Lecture 3: Plato (cave allegory), Aristotle

What are creationist orgins?

An attempt at explaining the origin of men & women

What is Plato’s creation myth?

Women were created from men who lived unrighteous and unvirtuous lives

• women considered a deformity

• sexist biases

Why didn’t Aristotle have a creation myth?

Because he practiced philosophy differently

How does Aristotle define men and women?

Man = logos (rational animal)

• Slaves lacked logos & capacity

• Women have logos but lack authority/rationality

Man is a universal definition for a human being

• Man: public sphere (rationality to run state)

• Women: domestic sphere

What is Kant/Kantianism?

A universal morality

• for something to be ethical, we all must be able to do it

• conflict between moral philosophy & his racial heirarchies

What is Plato’s ideal society?

Men & women both fit to fulfill higher roles

• Soldiers: require strength & education regardless of gender → but are de-sexed (made men and female the same instead of viewing them as equal)

• Females: give birth

• Can’t be leader & parent at the same time

• Initial ending of patriarchy (gave equal opportunities)

What is Plato’s Cave allegory?

A group of people are born into cave & chained up → spend whole life looking at wall

• see only darkness / shadows (thinks shadows are real and not a reflection of reality)

• True enlightenment is leaving the cave to truly perceive reality!

The cave supposed to represent the uterus, leaving the cave to seek knowledge is to find the “son”

• female = sheltered life, give birth to reality

What is Plato’s hierarchy of love? (ladder of love)

• Believed love was a ladder, and women were are the bottom of this ladder

• women subordinate to men

How do Plato and Aristotle differ in terms of their work?

Plato’s work is much more open-ended and can be re-interpreted without bias

• This is not true for Aristotle

What is Aristotle’s Matter, Form, & biology?

• male = form

• female = matter

Embryos by default are male, men disposes form (sperm) into matter → if things go right, baby is male, female baby is a result of unvirtuous women

• Origin that women belong at home (domestic) & men in public (politics)

What are the issues with Aristotle’s tellings?

• Written plainly → no nuance/interpretation

• Difficult to find feminist takeaways

• Responsible for medieval sexism (witches/witchcraft)