Mary Daly Quotes
Mary Daly was an American radical feminist philosopher and theologian who taught for more than thirty years at Boston College, where she insisted on the right to teach women-only courses. The Church and the Second Sex and Beyond God the Father offered a sustained feminist critique of patriarchal religion, arguing that the symbol of an exclusively male God serves to legitimize male domination. The quotes below are attributed to Mary Daly, organized by topic.
Mary Daly on Freedom
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“To exist humanly is to name the self, the world, and God.”
Beyond God the Father -
“(Women's Liberation) ... is an ontological, spiritual revolution, pointing beyond the idolatries of sexist society and sparking creative action in and toward transcendence. The becoming of women implies universal human becoming. It has everything to do with the search for ultimate meaning and reality which some would call God. p. 6”
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Mary Daly on God
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“If God is male, then the male is God.”
Beyond God the Father -
Attributed to Mary Daly:
“Patriarchy is itself the prevailing religion of the entire planet.”
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“The 'self-transcending immanence,' the sense of giving birth to ourselves, the sense of power of being within, which is being affirmed by many women, does not seem to be denoted, imaged adequately pointed to, or perhaps even associated with the term 'God'. p. 208”
The Qualitative Leap Beyond Patriarchal Religion." Quest 1 (Spr 1975) -
“The Qualitative Leap Beyond Patriarchal Religion." Quest 1 (Spr 1975)”
The 'self-transcending immanence,' the sense of giving birth to ourselves, the sense of power of being within, which is being affirmed by many women, does not seem to be denoted, imaged adequately pointed to, or perhaps even associated with the term 'God'. p. 208 -
“The first step in the elevation of women under all systems of religion is to convince them that the great Spirit of the Universe is in no way responsible for any of these absurdities. (Stanton, quoted on p. 13)”
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Mary Daly on Knowledge
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“Quoted in [ https://philosophynow.org/issues/33 Interview Mary Daly, Philosophy Now, Issue 33, (September/October 2001)”
The word ‘ radical ’ means ‘going to the roots’. It is derived from the Latin radix, meaning root. Radical Feminism goes to the root of oppression and the way out. And I define it as “way of being characterised by (a) an Awesome and Ecstatic sense of Otherness from patriarchal norms and values (b) conscious awareness of the sadosociety ’s sanctions against Radical Feminists (c) moral outrage on be -
“Quoted in Interview Mary Daly, Philosophy Now , Issue 33, (September/October 2001)”
To be a Radical Feminist now is to do quantum leaping. That means to act with fantastic courage because you see real hope now, not lovely little lah-didah hope (a very contained hope), but really great Hope for participation in Quintessence, which is the harmony of the universe. -
“The correspondence between the minds of Musing women and the intelligible structures of reality is rooted in our promise, that is, our potential and commitment to evolve, unfold 'together,' in harmony with each other and with all Elemental reality. p. 163”
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Mary Daly on Mind
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Attributed to Mary Daly:
“Be-ing is verb, not noun; the self is realized in active becoming.”
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“It requires a kick in the imagination, a wrenching of tired words, to realize that feminism is the final and therefore the first cause, and that this movement is movement. Realization of this is already the beginning of a qualitative leap in be-ing. For the philosophers of senescence 'the final cause' is in technical reason; it is the Father's plan, an endless flow of Xerox copies of the past. But the final cause that is movement is in our imaginative-cerebral-emotional-active-creative be-ing. p. 190”
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Mary Daly on Nature
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“To be a Radical Feminist now is to do quantum leaping. That means to act with fantastic courage because you see real hope now, not lovely little lah-didah hope (a very contained hope), but really great Hope for participation in Quintessence, which is the harmony of the universe.”
Quoted in Interview Mary Daly, Philosophy Now , Issue 33, (September/October 2001)
Mary Daly on Politics
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Attributed to Mary Daly:
“The story of women is a story of survival within a culture that has tried to silence it.”
Mary Daly on Virtue
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“The word ‘ radical ’ means ‘going to the roots’. It is derived from the Latin radix, meaning root. Radical Feminism goes to the root of oppression and the way out. And I define it as “way of being characterised by (a) an Awesome and Ecstatic sense of Otherness from patriarchal norms and values (b) conscious awareness of the sadosociety ’s sanctions against Radical Feminists (c) moral outrage on behalf of women as women (d) commitment to the cause of women that persists, even against the current, when feminism is no longer ‘popular’; in other words, constancy.”
Quoted in [ https://philosophynow.org/issues/33 Interview Mary Daly, Philosophy Now, Issue 33, (September/October 2001)