Blog Response Two

Ethan Skinner

Mrs. Wagener

AP English

7/17/2013

Blog Response Two

            Aristotle’s belief that women were simply incomplete men is fascinating to me for two reasons. One is that the fallacy of his belief reveals that he must have had very little contact with the opposite sex. Any man who spends enough time around women will realize that there is nothing “incomplete” about them. The second reason I find his view fascinating is that, from a certain point of view, he is actually correct. In reproduction, there are two chromosomes that determine whether a person is male or female, the X and Y. When a woman is formed, she receives two of the same chromosomes, both X. However, when a man is formed, it occurs because he received an extra chromosome from the father, the Y chromosome. So there are schools of scientific thought that would view women as incomplete, due to their lack of a Y chromosome. However, this is not really accurate. To state that someone is less complete due to a difference in genetic code demonstrates an incomplete knowledge of genetics. In short while women are certainly different from men, it does not make them in any way “less complete.”

            Even though Plato’s reintroduction of the ideas of private property and family ties served to unintentionally restrict the freedom of women, I feel that his answers to questions of gender while, only briefly described in the text were the most admirable. His statement that a “state that does not educate and train women is like a man who only trains his right arm” shows a much deeper understanding of the importance of women to a society than any of the other philosophers demonstrated. When, in his Symposium, Plato gave a woman the honor of having given Socrates his philosophic insight, he demonstrates a belief that women could be even wiser than the most learned of men. His views on women were even more admirable considering that they were totally contrary to the views of his time, which were that women were simply inferior to men in every way.

            While it is unfortunate that the vast majority of philosophers through history have been men (since women often provide a perspective from which men are incapable of viewing issues) it is not altogether surprising. The time in which these philosophers lived was one in which women were expected to be housewives and bear children. These were the only jobs for which most ancient civilizations considered them to be suitable. It saddens me to think of the many brilliant women who were never able to contribute to the philosophical community, and the many incredible insights that were very likely lost as a result.