such circles, especially given my degree, I found this to not be the case, especially in the online philosophy communities. Why was I not given the same respect as my peers or those with even less knowledge of the subject?

Through these past 20 years, I came to the conclusion (aided by years of research and observation outside of myself) that the unfortunate reason that I could never be taken seriously online and even in conferences in philosophy was because I happen to be a woman.

What Makes a Philosopher?

Philosophy, historically speaking, requires time, money, and leisure. Descartes was well off and known to have just wandered around farms to observe people. Nietzsche, while certainly not as financially stable as Descartes, was able to take a grand tour of Europe with his friends. 

If you are not busy working in service, drudging in the kitchens, worrying about feeding your family, etc., you have more time to get academically educated and casually think critically about the world about you. Marx called religion the opiate of the masses, but did not understand that the masses were not equipped with the leisure to engage in critical thinking.

In a similar vein, another group of people who, historically speaking, were often barred from the practice of philosophy were women. In lower class Europe, women would be working in the fields, in the house, and later on in factories. Upper class women, while equipped with more resources than their working class peers, were for centuries barred from an official university education.

So, for instance, Elisabeth of Bohemia could send letters to Descartes criticizing some of his work, but they remained letters, rarely taken seriously until you attend an upper level university course in modern philosophy–if your professor believes philosophy should be intersectional.

The Ivory Tower for Boys

Having said all of this, philosophy has long been considered a man’s realm, even though the term philosophy simply translates to “love of wisdom.” I’d like to think that there are more people out there who would like to be wise or knowledgeable about the world and people around them than simply an elite boys club.

This attitude, particularly toward women who wish to engage in philosophy (but certainly not limited to women) has certainly tainted philosophy communities both online and off. The greats of philosophy like Hannah Arendt, Simone de Beauvoir, bell hooks, and others are only seen as serious thinkers in certain contexts. Hence our meme, in which Ayn Rand is allowed the partially open gate, because her philosophy appeals to the conservative right, many of whom comprise those who claim an interest in philosophy. Certainly some of the louder voices out there.

Philosophy and Your Memesletter Writer

I attended a conference about J.R.R. Tolkien after I graduated from college. I was young and female, but I had a degree in philosophy. A man took the question and answer portion of the presentation as a chance to show off his knowledge on Tolkien and overall ignore the point of my paper, demeaning me a little in the process as a bonus.

I very soon became a moderator of the IRC group, where a man there inundated me with violent, misogynistic pornography, and other chatters consistently acted as though I had no authority. I returned there years later under a gender neutral username and was treated with respect and considered thoughtful during my few brief visits.

Years later, I helped moderate two very large Discord philosophy servers. Over the past few years, internet harassment has ramped up in general. I was not expecting to have the majority of that harassment aimed at me, simply for being obviously female. I was called names that rhyme with witch, simply for asking a behavior to stop. I received disturbing come-ons in DMs. They quickly turned violent when they were not well-received.

I was called out and told I was terrible for having the audacity to attend a women’s college. And yes, as the only female moderator of the first server, I received the majority of the harassment toward moderators. The owner of the server did not want to change this in the name of inclusivity.

This is only a subset of the daily online harassment that women receive. Look in the comment section of most social media platforms and you will see very targeted harassment toward people who present as women. Everything from ad hominem attacks on intelligence, appearance, mental capacity, etc. to lengthy tirades to threats of (usually sexual) violence.

Open the Gate!

So, who owns philosophy? Who is allowed to think critically about the world around them? Shouldn’t we equip people from different backgrounds with the means to question the world around them? Should we gatekeep before knowing those on whom we shut the gate?

Dare I say, perhaps, that if we destroyed the ivory tower and opened the gates of the academy to everyone, it might lead to a less frightening world.