DRAFT: Michelle Bastian Finding Time for Philosophy. Please do not cite witho t the a thor!s permission.

For p "lication in #en$ins% F. and &. ' tchison (ed) Women in Philosophy: What needs to Change.

Finding Time for Philosophy Michelle Bastian

CRESC, University of Manchester michelle.bastian@manchester.ac.uk **Comments very welcome**

*n his collection of essays% nfancy an! "istory% +iorgio Agam"en ma$es the intrig ing claim that e,ery c lt re is first and foremost a partic lar e-perience of time and no new c lt re is possi"le witho t an alteration in this e-perience (.//0% /.). This s ggests that in responding to the 1 estion 2what needs to change3!% one answer wo ld "e 2the partic lar e-perience of time that informs the c lt re of philosophy!. *n many ways this claim chimes strangely with m ch of contemporary philosophy% where time is often treated either as an o"4ecti,e phenomenon (as within m ch of metaphysics)% or in its s "4ecti,e and5or e-periential aspects (as within phenomenologically inspired philosophy). 6ithin sociology and anthropology% howe,er% there is a well7de,eloped recognition that o r e-periences and nderstandings of time are infl enced and shaped "y social life. The st dy of 2social time!% in partic lar% see$s to nderstand the ways in which social e-perience defines the forms% meanings and rele,ance of time (+reenho se .//8% 9:). *mportantly% while within philosophy 2p "lic time! has often "een treated as synonymo s with an o"4ecti,e% apolitical cloc$ time% wor$ in the social sciences s ggests that time plays a m ch more ,aried and significant role in p "lic life% incl ding in social methods of incl sion and e-cl sion (e.g. ;espor et. al. 9<</% =rci oli .//9) and political legitimation (e.g. Boyarin .//>% +reenho se ./?/% ' tchings 9<<?% @loyd 9<<<). Th s in my wor$ (e.g. 9<</% 9<..)% * am interested in de,eloping a dialog e "etween philosophical acco nts of time% and anthropological and sociological acco nts% in the "elief that wor$ on social time pro,ides a rich and nder tilised "ody of research that has important implications for political and ethical philosophy% as well as potentially significant challenges for metaphysics. *n this chapter% then% * want to "ring insights from the social sciences% a"o t the role of time in e-cl sionary practices% into de"ates aro nd the nder7representation of women in philosophy. * will s ggest that part of what s pports the e-cl sionary c lt re of philosophy is a partic lar approach to time% and th s that changing this c lt re re1 ires that we also change its time. *mportantly% while the nat ralness of categories s ch as se- ality% race and gender ha,e "een widely challenged% the time of social life is only rarely treated as a normati,e and politicised disco rse within philosophy. As a res lt% there contin es to "e an ass mption that social life plays o t against a "ac$drop of 2real! or 2o"4ecti,e! time% that is itself linear% one7 dimensional and all7encompassing. 'owe,er% this is far from "eing the case% as is demonstrated in a wide ,ariety of wor$% in areas s ch as political theory (Pierson 9<<>% Aonnolly 9<<:)% feminist theory (Diprose 9<</% 'esford and Diedrich 9<<?)% post7colonial theory (Aha$ra"arty .//9% +ang ly 9<<>)% and 1 eer theory (Dinshaw et.al. 9<<B% Freeman 9<.<). 6hat this wor$ s ggests is that nderstanding time as an all7encompassing linear% imm ta"le s ccession of moments is deeply pro"lematic% partic larly when tilised in the e-planation of social life. Th s% in this chapter% * will arg e that ass ming that time is the same for e,eryone wor$s to hide a n m"er of e-cl sions prod ced within professional philosophy. *n partic lar% s ch an ass mption denies the di,erse and contradictory temporal processes that characterise the profession. * will s ggest that linear temporality is only a,aila"le to certain types of idealised persons and as a res lt sho ld "e read% not as an

DRAFT: Michelle Bastian Finding Time for Philosophy. Please do not cite witho t the a thor!s permission. For p "lication in #en$ins% F. and &. ' tchison (ed) Women in Philosophy: What needs to Change.

o"4ecti,e acco nt of how things are% " t as a normati,e and political disco rse that is s pporti,e of some% while e-cl ding many others. 6ays of thin$ing a"o t% and enacting% time nderpin a myriad of other elements of social life incl ding identity% ca sal e-planations% history% social co7ordination and pro4ections into the f t re. Th s in order to show how nderstandings of time are "o nd p in mechanisms of e-cl sion% * will analyse a n m"er of $ey iss es that ha,e already "een highlighted as reasons for women!s e-cl sion from philosophy% in order to draw o t the way partic lar ass mptions a"o t time compo nd these iss es f rther. * will "egin with Ahristine Batters"y!s challenge to the notion that em"odied e-periences ma$e little difference to the philosophy one prod ces. *nspired "y her criti1 e of the &antian conception of space for its male "ias% * will de,elop a similar challenge to his conception of time that helps to ill strate the point that the e-perience of time as linear is far from "eing ni,ersal. * will then mo,e to the 1 estion of gender schemas% partic larly the seeming disconnect "etween the schemas for 2woman! and for 2philosopher!. *n this case * am partic larly interested in the importance of the iterati,e% rather than linear% character of identity. Finally% * will loo$ at iss es to do with the history and f t re of philosophy in order to 1 estion the way women are contin ally ref sed a place in the flow of philosophy!s time. * will concl de "y arg ing that a more representati,e philosophy wo ld "e g ided "y a more comple- approach to time% one which wo ld recognise% and acti,ely s pport% the m ltiple and contradictory temporalities that m st "e negotiated "y the discipline and those who practice it.

