NOCTUA
La tradizione filosofica dall’antico al moderno
History of Philosophy from the Ancient to the Modern Age
Autore / Author: Elena Muceni
Affiliazione / Author affiliation: Université de Lausanne
Titolo / Title: Une passion genrée ? L’itinéraire de la compassion dans la littérature médico-philosophique moderne (1660-1780)
Abstract: Compassion is mentioned and studied within 17th- and 18th-century philosophical and medical literature as an emotional phenomenon. The advent of iatrophysics in explaining bodily functions, and the adoption of vitalist approaches, appear to have strongly influenced its conceptualisation. This study offers a historical overview, analysing a series of explanations and definitions of compassion formulated between 1660 and 1780 within various cultural contexts. The author detects a process of progressive genderisation of compassion, similar to that undergone by other passions, which were divided up during the Enlightenment into a kind of taxonomy of feelings. The article concludes by examining empirical psychological studies to show how this gendered categorisation of the emotional universe, fuelled by modern medical literature, still influences our perception of the self and otherness.
Keywords: pity; women; iatrophysics; vitalism; Pierre Petit; Nicolas Malebranche; Marin Cureau de La Chambre; Jean Besse; René Descartes; Johann Junker; David Hartley; Pierre Roussel; Paul-Victor de Sèze.
English title: A Gendered Passion? The Path of Pity and Compassion in Modern Medical-Philosophical Literature (1660–1780)
DOI: 10.14640/NoctuaXII14
Rivista / Journal: Noctua
ISSN: 2284-1180
Anno / Volume: XII
Fascicolo / Issue: 3
Pagine / Pages: 485-519
Ricevuto / Submitted: 31/03/2025
Accettato / Accepted: 17/09/2025
Pubblicato / Published: 05/12/2025
Permalink: https://dx.doi.org/10.14640/NoctuaXII14
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ISSN 2284-1180