Name: From Inner Light to Feminist Praxis: Catherine West
Start: 2026-07-07T14:00:00+1200
End: 2026-07-07T14:55:00+1200

From Inner Light to Feminist Praxis: Catherine West

Tuesday July 7, 2026 2:00pm - 2:55pm NZST

MSB1.02

This paper argues that the Quaker concept of the Inner Light provides a neglected but powerful feminist account of moral authority—one that challenges both hierarchical epistemologies and the privatization of ethical life. Drawing on the political praxis of Catherine West, the paper reconceptualizes the Inner Light as a feminist moral epistemology grounded in relational responsiveness rather than abstract rationality or institutional legitimacy.
Against dominant feminist frameworks that locate moral authority primarily in social position, discursive recognition, or collective standpoint, this paper shows how Quaker ethics articulate an alternative model: moral authority emerges through embodied attentiveness to injustice and the obligation to translate inward discernment into public action. Through a three-stage analysis, the paper traces how the Inner Light functions as (1) a non-hierarchical epistemic source, (2) an ethical grounding for equality and conscientious dissent, and (3) a catalyst for feminist political praxis oriented toward care, testimony, and community accountability.
By situating West’s work within this ethical tradition, the paper contends that Quaker-inspired feminist praxis disrupts the private-public divide and reframes political agency as an extension of moral attentiveness, offering a distinctive contribution to feminist debates on epistemic authority, care ethics, and post-secular political philosophy.

Speakers

Hyung Jin An

University of Delhi

Hyung Jin An achieved BA Buddhist Studies degree from Dongguk University (2020), MA Philosophy degree from Hindu College, Delhi University (2022). Now currently researching East Asian Pure Land Buddhism and Hindu Bhakti philosophy at the Department of Philosophy, Delhi University... Read More →

Tuesday July 7, 2026 2:00pm - 2:55pm NZST
MSB1.02

Feminist Philosophy, Remote

AAP 2026 CONFERENCE

Hyung Jin An

Attendees (4)

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AAP 2026 CONFERENCE

Hyung Jin An

Attendees (4)

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