Embodying Philosophy
Despite the e-tensi,e wor$ feminist philosophers ha,e prod ced on the s "4ect% the notion that the nder7representation of women is not a pro"lem% since philosophy is not affected "y contingent factors s ch as gender% contin es to arise in disc ssions on the iss e. Cet% as 'elen Bee"ee arg es in this ,ol me% e,en one of the most central tools of analytical philosophy D the notion of int ition D cannot "e treated as non7sit ated or free from gender "ias. E,en the ideal of reason itself has "een shown to "e intertwined with idealised notions of masc linity and the rep diation of feminised traits (@loyd% .//0). 6hile for Ahristine Batters"y (.//?)% ta$ing se-ed em"odiment serio sly tro "les many of the ass mptions that permeate metaphysics. *n her #henomenal $oman% Batters"y arg es that identity% space and time ha,e "een theorised from the ,antage point of a partic lar idealised "ody. Fhe 1 estions the per,asi,e treatment of the male "ody as the norm% and instead e-plores how metaphysics wo ld "e transformed if philosophy!s starting point was the "ody that co ld gi,e "irth. *mportantly% she is caref l not to ass me that all women can or want to gi,e "irth% " t contends that once the em"odied e-periences of women are ta$en into acco nt% traditional metaphysical acco nts can no longer "e ,iewed as o"4ecti,e or ni,ersal. Fhe s ggests that these seemingly 2logical! or int iti,e acco nts are not deri,ed from a shared e-perience of the world% a,aila"le to all% " t are acco nts specific to an idealised sense of male em"odiment (.//?% 0/). *n a partic larly stri$ing e-ample% Batters"y descri"es the way different mo"ilisations of the &antian acco nt of em"odiment (where space is e-ternal to the self) create a shoc$ of strangeness% lea,ing her to wonder what it wo ld "e li$e to inha"it a "ody like that (.//?% >.). Referring to Mar$ #ohnson!s and +eorge @a$off!s wor$ in cogniti,e semantics in partic lar% she 1 estions their ass mption that a f ndamental characteristic of em"odiment is the e-perience of "o ndedness or containment (.//?% ><). *nstead% she disc sses her own e-periences of her "ody as m ltiple and fragmented% where different 2Gones! "ecome differentiated and may war with each other (.//?% >>). F rther% e-trapolating from inter,iews

DRAFT: Michelle Bastian Finding Time for Philosophy. Please do not cite witho t the a thor!s permission. For p "lication in #en$ins% F. and &. ' tchison (ed) Women in Philosophy: What needs to Change.

with female anore-ics who e-perience their "ody as alienated and threatening% she points o t that e,en the normalised female "ody is e-perienced as permea"le and only e,er am"ig o sly protected against the 2o tside! (.//?% >>7>8). These and other e-amples in Batters"y!s wor$ s ggest that the notion that there is a clear "o ndary "etween the internal and the e-ternal% "etween inner time and e-ternal space% does not rest pon an int ition that is immediately o",io s to all% " t rather only to specific $inds of h mans. As a res lt% her wor$ challenges the fail re of m ch of philosophy to recognise the way it has "een de,eloped in reference to a ,ery partic lar e-perience of em"odiment and so needs to interrogate its claims to ni,ersality. 6hile Batters"y!s foc s in the arg ments *!,e cited is space in partic lar% * want to s ggest that the &antian acco nt of time also arg a"ly draws on an idealised acco nt of em"odiment. *% too% feel a 2shoc$ of strangeness! when * read &ant!s acco nt of time. 'is ass mption that linear time is an int ition common to s all% regardless of lang age% c lt re or em"odied e-perience "oth ignores the c lt ral partic larity of his acco nt of time and fails to encompass the e-periences of many of those within 6estern c lt re itself. To s mmarise "riefly% &ant s ggests in the Criti%ue of #ure Reason that o r e-perience of time accords with a n m"er of a-ioms% specifically that (.) all parts of time "elong to the same timeH (9) no specific moment of time is sim ltaneo s with any other% " t is always s ccessi,eH and (0) that time is one7dimensional (A0.5B>B). @i$e Batters"y% * can!t help " t wonder what it wo ld "e li$e to inha"it a "ody that e-perienced time like that. *n relation to my own e-periences% &ant!s characterisation of time is profo ndly co nter7int iti,e. The pro"lem of negotiating the clash "etween social e-pectations aro nd motherhood% and professional e-pectations in philosophy D an iss e that is recognised as an important element in the nder7representation of women in philosophy D pro,ides an ill strati,e e-ample. As an em"odied woman philosopher ca ght "etween (at least) two sets of social e-pectations% each with their own ,ersion of which e,ents are significant in my past and f t re% and their own acco nt of which actions * m st enact in the present% * am arg a"ly ca ght "etween two different times. Fince% as * will draw o t "elow% the recommended ways of li,ing one!s time for mothers and for philosophers often appear to "e in direct opposition. Attempting to fit "oth into one!s life often prod ces a sense of time as m ltiple% dis4 ncti,e and inade1 ate% rather than one7 dimensional and all7encompassing. The connection "etween partic lar modes of em"odiment and ass mptions a"o t the flow of time% was "ro ght home to me 1 ite ,i,idly "y a story presented on the BBA Brea$fast Fhow in 9<</ on the increase of Down!s Fyndrome "irths. *n a story in disagreement with itself% the presenters reiterated the common narrati,e of the fail re of women to ha,e children 2at the right time! and reco nted% once again% the dramatic increase in li$elihood of a Down!s pregnancy "etween the ages of 0< to ><. 'owe,er% the presenters also so ght to pic$ p an earlier de"ate o,er whether the =& had "ecome a more welcoming place for people with Down!s Fyndrome. In the one hand% the apparent 2p nishments! of mistiming pregnancy were reiterated% and women were admonished not to lea,e pregnancies too late. And yet% on the other hand% the presenters appeared to "e s ggesting that this threat was sim ltaneo sly a thing of the past% gi,en the s pposedly more positi,e and s pporti,e en,ironment in the =&. For me% these $inds of stories% which form part of the incessant reco nting of the dramatic drop off in fertility rates after 0<% create a conte-t in which *% as a female h man tied to a "ody that co ld "irth% do not meaningf lly e-perience time in accordance with any of the three a-ioms &ant attri" tes to it. Firstly% my e-periences s ggest to me that all parts of time !o not "elong to the same time. My time is mar$ed "y r pt res. =pon t rning 0<% * was fore,er di,ided from the possi"ility of "eing a woman who enacted a timely procreation and

