Platos views on women

A detailed Summary of Platos views on women

Plato and Socrates' View of Women's Roles

In studying Greek philosophy, one particular remains consistent. When referring to an ideal person, be it a citizen, a political leader, a philosopher, or a soldier, a man is used for the model. And the aspiration of all men, virtue, is derived from the root for man, "vir." These examples alone would lead the attentive observer to ask, "what about the women?"

Traditionally, Greek life in general was not in tune with the rights of women. Many philosophers, such as Aristotle, were particularly opposed to women having any sort of role in society outside of child bearing. Plato and Socrates, however, where pioneers in pushing for equality of qualified women to play a pivotal role in politics and philosophy. In Plato's Republic, Socrates argues that women are as capable as men in pursuit of their endeavors, and he puts these observations into consideration in Book V.

The Republic, Book V initiates the discussion of the inclusion of women in Plato's "guardian class." Right away the debate is raised as to what capacity a female could fill in the "guardian class." Glaucon implies that the admission of women to any office violates Plato's principle of the division of labor. Socr

Plato is at times confusing in his opinion of women. While it cannot be argued that he, along with his mentor Socrates, were the first to acknowledge women as capable members of the state, they were definitely not admitting that males and females were equal. "Plato was genuinely ambivalent about women. He makes seriously misogynistic and derogatory comments about women within the same dialogue in which he argues that (some) women should be educated 'the same' as men. Although his feelings are not as strong as Aristotle's, who felt that the male was superior by nature and the female inferior, Socrates does denigrate the female in the same work in which he somewhat praises them. "While Socrates allows women to enter the ruling class, he affirms that they will always be weaker than men. While he argues that they are not by nature necessarily different from men, he calls the plundering of a corpse the work of a small and 'womanish' mind." In fact, in Book VII, when the "degeneration of the political system" is considered, it is the woman who is supposed to lead the society to its ultimate fall. Therefore, it is extremely hard to verify Plato and Socrates as true advocates of women's rights. Although they did consider the woman much more than the Athenians did, they can not be labeled as verified "feminists."

ates refutes this opinion sharply when he states "that division of labor must be made by aptitude and ability, not by sex; if a woman shows hersel

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Approximate Word count = 992
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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