Crown and Crozier
In Crown and Crozier, we invite leading thinkers to explore how the human experience is shaped by the interplay between Church and State, and what this means for tackling the great challenges of today. Join us as we examine what’s at stake for us as citizens and as a society in the dynamic engagement between civil and religious authority. The common good, basic freedoms, dignity of the person, administration of justice, self-government, the preservation of truth, goodness and beauty - all this and more hangs in the balance.
Crown and Crozier
A Vision of Virtue from the Godmother of Feminism ~ Erika Bachiochi
In this episode of Crown and Crozier, we learn just how far 21st century advocacy for women's rights and equality has drifted from the original philosophical and moral framework underpinning the women's movement.
Our guest is Erika Bachiochi, author of the recent book "The Rights of Women: Reclaiming a Lost Vision." In her book, she revisits the seminal work of 18th century British philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft, who is widely regarded as one of the principal intellectual architects of what has come to be known as feminism.
The book calls for a rediscovery of Wollstonecraft’s understanding that both men and women are entitled to political freedom and equality on account of their shared capacity for reason, and that freedom and equality are not ends in themselves, but are means for pursuing the higher goods of virtue, wisdom, excellence, and service to God, family, and community.
Over the course of this conversation, we explore a range of classic Wollstonecraftian themes, including valuing the work of the home more than the needs of the market, political self-government's presupposition of personal self-government, the importance of self-mastery as opposed to self-ownership, and the primacy of dependence over autonomy.
Erika is a Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, as well as a Senior Fellow at the Abigail Adams Institute, where she founded and directs the Wollstonecraft Project. In 2018, she was a visiting scholar at Harvard Law School. A self-styled "pro-life feminist," her areas of specialty include equal protection jurisprudence, feminist legal theory, Catholic social teaching, and sexual ethics.
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Documents/Websites referenced
Erika Bachiochi, The Rights of Women: Reclaiming a Lost Vision (2021)
Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman(1792)
Seneca Falls 1848 Women’s Convention and Declaration of Sentiments
Mary Ann Glendon, Rights Talk (1991)
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Please note that this podcast has been edited for length and clarity.