DRAFT: Michelle Bastian Finding Time for Philosophy. Please do not cite witho t the a thor!s permission. For p "lication in #en$ins% F. and &. ' tchison (ed) Women in Philosophy: What needs to Change.

instead "ecame the 0<J woman who can only procreate in an ntimely fashion% ha,ing spent too m ch time on selfish occ pations s ch as post7grad ate st dy. Fecondly% * !o e-perience different moments of time as sim ltaneo s with each other. Fpecifically% the s pposedly timely moment in the mid to late twenties is also the same ntimely moment when pregnant employees and st dents are gi,en p as wasted talent "y their employers or s per,isors. *n my e-perience there is no right time. D e to the competing messages recei,ed from the different instit tions that shape one!s life% and the di,erging nderstandings of social time implicit within these instit tions% a decision * might now ma$e a"o t ha,ing a child wo ld "e "oth too early and too late at the same time. Finally% * wo ld arg e that within this conte-t it is in fact not commonplace to e-perience time as one7dimensional. *nstead% as sociologist +eorges + r,itch arg ed% social life always ta$es place in di,ergent and often contradictory manifestations of social time (./8>% .0). As already s ggested a"o,e% this is "eca se within the ,ariety of social relationships and social instit tions that we participate in% 2time! comes to "e e-pressi,e of different ,al es and e-pectations. Time is instead e-perienced as m ltiple and contradictory. 6hat * wo ld li$e to s ggest% then% is that &ant!s acco nt of the int ition of time and its r les% is not so int iti,e when one e-amines the competing times that need to "e negotiated within em"odied social life. 6hile * do not ha,e the space here to e-plore the f ll implications of this analysis% it raises 1 estions a"o t the ne trality and ni,ersality of &ant!s acco nt% s ggesting that em"odied e-perience is not e-ternal to philosophy% " t shapes some of its most central concepts. F rther% it s ggests that insofar as acco nts of time% s ch as &ant!s% g ide a common7sense notion of p "lic time% and partic larly% g ide the implicit temporal ass mptions that str ct re instit tional life% then they act ally wor$ to hide the competing ,al es and contradictions that m st "e negotiated "y those who do not em"ody the 2typical! philosopher. *mportantly% as * will e-plore in this rest of this chapter% ass ming that time is the same for e,eryone means that disad,antages faced "y philosophers negotiating the m ltiple and often conflicting times they e-perience can "e read as nonsensical% misg ided or simply go nrecognised.

Timing Professionalism
@oo$ing at wor$ already a,aila"le on the iss e of women in philosophy pro,ides a n m"er of e-amples of how seemingly common7sense notions of time mas$ ine1 alities within philosophy in m ltiple ways. The first follows on directly from the a"o,e disc ssion and helps to f rther ill strate the way the clash "etween the health profession!s recommended time7line for mothers and the academic time7line for philosophers is often nrecognised% or is addressed inade1 ately. *n her contri" tion to @inda MartKn Alcoff!s collection on women in philosophy% Sin&in& in the 'ire% Martha ; ss"a m reco nts the diffic lties of "eing a 4 nior academic and a mother. Fhe writes that altho gh the "irth of her da ghter created a great n m"er of changes for her% meanwhile% in the philosophy department...life went on as if no children e-isted. Aollo1 ia were ro tinely sched led at fi,e% after the childcare centres closed (9<<0: .<>). This e-ample is partic larly interesting% "eca se it highlights a form of e-cl sion that is not necessarily e-plicit or deli"erate. Rather% it rests on an inade1 ate nderstanding of the way something as simple as sched ling pro,ides a medi m for s pporting some ways of life o,er others. The philosopher who!s only $ey responsi"ility is to co7ordinate themsel,es with other philosophers may th s find it ,ery easy to e-perience time as a one7dimensional medi m that encompasses all their $ey acti,ities. 'owe,er for those with responsi"ilities to co7ordinate themsel,es with other philosophers an! dependants an!

DRAFT: Michelle Bastian Finding Time for Philosophy. Please do not cite witho t the a thor!s permission. For p "lication in #en$ins% F. and &. ' tchison (ed) Women in Philosophy: What needs to Change.

care pro,iders an! other instit tions s ch as schools% sports associations% healthcare pro,iders etc.% time is m ltiple and conflicting.. F rther% while it might seem that an ade1 ate sol tion to this pro"lem wo ld "e to resched le meetings at a "etter time% this is not act ally a s fficient response to the types of ine1 alities "eing prod ced in the clash of responsi"ilities. To ass me so wo ld "e to o,erloo$ the "roader social meanings that are attri" ted to time7 se. Timing is not simply a"o t logistical co7ordination% " t also signals whether one conforms to a ,ariety of social norms. The importance of timing in regard to hospitality% gift7gi,ing or forgi,eness all pro,ide good e-amples of this. *n this partic lar case% one!s se of time feeds into "roader nderstandings of what it is to "e a professional% where the a"ility to f lfil this role is "o nd p with conforming to modes of time7 se. Fpecifically% e,en while the professional may nominally wor$ according to a sched le% they are nonetheless e-pected to "e ready to act in their professional capacity at any time9. *n a conte-t where one m st signal one!s constant a,aila"ility% to "e na,aila"le th s comes to "e constr ed as "eing nprofessional. *mportantly% this does not affect e,eryone e1 ally% " t disad,antages those more ten o sly recognised as professionals "eca se of their de,iance from what is considered to "e the norm. As ; ss"a m notes% while men in her department pro dly left early to pic$ p children from hoc$ey practice% she was na"le to do so as her actions were more li$ely to "e interpreted nfa,o ra"ly (9<<0: .<:).0 Th s% the conflict ; ss"a m points to is not only a conflict of sched les% " t is also a conflict of ,al es and e-pectations% which are "o nd p in implicit and e-plicit social temporal norms. This means that instit tional temporal practices may s pport% first the fail re to recognise the way philosophers with caring responsi"ilities may "e disad,antaged "y "eing na"le to attend certain sched led e,ents% " t second they may also s pport the misrecognition of this pro"lem as one of timing% rather than one of "eing na"le to meet implicit temporal ass mptions that g ide nderstandings of professionalism and department7fit. *n place of a "ac$gro nd ass mption that time is the same for e,eryone% this iss e th s pro,ides a good e-ample of why there needs to "e a greater awareness of time as m ltiple and conflicting if the c lt re of philosophy is to change.

