Eleonora Ziemięcka - was a Polish philosopher and publicist. She is often considered to be Poland's first female philosopher. She wrote Thoughts on the Education of Women, and edited the journal Pielgrzym. She has been described as a "anti-Hegelian" and a conservative. She was born on a manor in Jasieniec which belonged to the Okęcki family where her father was employed as an administrator. She was educated by her grandmother, also Eleonor, who emphasized readings of contemporary romantic poets such as Adam Mickiewicz, Józef Bohdan Zalewski and Franciszek Karpiński. She published her first poems at eleven years old in 1830, in a magazine for children, edited by Stanisław Jachowicz. Subsequently, she began contributing regularly to various periodicals, such as Tygodnik Polski, Magazyn Powszechny and Pierwiosnka, publishing literary works and editorials. She married Antoni Ziemiecki in 1834 and together with her husband left for Dresden where they lived until 1840. The family then moved to Warsaw.
Anti-Hegelism
After moving to Warsaw she became interested in philosophy, including the works of John Locke, Étienne de Condillac and French spiritualists, then that of German philosophers, including Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling and Friedrich Hegel. She made references to these philosophers in her travelogues published in Pierwiosnek. Ziemiecka became associated with conservative Polish intelligentsia of Congress Poland who opposed the growing influence of Hegelism, seeing it as a threat to traditional values and social order. In particular she was became close to the circle of traditionalist Catholic publicists with ties to the magazine Tygodnik Petersburski, which included Henryk Rzewuski, bishop Ignacy Hołowiński, Stanisław Chołoniewski and Michał Grabowski. Although Ziemiecka herself never became part of the circle and never published in the Tygodnik, these individuals supporter her intellectual efforts. Ziemiecka objected to the clique's servile attitude towards Russia and she saw their traditionalism as extreme. Instead, she wanted to synthesize new intellectual currents with traditional religious values. As a result of the Petersburg connection Ziemiecka became fascinated with the philosophy of Friedrich Hegel and undertook to develop a critique of then current German philosophy, in particular its pantheistic aspects. This led to her first major philosophical work, Myśli o filozofii, published in 1841. In it, she criticized Hegel and attempted to defend the autonomy of religious beliefs. On the other hand, she regarded the philosophy of Immanuel Kant in a positive light. Although this book established Ziemiecka as the first female Polish philosopher, at the time it was widely criticized by other philosophers such as Bronisław Trentowski, Edward Dembowski, and Fryderyk Henryk Lewestam. Trentowski in particular wrote in response to her work that women had no business engaging in philosophy. In 1842 Ziemiecka founded a conservative-Catholic monthly journal Pielgrzym where she published literary, philosophical and political essays, as well as translations of French religious works. Despite support from important literary figures like Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, the journal never acquired wide readership and Ziemiecka closed it down in 1846.
Women's Issues
Ziemiecka also focused on role of women in society and in particular on women's education. In 1842 she met Narcyza Żmichowska, a young author who had recently made her publishing debut in Pierwiosnek. Żmichowska was influenced by Ziemiecka, who published a number of her literary pieces in the Pielgrzym. During this time the journal became one of the main publications which focused on women's issues. In 1843 Ziemiecka published Myśli o wychowaniu kobiet in which she covered the traditional calls for cultivating morality and character, but also made novel for the time appeals for providing young women with a modern education. In her opinion, a reform was needed in the sphere of women's education and upbringing, which would focus on both emotional and intellectual aspects. At the same time she also criticized romance novels, as in her view these overstimulated the imagination, were too emotional, and led to detachment from reality which resulted in family strife and failures in life.
