Freedom of speech stems from a liberating act, as the reactions of institutions and associations concerned attest. This excess, as ideological as it is verbal, should be measured against the progressive control of knowledge, moral standards and the censorial practices which defend them.

This book is a study of two major conceptions of gender difference in the modern era: that of Descartes and that of Cureau de la Chambre. Their legacies are complex, from Poulain de la Barre's feminist egalitarianism to Malebranche's inegalitarian differentialism.