Iterations of Identity and Causation

A second e-ample of how linear acco nts of time may contri" te to the misrecognition of e-cl sionary mechanisms within philosophy is "o nd p with the pro"lem of identity% specifically the 1 estion of who is recognised "y others as a philosopher and who can most easily identify themsel,es with this role. The "log% $hat is it like to be a woman in (hiloso(hy)% for e-ample% pro,ides a ,ariety of acco nts of women philosophers "eing misrecognised as the school administrator% as another philosopher!s girlfriend5wife or the "a"ysitter. B t the fail re to recognise women as philosophers is not restricted to personal enco nters s ch as these% and feeds into the more widespread pro"lem of women!s philosophical wor$ "eing ignored or downplayed. As others ha,e already con,incingly arg ed% these $inds of e-cl sions arise% in part% "eca se the historical schema for 2philosopher! does not map onto the schema for 2woman! (Lalian 9<<:% 'aslanger 9<<?% and Aalho n 9<</). 'owe,er% a f rther point to "e contri" ted to the analysis of this pro"lem% has to do with the prod ction of identity itself. As Famantha Brennan!s disc ssion of micro7 ine1 ities re,eals% one!s identity within social life is not sta"le% " t is s pported or ndermined "y the many small affirmations or ine1 ities that one e-periences in daily life
.

For a f rther e-ample see +ene,ie,e @loyd!s analysis of the differing temporal dilemmas e-perienced "y Descartes and Elisa"eth (9<<8% partic larly 0</). 9 *n relation to the medical profession% for e-ample% see Mer "a,el ./B/% :0. 0 Fee also #ennifer Fa l!s disc ssion of this point in her essay in this ,ol me (insert (a&e nos) Nsec 9.8O

DRAFT: Michelle Bastian Finding Time for Philosophy. Please do not cite witho t the a thor!s permission. For p "lication in #en$ins% F. and &. ' tchison (ed) Women in Philosophy: What needs to Change.

(see Ahapter NPO in this ,ol me). This iterati,e character of identity is not well reflected within a framewor$ that emphasises the linearity of time rather than its repetiti,e character. *ndeed what * want to s ggest in this section is that an nderstanding of time as one7 dimensional and se1 ential may "e at wor$ in "oth the fail re to notice the micro7 affirmations that s pport some philosophers! identities o,er others% as well as the 2common7 sense! denial of the ca sati,e power of micro7ine1 ities. The 1 estion of when one "ecomes a philosopher% a 1 estion to do with stat s and recognition% " t also a 1 estion of timing% might seem to ha,e a fairly straight7forward answer: 26hen one has met the generally recognised criteria!. *n the case of professional philosophy% this might "e once one has completed the Ph.D.% when one is first p "lished% or when one has a permanent position. Fo% from the perspecti,e of a nominally linear social time% where one moment npro"lematically follows the other% the shift from st dent to philosopher sho ld theoretically occ r in the moment s ccessi,e to that in which the criteria was f lfilled. 'owe,er% in the case of 2when does a woman "ecome a philosopher3!% time is s ddenly not so docile. * ha,e met the first two of these criteria and yet * still feel ncomforta"le descri"ing myself as s ch. This is in no way ni1 e to me. *nstead% it appears that for many the moment when one "ecomes a philosopher ne,er act ally arri,es% " t either contin ally recedes into the f t re or is simply nachie,a"le. As Aheshire Aalho n has written in this ,ol me% while * might en4oy philosophy and "e good at it% * co ldn!t a thentically% con,incingly% npro"lematically "e a philosopher. * co ld st dy% do% and teach philosophy% " t not "e a philosopher. (To this day% * almost ne,er say * am a philosopherH * say * teach philosophy) Ninsert (a&e nosO. Fo% rather than simply happening a tomatically% the temporal logic in,ol,ed in 2"ecoming a philosopher! does not follow the traditional logic of linear time. The linear representation of time s ggests that time mo,es from the past toward the f t re in a single se1 ence of non7repeata"le moments. 'owe,er% when it comes to one!s sense of self% to one!s personal identity% this logic does not really seem to apply. 6ithin linear time it is logical% for e-ample% to claim that once an e,ent has happened% it will always ha,e happened. 'owe,er% while * might always "e a"le to say that * had an article or "oo$ p "lished% the social meaning of this e,ent is not sta"le. For this e,ent to "e a"le to "e relia"ly selected as the ca sal e,ent that ena"led me to identify myself as a philosopher% it needs to "e s pported "y a host of s "se1 ent e,ents in which * am recognised as a philosopher "y others and treated as s ch. 6itho t these s "se1 ent e,ents% the original e,ent does not retain the same meaning. 6hat this means is that the temporal logic of identity is not a se1 ence of non7 repeata"le e,ents% " t its oppositeH a se1 ence of repeated recognitions% affirmations and identifications. @ac$ of awareness of these non7linear mechanisms can help to hide the s pport partic lar philosophers are a"le to reg larly draw on% as well as the s "tle discriminations that ndermine the confidence of those who do not fit. *n order to e-plain f rther what * mean "y this% * want to pic$ p on Brennan!s arg ment that% in loo$ing for the ca ses of e-cl sion% attention needs to "e paid to the systematic micro7ine1 ities that operate within professional philosophy. 'owe,er% as she points o t% the small repeated incidents of disrespect% dismissal and misrecognition are one of the less o",io s modes of discrimination within philosophy. *nstead o r first instinct when attempting to discern the ca se of the pro"lem seems to "e to loo$ for ca ses in relati,ely self7contained e,ents that can "e tied to deli"erate agents. 6e appear less li$ely to recognise the c m lati,e ca sati,e power of small% repeated acts. Arg a"ly% this tendency is itself "ased on a certain social nderstanding of how change happens o,er time and of how to assign responsi"ility for these changes. I r ina"ility to respond ade1 ately to the massi,e threats of climate change and reso rce depletion is a $ey e-ample of o r tendency to ignore the effects

