Feminism involves both thought and practice aimed at improving the well-being of women. On the side of practice it is often thought of as the “women’s movement.” Intellectually, feminism is a critical theory because it contains analysis of social conditions and prescriptions for improving them toward its end. Also on the intellectual side, feminism is now a multidisciplinary academic field with participation from all of the humanities, contemporary cultural criticism, the social sciences, and women’s studies.

Feminist philosophy is the philosophical dimension of intellectual feminism. Many feminist philosophers understand their intellectual history and the history of the women’s movement in terms of three “waves.”