Other Pascals

John J. Conley, S.J., is the Henry J. Knott Chair of Philosophy and Theology at Loyola University Maryland. He is the author of Adoration and Annihilation: The Convent Philosophy of Port-Royal (University of Notre Dame Press, 2009).

"Conley's careful reading and pedagogical presentation of the life and work of 'the other Pascals' is a valuable contribution to the gendering of literary and philosophical history." —Sixteenth Century Journal"Previous studies of the female members of the Pascal family have mainly focused on biography, especially how they help us understand the French intellectual Blaise Pascal. This clear and readable volume examines Blaise's sisters and niece as independent thinkers and not as mere appendages to him or to Port-Royal." —Early Modern Women"In the present volume he turns his attention to Pascal's sisters and examines their philosophical and theological writings. . . . This is an important book for a number of reasons, not least of which is the role it can play in expanding the philosophical canon to include women." —Choice"John Conley's beautifully written and cogently presented study, The Other Pascals, ambitiously and sensitively inscribes these gendered female theologians into their appropriate and well-earned historical, cultural, and religious context. In so doing, Conley adds immeasurably to our understandings of the history, philosophy, and theology of the seventeenth century." —Catharine Randall, Dartmouth College"The book is clearly written and well researched. John Conley gives the reader a growing awareness and appreciation of how all the Pascals are connected in a joint philosophical enterprise. The Other Pascals is a solid contribution to the history of philosophy that should have important repercussions for how philosophy is done now and in the future." —James P. Sterba, University of Notre Dame"The Other Pascals is an excellent introduction to the thought of Pascal's sisters, Jacqueline Pascal and Gilberte Pascal Périer, and niece, Marguerite Périer. It is the first thorough study of these important seventeenth-century figures, written for a nonspecialist audience. It places these prominent women in some of the period's more significant debates (about virtue, conscience, and education) and reveals the courageous manner in which they navigated the secondary role assigned to early modern women. It will be of interest to historians of all types." —Christia Mercer, Gustave M. Berne Professor of Philosophy, Columbia University"Conley's monograph on the Pascal women is a welcome and timely contribution to the literature." —Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

• Table of ContentsPrefaceAbbreviations1. Introduction: A Familial Philosophy2. Jacqueline Pascal: Virtue and Conscience3. Gilberte Pascal Périer: Philosophical Portraiture4. Marguerite Périer: Creed and Resistance5. ConclusionAppendicesAppendix A: Jacqueline Pascal, LettersAppendix B: Gilberte Pascal Périer, Life of JacquelineAppendix C: Marguerite Périer, Profession of FaithBibliographyIndex