DRAFT: Michelle Bastian Finding Time for Philosophy. Please do not cite witho t the a thor!s permission. For p "lication in #en$ins% F. and &. ' tchison (ed) Women in Philosophy: What needs to Change.

of c m lati,e e,ents. B t in regard to the pro"lem of the e-cl sions within professional philosophy% this tendency appears to hide the way the identity of 2philosopher! has to "e acti,ely prod ced and contin o sly reinforced. That is% certain iterati,e mechanisms of identity are ignored "eca se o r implicit theories of ca sation are g ided "y a model in which change occ rs as a res lt of significant e,ents% enacted "y conscio s agents% rather than insignificant repetiti,e e,ents% enacted relati,ely nconscio sly. Fpecifically% the micro7 affirmations recei,ed "y certain philosophers are as li$ely to go nrecognised% as are the micro7ine1 ities e-perienced "y others. F rther% philosophers attempting to highlight and ac$nowledge partic lar micro7ine1 ities can "e dismissed as "eing too sensiti,e "eca se s ch acts are not deemed to "e significant eno gh to ha,e really ca sed any $ind of harm. *n order to f lly recognise this pro"lem% therefore% we need to recognise that disc ssions foc sed on micro7ine1 ities are not 4 st a"o t specific e,ents% " t also a"o t e-amining and challenging implicit temporal models of identity and ca sation.

Histories
The importance of recognising the m ltiple and conflicting times that m st "e negotiated in professional life% as well as the importance of repetition in affirming identity% come together in the iss e of philosophical legacies. Alosely "o nd p with more str ct ral aspects of the discipline% the 1 estion of who ta$es part in the legacy% "oth in the past and the present% raises iss es to do with philosophy!s own partic lar 2social time!. As with the iss e of identity a"o,e% the instit tional str ct res of philosophy do not follow a tra4ectory where one moment follows on npro"lematically from another% " t instead wor$ to restrict access to this tra4ectory s ch that only some philosophers are a"le to see themsel,es as participating in the ne-t 2moment! of philosophy. Donna7Dale Marcano!s comments in an inter,iew with +eorge Cancy ma$e this partic larly clear. For instance she claims that: * co ld ne,er imagine myself as a Plato. And * wanted to. That!s a real o"stacle...To want to "e Focrates or Plato% or whoe,er yo r white male em"odiment of philosophy is% may seem am"itio s at "est or foolish at worst. B t it is not tri,ial% especially for a "lac$ woman...My white male st dents may ne,er artic late their aspirations to "e a Focrates or Plato% and yet it is not n s al for many of them to en,ision themsel,es as p r,eyors of the tradition (Cancy 9<<?% .8:). Raising iss es to do with identity and identification% Marcano is here also pointing towards the way 2philosophical time! flows from the past into the present. Again% far from "eing all7 encompassing% as &ant!s acco nt might indicate% her comments s ggest that within philosophy the a"ility to enter into s ccessi,e moments of philosophy (to "e s ccessors) does not occ r merely d e to the flow of time% " t is restricted "y the repetiti,e affirmation of iconic white male philosophers as the tr e representati,es of the discipline. The limits prod ced in the present are% of co rse% "o nd p with the stories told a"o t 2o r! arri,al in it. Rather than tell the comple- story of a practise that has inspired a "road range of philosophers and philosophical approaches% th s s pporting a "roader range of 2s ccessi,e moments!% the canon has largely remained a se1 ential list of well7$nown white male philosophers. Ine pro"lem with challenging the e-cl sions of the canon% howe,er% is that from a certain temporal perspecti,e it seems perfectly logical. *ndeed% a great many mainstream history of philosophy co rses fit well within the progressi,e logic of linear time. This is not to say that philosophical history itself is witho t disagreements or rifts% " t that there is considera"le consens s aro nd what the canonical se1 ence is and who sho ld "e incl ded in it% partic larly thro gh to the nineteenth cent ry (see 6arren 9<</% :78). 6ithin this logic% the incl sion of non7white philosophers and white women philosophers can "e

DRAFT: Michelle Bastian Finding Time for Philosophy. Please do not cite witho t the a thor!s permission. For p "lication in #en$ins% F. and &. ' tchison (ed) Women in Philosophy: What needs to Change.

dismissed as a s pplementary mo,e aimed at pacifying critics% rather than "eing a step g ided "y what co nts as 2good! philosophy. =nderstanding this $ind of practice as an attachment to a partic lar $ind of logic% rather than an o"4ecti,e acco nt of the "est philosophers% might go some way towards e-plaining why% as Margaret 6al$er has arg ed% the wor$ of women philosophers cannot "e co nted pon to find its way into the permanent record (9<<:% .::). *n fact% the seemingly self7e,ident practise of de,eloping a hierarchical list of 2important! philosophers co ld also "e read as a tool for simplifying the history of the discipline% in line with a partic lar ,al e set% while sim ltaneo sly passing as o"4ecti,e. *t th s "ecomes essential to as$ why stories of s ccessi,e progression seem to ma$e sense so easily% despite the fact that they fail to acc rately represent the tr e di,ersity of philosophical tho ght. *mportantly% * wo ld arg e that s ch methods of prod cing history only seem credi"le when told in a conte-t where time is concei,ed of as linear progression. 6hen time is instead tho ght of in its f llness of ,arying% contradictory processes% a linear story of philosophy does not seem so straightforward. *nstead s ch a story wo ld "e more readily interpreted as simplistic and dangero sly misleading. *ndeed% to present the history of philosophy in a more comprehensi,e and acc rate manner% we need to recognise the way philosophy consists of m ltiple traditions with ,arying tra4ectories% which cannot "e confined to a single canonical se1 ence. Ahallenging the way the legacy is portrayed may th s re1 ire challenging the implicit temporal ass mptions that ena"le linear acco nts to appear as a perfectly reasona"le. Re1 iring also that we more f lly recognise the way 2common7sense! acco nts of time are tilised within methods of e-cl sion.

