Allison Rollins: Blog 2

Allison Rollins

Mrs. Wilhelmus/Wagener

AP Language

4 August 2013

Philosophy’s View on Women

From staying at home and cleaning, to being uneducated and powerless, women did not always have the upper hand in life. History makes this evident because very few, if any, women were given the simple rights society takes for granted today.  Through time, women have prevailed and have become more powerful and intelligent. In Sophie’s World the well-known, historical philosophers open up and tell their perspective on women at their time of living.

Aristotle believed women to be an incomplete version of man. Aristotle saw women as the “unfinished man.” He thought that man gave the child all of the genes for life. In my mind, this kind of angered me. I thought of Aristotle to be such an intelligent man, but when it came to women he was certainly incorrect. He was so wrong about the relationship of the sexes and how the reproductive system works.  Aristotle did not realize how important women are for existence. In addition, Aristotle also swayed the view of women in the church. The Bible did not reflect what the church was teaching. In God’s eyes everyone is equal. Overall, Aristotle was a brilliant man; he was just inaccurate with his view on women.

I think that Plato was the wisest man when it came to views on women. Plato believed that women had the right to reason, just like man did, if they were given the same education and training.  Plato said, “A state that does not educate and train women is like a man who only trains his right arm.” This shows Plato views women as having just as many capabilities as a man does. Just because Plato was a man, he did not feel he was superior to women. He felt that women deserved just the same rights as men. Plato had the best view towards women in Sophie’s World, in my opinion.

It really was not unexpected when I learned that the vast majority of philosophers in Sophie’s World were male. Many women during this time period were not given the opportunity to be educated. Women were the ones that were supposed to be taking care of the house and children. Men, on the other hand, were able to be educated and dig deeper to find answers to the questions of the world. Men saw themselves as the great leaders, and teachers of that time.

Though women were given very little rights in history, they still found a way to prove to men that they are just as capable, and equal as anyone else. No matter what gender a person is, everyone plays an important part in the world we live in.