@inbook{274aac67849041adb2cfc661e95df93e,
title = "{\'E}milie Du Ch{\^a}telet on Freedom: The Wolffian Context",
abstract = "We contextualize Du Ch{\^a}telet{\textquoteright}s On Freedom (c. 1737) within the framework of Christian Wolff{\textquoteright}s theory of free will and action. Wolff{\textquoteright}s account resulted in a conflict with the German Pietists on whether internal spontaneity is central to free action, in its own right, or whether there needs to be some causal contribution from the will, independent of reason, to the action for that action to be free. Contextualizing Du Ch{\^a}telet{\textquoteright}s account with Wolff{\textquoteright}s German Metaphysics (1719) and the ensuing Pietist debate helps to clarify certain puzzling parts of On Freedom; particularly ones that are concerned with the connection of the will to physical action and the issue of whether Du Ch{\^a}telet supports a more compatibilist or libertarian view of freedom. Regarding the latter, we propose a conciliatory reading due to textual evidence for both compatibilist and libertarian accounts. We argue that Du Ch{\^a}telet does not commit to a clear compatibilist or libertarian position in On Freedom and merely responds to what she calls the “illustrious opponents” of freedom in the text.",
keywords = "Du Ch{\^a}tet, Emilie, Enlightenment, Wolff, Christian, free will, early modern women philosophers",
author = "Jan Forsman and Jani Hakkarainen",
year = "2025",
doi = "10.1007/978-3-031-80541-7\_9",
language = "English",
isbn = "978-3-031-80540-0",
series = "Women in the History of Philosophy and Sciences",
publisher = "Springer",
pages = "155--176",
editor = "Clara Carus and Jeffrey McDonough",
booktitle = "{\'E}milie Du Ch{\^a}telet in Relation to Leibniz and Wolff",
}