Philosophers of the Future?

By way of "ringing this chapter to a close% *!d li$e to mo,e from the 1 estion of legacies% to "riefly consider a final theme that arises in literat re on women in philosophy 7 their place in its f t re. Aheshire Aalho n% for e-ample% has s ggested that women are less li$ely to de,elop an easy identification with% and attachment to% philosophy and% as a res lt% women!s nderstandings of their f t re possi"ilities within philosophy are largely not the same as those of male st dents. Ine reason for this is s ggested "y Marcano who writes that: Despite the disorientation inherent to one!s initial engagement with philosophical disco rse% white male st dents nonetheless ha,e models in their professors and thro gh the a thors of ,ario s te-ts to help them find their mastery in the discipline. * had no models and still str ggle to find models who can represent my a"ility to o,ercome that disorientation (9<<?% .8:7.88). As s ggested a"o,e% her comments s ggest that the narrowness of the philosophical legacy pro"lematically restrict the possi"ilities open to philosophy in the present as well as the f t re. 6hile it is ndo "tedly the case that ens ring there are more role models and mentoring programmes is important for remedying the ina"ility of many women to anticipate a f t re within philosophy% the iss e *!m partic larly interested in here is the way the f t re itself is concei,ed within instit tional philosophy. 6hat * want to s ggest is that in many ways the discipline of philosophy contin es to "e g ided "y a narrow ,ision of the f t re that only admits of a partic lar $ind of philosopher. Rather than relating to the f t re as a force that may profo ndly transform it in ways that cannot "e anticipated in the present% the discipline st ""ornly resists calls to change. The persistent fail re of the discipline to recognise its str ct ral e-cl sions% e,en while other disciplines ha,e made acti,e commitments to increase di,ersity% s ggests that there is still no anticipation that the discipline may need to reconsider its c rrent tra4ectories. *nstead% the on s contin es to "e placed o,erwhelmingly on women to pro,e that they are fit

DRAFT: Michelle Bastian Finding Time for Philosophy. Please do not cite witho t the a thor!s permission. For p "lication in #en$ins% F. and &. ' tchison (ed) Women in Philosophy: What needs to Change.

to "e recognised as contemporaries% e,en while colleag es contin e to do "t their capacity for reason% their interest in philosophy% their professionalism and the stat s of the iss es they research.> *nterestingly% in his #olitics of 'rien!shi(% #ac1 es Derrida has traced the way this notion that women are somehow 2not yet! ready for philosophy has resonated thro gho t the discipline. 'e arg es that there has "een a repeated insistence that women ha,e someone fallen "ehind% remain delayed% or simply cannot "e tho ght of as contemporary with men. Analysing the way concepts of male friendship g ard the entry to "oth politics and philosophy% Derrida notes that a wide range of writers% incl ding Michelet% Montaigne% ;ietGsche and Aristotle% pres me that women are 2not yet! ready for proper% ,irt o s friendships% and th s cannot "e considered to "e s ita"le politicians or philosophers in the present. 'e th s arg es that the form or the prete-t of 2not yet! is a $ey method in the e-cl sion of women from the p "lic realm (.//B% 9/.% see also 9?.). =nli$e a n m"er of his other temporal tropes% Derrida does not de,elop a f ll analysis of the characteristics and conse1 ences of the 2not yet!% " t * wo ld arg e that it is "o nd p with an ass mption that those 2leading the way! ha,e already forged the most appropriate path into the f t re. *f others are e-cl ded from this f t re% it is for them to rectify. *n this sense the legacy of the 2not yet! contin es into present7day philosophy in m ltiple ways. *f women ha,e a harder time identifying with philosophy and anticipating their f t re within it% it may th s also "e "eca se this f t re has already "een colonised for a partic lar $ind of philosopher. Part of rectifying the pro"lem of anticipation that Aalho n points towards then% is mo,ing towards a conception of the f t re as npredicta"le and s rprising% what Derrida calls the 2to come!. This $ind of f t re contrasts strongly with the 2not yet!% which ass mes a f t re contin o s with the present and so forecloses the possi"ility that the f t re might "e completely ne-pected and transformational. An instit tional philosophy that faced p to its contin ing discriminations wo ld th s need to "egin to welcome the possi"ility that the f t re may well "e ,ery different to the present.

Finding Time
By considering a range of iss es incl ding em"odiment% professionalism% identity% ca sation% historical legacies and f t re anticipations% * hope to ha,e ill strated why it is important that philosophers come to recognise that the discipline is not sit ated within a single% all7encompassing temporal process% " t rather is characterised "y m ltiple dis4ointed and contradictory processes. * ha,e s ggested that while for some% the wor$ of managing this m ltiplicity is hidden% "y ,irt e of their a"ility to fit into certain disciplinary e-pectations% many more others are disad,antaged "y the lac$ of these implicit s pport str ct res. For those that don!t fit% the wor$ of "eing a philosopher incl des negotiating seemingly m t ally e-cl si,e demands sim ltaneo sly% demands that m ltiply with each f rther element of e-cl sion. As #ac1 eline Fcott ,i,idly attests% in an inter,iew with +eorge Cancy% these contradictions can "e so great that simply "eing f lly present seems impossi"le: * find myself e-pending a lot of energy on insisting on act ally e-isting. By this * mean that * am often seen as a contradiction in terms and gi,en that traditionally in philosophy we don!t li$e contradictions% * am either o,erloo$ed or they ta$e away the parts that are illogical (ha,ing a Ph.D. for e-ample). *n order to ha,e my f ll self ac$nowledged then * need to insist on the e-istence of all parts of me. 6e ha,e tal$ed a"o t the diffic lty of em"odying the simultaneity of "eing a woman and "eing a
Ine of the re,iewers of this ,ol me% for e-ample% felt it important that contri" tors address the 1 estion of women!s rational capacity and women!s interest in philosophy as they had colleag es who had recently arg ed that these were ,alid reasons for women!s nder7representation.
>

