I came across this and am posting it here:
I didn't know that Greek mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras' wife Theano was a scholar and intellectual in her own right. Along with helping him raise five children, she put together writings on mathematics, art, beauty, philosophy, and child raising. She is credited with developing the Golden Mean, a crucial idea in aesthetic theory.
y taking this pledge, you sign up to honor and celebrate important women such as Theano by promising to create a blog post on June 24th concerning a female philosopher. As with Ada Lovelace Day, spotlighting women's contributions to technology, the woman you select may be from any nation, culture, or time period, living or dead...and you may blog in any style or format, using any software in any language.
I selected Theano as a mascot as she represents a work/life balance, an apparently decent and loving wife and mother as well as a scholar and professional. Throughout history and on average women have worked very hard in the background keeping things going by raising children, cooking, maintaining households, helping to earn a living through day-jobs...all very respectable activities. And many have made contributions to philosophy or other fields which may have been overlooked because the women are primarily known for work they have done in their other roles. So Theano's Day celebrates the philosophical contributions of women and attempts to bring their ideas out in the open to help inform modern society.
You may define 'philosopher' as you choose - someone need not have specialized in the field to be discussed in a blog for Theano's Day. For example, a female novelist, businesswoman, teacher, politician, nun, homemaker may have created a philosophical outlook worth discussing that is apparent through the values that come out through her work in other fields.
Some women to start with if you need help thinking of someone: Hypatia of Alexandria (mathematician and scholar), St. Catherine (mystic and humanitarian), Sor Juana (Mexican nun and intellectual) and Florence Nightingale and Jane Austen, each of whom developed a worldview and philosophy through their writings on various subjects.
We encourage as many people as possible from around the world to participate this June 24th and will set up a system to link the blogs so you may read each other's blogs. Please also pass on the word about Theano's Day!
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