French philosophy a woman. French philosophy French philosophy, here taken to mean philosophy in the French language, has been extremely diverse and has influenced Western philosophy as a whole for centuries, from the medieval scholasticism of Peter Abelard, through the founding of modern philosophy by René Descartes, to 20th century philosophy of science, existentialism, phenomenology, structuralism, and postmodernism. Peter Abelard (1079 – April 21, 1142) was a scholastic philosopher, theologian and logician. The story of his affair with and love for Héloïse has become legendary. The "Chambers Biographical Dictionary" describes him as "the keenest thinker and boldest theologian of the 12th Century".
Melbourne School of Continental Philosophy but strive to be rigorous and faithful to the philosophers and texts being studied. Past courses have covered philosophers such as Hegel, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Wittgenstein, Lyotard, Derrida, Deleuze and Badiou. A series of courses has run over several Summer and Winter Schools entitled 'MSCP History of Philosophy Series' which assessed philosophy from the pre-Socratics to modern empiricism. Similar courses, treating a theme rather than a particular philosopher or text, have included 'Three Centuries of Aphorism' and 'Democracy, Elites and Violence'. The MSCP has run conferences including: The MSCP has initiated a series of research days where philosophers in a particular