GABRIELLE SUCHON'S PLACE ON THE SYLLABUS

To conclude, I’d like to state that Gabrielle Suchon should appear on the syllabus next year in place of Marie De Gournay. This is because Gournay’s writing, to me, can barely even be considered philosophical, at least within her works on feminist issues. To the extent that they are philosophical, her arguments are nearly identical to those made by Gabrielle Suchon, although, Suchon goes a step further, expanding on each argument in a much more detailed and philosophically substantive manner than Gournay.  Overall, Gabrielle Suchon is a perfect example of what a female philosopher is and should be, as she is focused and levelled on the philosophical aspects of her ideas. Suchon is goal-oriented, focused on offering solutions to the social issues she identifies in her writings. Similar to Gournay, she recognizes that its the male attitude towards women that causes the issues at hand, but unlike her predecessor, Suchon’s writing is not laced with bitterness, but with thoughts and consideration for the future of the female sex. Schon does not insult or degrade men nearly to the extent that Gournay allows herself to, making Suchon’s writing much clearer and more respectable overall. This is not to say that Gournay didn’t have every right to be angry and every right to complain. This is also not to insinuate that Gournay’s writing was in poor taste, because that is not the case. However, Gournay’s mistake was to linger on those bitter grievances, rather than move on to what to do about them. Both philosophers recognized the problem, and both picked up a pen to address it; But it was Gabrielle Suchon, not Marie De Gournay, who realized she had work to do and acted on her unique ability to get it done. Gabrielle Suchon, without giving a single care to what men’s responses to her work would be, focused on breaking free entirely from the men who supported patriarchal ideals in order to rid them of their ability to enforce them. 
At the time Gabrielle Suchon wrote and published her works, many women (being her target audience) would unfortunately not have had the ability to read or access those works. Now that this is not true, we as young philosophers should be giving her works the honor and attention it deserves, and encouraging as many young women to read them as possible. After all, this is a college class, and was it not Gabrielle’s dreams for such things to be possible as women pursuing higher education? Putting Suchon and her writings on the syllabus for next year would be the right thing to do in order to honor one of the first and few fierce feminist fighters of her time, espcecially considering it is largely due to the work of women like her that women now have the right to an education in the first place. Gabrielle Suchon was an original thinker during a time when women were barely allowed to think at all, and fought tooth and nail to have her unique perspectives heard, so why then shall we not grant her wish and hear them now? Considering that her arguments and ideas are so radical and different than almost any other female philosopher, it is important we recognize her work as a useful tool to broaden our perspectives and knowledge of modern philosophy as a whole. The work of Gabrielle Suchon could greatly exemplify the true range of philosophical thought from then to now, and exponentially open up the world of modern philosophy to future students of this class.