| Author(s) | Morgan Thompson; Toni Adleberg; Sam Sims; Eddy Nahmias |
| Journal | Philosophers’ Imprint |
| Abstract | Although recent research suggests that women are underrepresented in philosophy after initial philosophy courses, there have been relatively few empirical investigations into the factors that lead to this early drop-off in women’s representation. In this paper, we present the results of empirical investigations at a large American public university that explore various factors contributing to women’s underrepresentation in philosophy at the undergraduate level. We administered climate surveys to hundreds of students completing their Introduction to Philosophy course and examined differences in women’s and men’s feelings of belonging, comfort, and confidence in the philosophy classroom. We present findings suggesting various factors that contribute to women’s lower willingness to continue in philosophy compared to men’s, including perceptions about intuition-based methods in philosophy, the usefulness of the philosophy major, philosophy as a male discipline, and philosophical abilities as innate talents. We conclude by providing some suggestions for improving undergraduate philosophy courses in ways that would increase women’s willingness to continue in philosophy and may improve the courses for all students. |
| Keywords | Women in Philosophy; Empirical Investigation; Undergraduate Level; Climate Surveys; Introduction to Philosophy; Perception of Intuition-based Methods; Usefulness of Philosophy Major; Philosophy as a Male Discipline; Field-specific Ability Beliefs; inclusive canon; syllabus; reading list This content was generated by artificial intelligence using the text of the original work and reviewed by the author. |
| Date Published | March 2016 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 1-36 |
| DOI | http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.3521354.0016.006 |
| URL | https://quod.lib.umich.edu/p/phimp/3521354.0016.006/1/–why-do-women-leave-philosophy-surveying-students-at?page=root;size=150;view=image#pagenav |
| Google Scholar Link | https://scholar.google.ca/scholar?cluster=6446574330276850356&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5 |
| Open Access? | Yes |
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