Plato And Aristotle On Women And Society

6 Pages 1570 Words

In The Politics, Aristotle devotes much of the text to criticizing many of Plato’s views contained in Republic. These criticisms range from the over-unified state to the perpetual happiness of Plato’s farming and merchant class including every notion of Plato’s in between. However, Plato did not right Republic to tell the ancient world what government should be like. He wrote it to say something about morality and goodness. As with many readers of Republic, Aristotle misunderstands the nature and purpose of Plato’s text.
To the reader, many of Plato’s ideas appear radical and rather unorthodox and even contradicting, and are quite obviously satirical. When one reads Republic in this way, he or she may be accustomed to ignoring Plato’s messages. Sure, Plato was attempting a stab at humor, however, that does necessarily imply all of his ideas with respect to community structure are necessarily bad or wrong. A clear example of this is women’s role in the community. Plato, of course, proposes that women, while being inferior to men, shall still participate in the same professions and activities that men do. This sentiment is further supported by ideas proposed in The Laws. Furthermore, this consistency further supports his seemingly radical and wacky arguments in Republic.
Aristotle of course finds this course of thought ridiculous. He undoubtedly has no problem agreeing with Plato’s comments that men are physically stronger and altogether by nature superior to women. The problem here lies in that, like men, each woman has a purpose and a job they are best suited for in life. Aristotle, though the majority of his ideas are sound, is incorrect in his dispositions on women, because, as Plato implies, the diversity offered by an equal share in the state between the sexes creates a stronger body.
Plato’s most apt pupil, Aristotle, while agreeing with his master that women are by nature inferior to men, disa...