PhD defence E.J.A. (Eveline) Groot

Below is a brief summary of the dissertation:

As one of the first cosmopolitans, a host to important salons in Paris and Coppet, a first-hand witness of the horrors of the French Revolution, and a politically involved author of best-selling novels, political pamphlets, and philosophical treatises, Germaine de Staël (1766–1817) became a unique figure in the early modern world. Intellectually, she was influenced by a broad range of traditions and her philosophical work can be regarded as an original attempt to unite Enlightened and Romantic traditions, thereby developing a novel theory of the modern liberal individual. This earned her the title ‘mother of liberalism’.

Research into Staël’s literary work and her political theory have been undergoing a revival, and today, research into Staël’s philosophical ideas is also gaining momentum. In her PhD project Reason and the Passions in the Work of Germaine De Staël Eveline Groot has analysed the interconnection between Staël’s philosophical anthropology, which is her idea of human nature and the inner workings of human psychology, and her work on politics, moral theory, and aesthetics. By connecting these domains, Staël was able to develop a philosophie senible, a sensible way of philosophizing, that was progressive and emancipatory, focussed on individual liberty and public stability, and which encompassed a theory of morality that focussed on emotions, autonomy, and individual flourishing. Staël’s philosophy can be regarded as a delicate protest against anti-autocratic and illiberal rule and is just as relevant today as it was in her own time.