Abstract

Philosophy news sites have recently drawn attention to how there are an increasing number of females being awarded PhD degrees, more than one third. The information is based on United States degrees. Why were there so few female philosophers in the past and why are they increasing now, in philosophy in the English-speaking world? This paper registers difficulties with understanding what is going on, such as there are problems with running a philosophy department which we are unaware of. Without being aware of the problems even, let alone solutions, how can we explain anything? All we can say, it seems, is that we are confronted with a puzzle: an area with famously liberal philosophers strangely has not historically done well with gender equality (and also with various other underrepresented groups). Nevertheless, I consider three guesses for the recent increase, of which I favour one: many are attracted by the increasing heritage-orientation of English-speaking analytic philosophy. (Perhaps some people of the future are interested in some simply-worded reflections of a reasonably intelligent person of our time, on such matters of enduring discussion as the state of philosophy.)