Anne Conway, also known as Lady Anne Conway, was one of the first influential female modern philosophers. Born in London in 1631, Conway was raised by Sir Heneage Finch and Elizabeth Cradock, his second wife. Conway was the youngest of a large family, closest to her half brother, John Finch. While she was unable to receive a formal education due to her gender, Conway found her way to become well educated through the Cambridge Platonists, a group of philosophers at the University of Cambridge. Conway met the Cambridge Platonists through her brother, who attended the University, and Henry More, one of the most influential of the group, agreed to teach Conway. Through a long series of letters, Henry More instructed Conway on the foundations of philosophy through a Cartesian perspective. After this informal education, More and Conway remained friends, and only a few of those letters were discovered.
Lady Conway suffered from many ailments throughout her lifetime, which progressed in adulthood, becoming more intense and frequent. In 1651, Anne married Edward Conway and conceived only one child, Heneage, who died as an infant from smallpox. The Conway family owned one of the best libraries of its time, which gave Anne more access to indulge in her academic interests. Contrary to the attitudes of their time, Edward Conway seemed to encourage Anne in her educational pursuits. As her illness progressed, philosopher and physician Francis Mercury Van Helmont moved into Conway’s household. Van Helmont influenced Conway’s philosophy by introducing her to Kabbalism and Quakerism. These views provided her with very radical theories. Conway began with her upbringing in Cartesian philosophy, which was interrupted by her study of the Jewish Kabbalah. Lastly, an introduction to Quakerism by Van Helmont’s friends, which led her to convert later in life.
Conway’s main (and only) piece of work was “Principia Philosophiae Antiquissimae et Recentissimae,” published in 1690 Amsterdam. Printed in London around 1692, her work was translated into English, renamed “The Principles of the Most Ancient and Modern Philosophy.” Her work was based on Platonist metaphysics, derived from the attributes and existence of God. Conway developed an ontological theory that involves a tripartite hierarchy of species. The hierarchy includes ‘God,’ the source of all beings, ‘middle nature(s),’ the link between God and the third group of species known as ‘Creatures.’ In her theories, Conway denies the existence of a material body. She argues that motionless corporeal substance innately contradicts the complete nature of God since God is life. Conway’s work mainly argues against the famous and influential philosophers Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, and interestingly More (her primary influence). While many philosophers of her time had opposing views, the philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz agreed and carried many of her beliefs. The only other work where Conway provides her philosophy is through her correspondence with Henry More.
While Conway’s work was widely popular, it was very uncommon for female philosophers’ work to be recognized, and she was not credited for her philosophy until much later. After suffering many years of chronic and severe ailments, Conway died at the age of forty-seven in 1679.