Suspicion of Virtue

John Conley, S.J., is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Fordham University. He is coeditor of Prophecy and Diplomacy: The Moral Doctrine of John Paul II.

This work is a very important first step, and long overdue, in turning our attention to the philosophical thought of early modern French women.- Katharine J. Hamerton, Columbia College (Sixteenth Century Journal) Conley's investigation repositions the study of women philosophers by shifting the focus of philosophical inquiry away from the 'male bastion of the early modern university' to the world of the salon.... Conley's study is essential for scholars and students alike who wish to broaden their knowledge of neoclassical philosophy. Clearly written, it provides both biographical information and insightful analyses of the question of virtue and offers a broad introduction to the main trends in neoclassical moral philosophy. The appendices, which include the Maximes of Sable, the Reflexions diverses of Deshoulieres, the Maximes chretiennes of Sabliere, and Sur les vertus cardinales of Maintenon, add to the value of this work. They not only make these difficult-to-consult texts available and allow the reader to explore further the moral philosophy of these writers, they also demonstrate the diversity of genres in which women philosophers voices are to be heard.- Edith K. Benkov, San Diego State University (Renaissance Quarterly) The Suspicion of Virtue is, above all, a study of the inspired participation of five female authors in a renascent catholicism during the second half of the seventeenth century. John Conley believes that gender and religion came together, enabling these women to develop a distinctly female philosophical voice.... Conley has developed an interesting argument about the existence of female moralistes with a distinctly feminine approach to ethics, and it is to be hoped that he continues his investigations.- David Klinck, University of Windsor (H-France)