Plato's Views on Women

Essay # 61780

Literature > Greek and Roman
Philosophy > Ancient Greek
Women Studies

This paper describes and analyses Greek philosopher Plato's views on women, specifically in terms of his books such as "The Republic".

2,430 words () | 6 sources | MLA | 2005 South Africa

Paper Summary:

This paper documents Plato's attitude towards women with evidence and dialogues regarding his ideas about the place of women in an ideal society. It looks at how Plato's view of women seemed to change over his career and how he favoured equal education for them in the "Republic". It also discusses how although he believed that, on average, women were of lesser intellectual talent, he admitted that many women were better than many men and that everyone should be given a chance to prove him or herself.

Outline
Plato's Ideal State
Plato's Thoughts on Women in "The Republic"
Guardians
A Feminist View
Respect
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Early in book 5, Socrates sets out his plans for having both male and female guardians. The focus here is essentially a repeat of what is said in previous books: the education is to be the same and the military training should not differ. In effect, all that applies to male guardians should, broadly, apply to female guardians. Plato conceives of the guardians as a distinct class and basically says that there is the ruling class of guardians, who are politically and socially sexless. While he maintains that men and women certainly have different natures, Plato highlights the point that this does not mean that they cannot do the same or similar tasks and have the same roles in the society. He illustrates this point by an example where he compares bald men and those with hair, to men and women. The different nature in the bald or hairy has little effect on their social incorporation, and so neither should this differ when discussing women."