DRAFT: Michelle Bastian Finding Time for Philosophy. Please do not cite witho t the a thor!s permission. For p "lication in #en$ins% F. and &. ' tchison (ed) Women in Philosophy: What needs to Change.

philosopher% and "eing "lac$. 6e see this as a seamless categoryQmay"e there are some seams " t it $ind of goes together for s in o r saner% happier moments. B t * thin$ that a lot of people contin e to want to p t some slash mar$s in there and say% 6e!ll allow the woman part " t we won!t allow the "lac$ part. Ir 6e!ll allow the philosopher part " t not some of the other parts. And so we need to insist on "ringing that together. (my emphasis% Cancy% 9<<?% .B?) The traditional philosophical a,ersion to contradiction% well ill strated "y a preference for an all encompassing linear time% ris$s lea,ing philosophy na"le to respond ade1 ately to the comple-ities of the world in which it is practiced. +loria AnGaldRa% for e-ample% has written e-tensi,ely on the way the western logics of identity and history are f ndamentally na"le to deal with the em"odied realities of social life. 'er wor$ challenges the way social categories% that others se to politically sit ate her% c t and fragment her own sense of wholeness. Fince% as Fcott points o t% to "e whole within a traditional 6estern metaphysical framewor$ is to "e witho t contradiction. As * ha,e arg ed elsewhere (9<..)% AnGaldRa!s wor$ th s see$s to claim a concept al space for contradictory identities% in part "y challenging linear temporal models that do not allow one to "e more than one thing within any one moment. 'er wor$ instead s ggests the importance of recognising a notion of 2contradictory sim ltaneity! which resists the rge to separate o t differences across time% and instead insists that we recognise seemingly contradictory differences within the 2same! moment. Altho gh Fcott!s comments co ld% of co rse% "e read in terms of schema clashes% * want to s ggest that she is also pointing to a need for a "roader conception of temporality. 6hen time is nderstood to "e a se1 ence of 2nows!% within which one can only do or "e one thing at a time% then the m ltiplicity and di,ersity of li,ed% em"odied philosophy is o"sc red. This again s ggests that if professional philosophy is to act on the e-cl sion of women and minority men% then it will need to rethin$ the implicit temporal ass mptions that g ide it. The $ey transformation * ha,e arg ed for is a greater awareness of the pro"lems in,ol,ed in adopting a 2common7sense! notion of linear time when see$ing to nderstand the comple-ities of social life. *nstead professional philosophy needs to "e g ided "y an nderstanding of time as normati,e and political% as s pporti,e of certain ways of li,ing o,er others. *n partic lar% there needs to "e a greater awareness of how linear acco nts of time% in their pretence of "eing all7encompassing% acti,ely hide the m ltiple processes% e-pectations% responsi"ilities and histories that m st "e negotiated in order for women and minority men to "e 2philosophers!. As Derrida arg es in the inter,iew 2;egotiations!% there is not an 2at the same time%! there is not% periodSthere are simply differences% m ltiplicities of rhythm. *n the phenomenon% or in what has the appearance of 2at the same time%! there are already differences of rhythm% differences of speed (9<<9% 9?). As a res lt of this he s ggests that: in political or instit tional action one m st not only ma$e se,eral speeds coha"it with each other% one m st also ena"le the m ltiplicity of speeds (there are not only two% there are more than two speeds) to "e rendered% not only possi"le% " t necessary and ena"le di,ersities to coha"it in an instit tion (i"id.). =nderstanding the time of philosophy in this way wo ld more easily s pport the $inds of calls for change that ha,e "een made "y women in philosophy. A rewor$ed history of philosophy co ld "e seen as more acc rate% rather than an additi,e attempt at appeasement. Micro7ine1 alities co ld "e read as significant e,ents% rather than as small meaningless incidents. *t wo ld also "ecome clearer why the linear pipeline model of increased participation is as woef lly inade1 ate as EliGa +oddard and F san Dodds point o t ((a&e nos). The emphasis on 1 ic$ repartee in seminar disc ssions that Bee"ee and Brennan "oth criti1 e can also "e clearly nderstood as pro"lematic when we nderstand that temporalised

DRAFT: Michelle Bastian Finding Time for Philosophy. Please do not cite witho t the a thor!s permission. For p "lication in #en$ins% F. and &. ' tchison (ed) Women in Philosophy: What needs to Change.

concepts are not ,al e free. B t a"o,e all% a philosophy g ided "y m ltiple speeds may "e "etter a"le to recognise those philosophers who are 2not yet!% as the philosophers of the f t re that the discipline so desperately lac$s.

References
Agam"en% +iorgio. .//0. TTime and 'istory: Ariti1 e of the *nstant and the Aontin m.T *n nfancy an! "istory* +he ,estruction of E-(erience% ed. +iorgio Agam"en. @ondon: Lerso. Bastian% Michelle. 9<</. *n,enting ;at re: Re7writing Time and Agency in a More7than7 ' man 6orld. .ustralian "umanities Review >B: //7..8. 777. 9<... The contradictory sim ltaneity of "eing with others: E-ploring concepts of time and comm nity in the wor$ +loria AnGaldRa. 'eminist Review. /B(.):.:.7.8B. Batters"y% Ahristine. .//?. +he (henomenal woman* feminist meta(hysics an! the (atterns of i!entity. ;ew Cor$: Ro tledge. Boyarin% #onathan% ed. .//>. Rema((in& memory* +he (olitics of times(ace. Minneapolis: =ni,ersity of Minnesota Press. Aalho n% Aheshire. 9<</. The =ndergrad ate Pipeline Pro"lem. "y(atia 9> (9):9.87990. Aha$ra"arty% Dipesh. .//9. Postcoloniality and the Artifice of 'istory: 6ho Fpea$s for *ndian Pasts3 Re(resentations (0B):.798. Aonnolly% 6illiam E. 9<<:. #luralism. D rham% ;A: D $e =ni,ersity Press. Derrida% #ac1 es. .//B. #olitics of 'rien!shi(. @ondon: Lerso. 777. 9<<9. ;egotiations. *n /e&otiations* nterventions an! nterviews, 012034550% edited "y E. Rotten" rg. Ftanford% Aalifornia: Ftanford =ni,ersity Press% ..7><. Dinshaw% Aarolyn% @ee Edelman% Roderic$ A. Ferg son% Aarla Freccero% EliGa"eth Freeman% # dith 'al"erstam% Annamarie #agose% Ahristopher ;ealon% and ;g yen Tan 'oang. 9<<B. TheoriGing U eer Temporalities: A Ro ndta"le Disc ssion. 678* . 9ournal of 7esbian an! 6ay Stu!ies .0 (970):.BB7./:. Diprose% Rosalyn. 9<</. 6omenVs Bodies +i,ing Time for 'ospitality. "y(atia 9> (9):0B?7 0//. Fa"ian% #ohannes. ./?0. +ime an! the :ther* "ow .nthro(olo&y Makes its :b;ect. ;ew Cor$: Aol m"ia =ni,ersity Press. Freeman% EliGa"eth. 9<.<. +ime bin!s * %ueer tem(oralities, %ueer histories. D rham% ;A: D $e =ni,ersity Press.

