Frances Power Cobbe

Frances Power Cobbe: Great Women Thinkers offers a clear and comprehensive introduction to the moral philosophy, intellectual context, and enduring influence of Frances Power Cobbe (1822–1904).

Drawing on Cobbe’s books, pamphlets, and correspondence, the volume examines her theistic, Kantian-inspired ethics and her role as a public moralist shaping debates on women’s rights, domestic abuse, and animal welfare. It situates her among contemporaries such as John Stuart Mill and Charles Darwin, and traces how her philosophical arguments informed activism, legislative reform, and the anti-vivisection movement.

Key themes include:
• Kantian-inspired feminism
• Theories of cruelty and “heteropathy”
• Vivisection as “torture” and the emergence of animal rights
• Strategies of philosophical and activist persuasion

This book is ideal for undergraduate and postgraduate students in Philosophy, Gender Studies, Animal Studies, Religious Studies, and related fields, and will also appeal to readers interested in early feminist and animal protection movements.