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Wollstonecraft suggests that we should "bow to the authority of reason alone" when making moral judgements. True or False?

User Arbuz
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Final answer:

True, Mary Wollstonecraft advocates for moral judgments based solely on reason, aligning with Enlightenment ideals and suggesting a rational foundation for society and ethics in 'A Vindication of the Rights of Woman'.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement suggests that Mary Wollstonecraft advocates for moral judgments to be based solely on reason, which is true. Wollstonecraft was a proponent of Enlightenment thinking and argued in her seminal work, 'A Vindication of the Rights of Woman', that both men and women should be seen as rational beings. Her philosophy suggests that society should be founded on the principles of reason rather than tradition or custom. While other contemporary philosophers such as Hume had reservations about the ability to derive 'ought' from 'is' and Kant sought moral laws discovered a priori through reason, Wollstonecraft's position promotes the use of reason as a backbone of morality and ethics.

In contrast to the feminists who criticize deontological theories for separating emotion from rationality, Wollstonecraft's standpoint aligns with the idea that reason should govern moral judgment. Therefore, the correct answer to the question is True: Wollstonecraft does suggest we should 'bow to the authority of reason alone' when making moral judgments.

User David Vereb
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