[Revised entry by John Conley on February 12, 2025.
Changes to: Main text, Bibliography]
A prominent novelist, Madeleine de Scudery (1607 – 1701) composed a series of dialogues dealing with philosophical issues. Primarily ethical in focus, her dialogues examine the virtues and vices proper to the aristocratic society of the period. They also explore questions of moral psychology, in particular the interplay between temperament and free will. In the area of epistemology, Scudery analyzes the problem of certitude and self-knowledge. Theologically, she defends cosmological arguments demonstrating…

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