Is Plato A Feminist? part 1 Essay - 3,870 words

Is Plato a Feminist? According to the ancient laws, Athenian women were given into marriage by the men of their family. Their own option had no official bearing on the matter, (Gould p. 5). The tradition of an offering presented by the family of the bride was practiced in Athens, as in many states then and even nowadays. There is data that the women were given consideration not just as property. An account of arbitration tells of a man found to be squandering the important offering he has received for his bride.


The father of the bride sets to work suspending the marriage declaring that a husband who has received so large a dowry ought to consider himself the slave of his wife. (Gould, p. 6) Even though the females might have been given thought to, they had a lot of limitations. An ancient Greek woman would have a kyrios to carry out her dealings of possessions, law and the like. If the father of the woman was not accessible for this position, her brother, uncle, grandfather or other male relative would take the position until she married, as a result of which her husband would execute the responsibilities of the kyrios, (Gould, p. 154). Though, majority of her lawful matters were managed by men, Greek women could be tried in court for crimes, serve as witnesses to transactions, and inherit possessions, (Gould, p. 151).


They were, on the other hand, not allowed by law to bring weapons or take part in organized combating. This prohibiting of women from fighting and barring of guns is believed to have resulted in a disability to defend their possessions and land, therefore keeping women subject to the men, (Gould, p. 152). Plato could not disregard the pressure of all this background, yet he seems to have broken the limitations of that time period in regards to his treatment of females. Plato believed that the tenure of high merit is an effect of being aware of the Good, (Gould, p. 125). In the Republic, Plato makes the statements that different people have different characters and it is in every persons best interest to do what his or her character best outfits them to do, (Bar On, p.


4). He also presents the statement that definite characteristics are unrelated to the nature the person must pursue. Therefore, 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 Platos 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 Platos guardian class. Right away the debate is raised as to what capacity a female could fill in the guardian class. Dahl implies that the admission of women to any office violates Platos principle of the division of labor. Plato 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 herself to be capable of political administration, let her rule. In other words, if it is a womans destined role to lead, then she must be presented the opportunity. If a woman shows herself able to guide a society and a man shows himself only capable of washing dishes, let the woman rule and the man clean the plates. Discussion of inclusion of women in society in Book V directly contradicts previous Athenian thought.


But Plato grants woman importance merely because the psyche in itself has no sex and is capable of dwelling in a body of either sex. He stresses in Book V that women are to be given all the opportunities in improving themselves as men are allotted. There should be no consideration of sex as far as education is concerned. In elaborating the psychic and social structure of justice in the ideal state of the Republic, [Plato] explicitly argues against sex discrimination in education for guardian women. He also argues for giving qualified persons full opportunity for guardian training regardless of whether they are male or female. (Adam, p.47) Plato continues to insist that women stand on equal foot with men in the guardian class by insisting they train and exercise with the men as they prepare to become warriors.


They are to also eat and act communally with the men. Yet, with all the inclusion of females in Platos upper-echelon class, he is not in total agreement that the genders exist equally. 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. (Adam, p.53) Although his feelings are not as strong as Aristotles, 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 Plato 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 womani ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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Essay Tags: plato, division of labor, plato's republic, male female, modern society

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