DRAFT: Michelle Bastian Finding Time for Philosophy. Please do not cite witho t the a thor!s permission. For p "lication in #en$ins% F. and &. ' tchison (ed) Women in Philosophy: What needs to Change.

+ang ly% &eya. 9<<>. Temporality and postcolonial criti1 e. *n +he Cambri!&e Com(anion to #ostcolonial 7iterary Stu!ies% edited "y ;. @aGar s. Aam"ridge: Aam"ridge =ni,ersity Press. +reenho se% Aarol #. ./?/. # st in Time: Temporality and the A lt ral @egitimation of @aw. +he <ale 7aw 9ournal /? (?):.80.7.8:.. 777. .//8. . Moment=s /otice* +ime #olitics across Cultures. *thaca and @ondon: Aornell =ni,ersity Press. + r,itch% +eorges. ./8>. +he S(ectrum of Social +ime. Dordrecht% The ;etherlands: D. Reidel. 'aslanger% Fally. 9<<?. Ahanging the ideology and c lt re of philosophy: ;ot "y reason (alone). "y(atia 90 (9):9.<7990. 'eidegger% Martin. .//8. Bein& an! +ime* . +ranslation of Sein un! >eit. Translated "y #. Ftam"a gh. Al"any: F=;C Press. Iriginal edition% ./:0. 'eld% Lirginia. 9<<0. 2Ta$ing Ineself Ferio sly% " t ;ot Too!. *n Sin&in& in the 'ire* Stories of $omen in #hiloso(hy% edited "y @inda Martin Alcoff. ;ew Cor$: Rowman W @ittlefield P "lishers% >/7:8. 'esford% Lictoria% and @isa Diedrich% eds. 9<<?. 'eminist time a&ainst nation time * &en!er, (olitics, an! the nation3state in an a&e of (ermanent war. @anham% MD: @e-ington Boo$s. ' tchings% &im"erly. 9<<?. +ime an! $orl! #olitics* +hinkin& the #resent. Manchester: Manchester =ni,ersity Press. &ant% *mman el. .//?. Criti%ue of #ure Reason. Aam"ridge: Aam"ridge =ni,ersity Press. @loyd% +ene,ie,e. .//0. +he Man of Reason* ?Male? an! ?'emale? in $estern #hiloso(hy. 9nd ed. Minneapolis: =ni,ersity of Minnesota Press. Iriginal edition% ./?>. 777. 9<<<. ;o IneVs @and: A stralia and the Philosophical *magination. "y(atia .: (9):9870/. 777. 9<<8. TB sy @i,es: Descartes and Elisa"eth on Time Management and the Philosophical @ife.T .ustralian 'eminist Stu!ies 9.(:.): 0<070... ;espor% #.% D. 'ic$s% and A. M. Fall. 9<</. Time and e-cl sion. ,isability an! Society 9> (0):0B070?:. ; ss"a m% Martha. 9<<0. 2DonVt Fmile Too M ch D Philosophy and 6omen in the ./B<s!. *n Sin&in& in the 'ire* Stories of $omen in #hiloso(hy% edited "y @inda Martin Alcoff. ;ew Cor$: Rowman W @ittlefield P "lishers% /07.<?. Pierson% Pa l. 9<<>. #olitics in time* history, institutions, an! social analysis. Princeton: Princeton =ni,ersity Press.

DRAFT: Michelle Bastian Finding Time for Philosophy. Please do not cite witho t the a thor!s permission. For p "lication in #en$ins% F. and &. ' tchison (ed) Women in Philosophy: What needs to Change.

=rci oli% Bonnie. .//9. Time% Tal$ and Alass: ;ew Cor$ P erto Ricans as Temporal and @ing istic Ithers. *n +he #olitics of +ime% edited "y '. #. R tG. 6ashington D.A.: American Anthropological Association. Lalian% Lirginia. 9<<:. Beyond +ender Fchemas: *mpro,ing the Ad,ancement of 6omen in Academia. "y(atia 9< (0):./?79.0. 6al$er% Margaret =r"an. 9<<:. DiotimaVs +host: The =ncertain Place of Feminist Philosophy in Professional Philosophy. "y(atia 9<(0):.:07.8>. 6arren% &aren #. 9<</. 29%8<< Cears of the 'istory of 6estern Philosophy $ithout $omen: This Boo$ as a =ni1 e% +ender7*ncl si,e Alternati,e!. .n Unconventional "istory of $estern #hiloso(hy* Conversations between Men an! $omen #hiloso(hers% edited "y &aren. #. 6arren. @anham: Rowman W @ittlefield% .798. Cancy% +eorge. 9<<?. Fit ated Loices: Blac$ 6omen in5on the Profession of Philosophy. "y(atia 90(9):.8<7.?/. Mer "a,el% E,iatar. ./B/. #atterns of +ime in "os(ital 7ife. Ahicago and @ondon: =ni,ersity of Ahicago Press.