Ancient Western Philosophy And Women: Where Have They Gone?

"Changing attitudes in Britain Society towards women was the major reason why some women received the vote in 1918". How accurate is this view?

For centuries women, in many cultures women have been fighting for their rights and women equality, politically, socially and for their own personal reasons. As women have been fighting for equality, politically, socially and personally, they had no importance in these platforms in Greece. Athenian woman had very view rights and were controlled by a male relative. Even though ancient Athens was in a state of democracy, women were powerless to vote, and do any political activity. It was disgraceful for a woman to be brave and express a role of men. This essay will go more in depth about Athenian women and how they were treated.

“ The belief that women were inherently inferior in intelligence, strength, and character was so persuasive that for men like Knox, a woman ruler was almost a contradiction in terms” (“Documents for Chapters 5&6”). In the 16th century, women were looked upon as a gender that should stay in the house and work, not have power and rule over a country. Discussing the govern of Queens during the 16th century, such as Mary Tudor, Lady Jane Grey, Mary, Queen of Scots, and Elizabeth I, allowed prejudices to be lessened but never completely be erased. No matter how these four notable ladies came into power, the accomplishments they overcame, achieved and wrote about proved to be great and substantial in making history as it is written today.

Women in ancient Rome and China were very different but quite similar as for as their treatment and roles were concerned. In both cultures they were under the protection of their fathers until they married. When they married they were to stay home and be wives, they were not formally educated and learned to manage their households. They were not allowed to disgrace their families in any way and were inferior to men from the moment of birth. Chinese women whether from a noble or a poor family could not escape oppression, but it was somewhat easier for the women from Noble families. (8) Comparing the women of Ancient Rome (750BC – AD500) and the women of China (350BC – AD600), from the roles they played in

Throughout the three literary periods: The Ancient World, The Middle Ages, and The Renaissance; women have been portrayed and treated in different ways. The Iliad by Homer is about the Trojan War fought by the Achaeans and Trojans which was over the capturing of the wife of King Menelaus, Helen of Troy, by Paris. In The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer, it is about a group of 29 people who are all on a pilgrimage to Canterbury to worship St. Thomas’s shrine; however, as Chaucer describes all these types of people not many of them are very religious and the stories they tell show the perspective and portrayal of women in this time. In Francis Petrarch’s poetry Rhymes, he describes his love and admiration for a woman who doesn’t love him back, yet Petrarch still confesses his love for her through his poetry. Through these stories and poems, The Iliad, The Canterbury Tales, and Rhymes, from the three time periods, the role of women is a progression of how they were looked at and their role in that time period, by men.

“Whose behavior could be odder / than that of a stubborn man / who himself breathes on the mirror, / and then laments it is not clear?” Man’s double standards and self-inflicted exacerbation of women has been a prominent issue for centuries. Consequently, women have faced marginalization and oppression throughout the ages. In moments of bravery, exemplary figures have spoken out against this injustice. Two such characters during the Enlightenment period are Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and Mary Wollstonecraft. Specifically, Sor Juana’s poem “Philosophical Satire” and Wollstonecraft’s piece A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Sor Juana speaks to the injustice her gender faces through sharp words which attack the double standard and

Women in second wave civilizations from China, Rome, and Greece around 600 BCE to 200 AC were treated very differently from each other and their male counterparts from this time, but they also shared some similarities. In this essay, I'll be exploring the differences from each other, and how women played a role in their civilizations during this time. Women in this time period don't have as many rights as they do today, but they still play a part in their civilizations/empires. So without further ado, let's see the similarities and differences between these civilizations.

Women in antiquity did not have an easy life. In an era where man rules, women have limited freedom and few rights. Women’s roles differed little from Rome, Egypt, and China. There were few exceptions: women living in the city of Sparta had some nobility and rose to power, for example, Athena, the goddess of wisdom and military victory. Besides those above, women of that era were limited to an education, mobility, and their roles was housewives and childbearing. Women had little time to involve herself in the political goings on in that era.

Elizabeth Spelman in Woman as Body - Ancient and Contemporary Views addresses how ancient philosophers, specifically Plato, viewed women in society and how that view is impacting the role of women in modern times. At surface value, it seems as if Spelman is placing the blame for the contemporary view of women as nothing more than body on Plato’s advocated ideas of dualism, which equates, most simply, that women are inferior to men. But after completing Spelman’s complete journal, I think that the more pressing problem outlined in Spelman’s argument is how the oppression of women is directly connected to the oppression of groups based on race, class, ability and a variety of other things. Many people approach the problems of sexism separating women from these other groups, but in reality women are apart of all of these groups and therefore have to undergo two or more forms of intertwining oppression.

Henrik Ibsen once said, “A woman cannot be herself in the society of the present day, which is an exclusively masculine society, with laws framed by men and with a judicial system that judges feminine conduct from a masculine point of view.”(Notable Quotes) Ibsen’s statement exemplifies what life was like for women during ancient times. In many of the organized ancient civilizations, it was very common to find a primarily patriarchal civilization in government as well as in society. The causing factors can be attributed to different reasons, the main being the Neolithic Revolution and the new found dependence on manpower it caused. As a result of this, a woman found herself to be placed into an entirely different view in the eye of

To each society, there is its own set of rules. Many of these rules separate the women from the men or the children from the adults by creating certain duties for each individual. There are many comparisons between the women of Islamic and Roman societies. The roles that are given to these two groups of women show what is expected of them as a wife, the mother of the family, and where they stand politically.

In book five of Plato’s Republic, Socrates argues that in the ideal city of Kallipolis, both men and women will serve as guardians and auxiliaries. Consequently, Plato appears to endorse feminist ideologies. Firs,t I will define proto-traditional feminism, and modern feminism. I will then argue that Plato presents Socrates, and thereby himself, as an advocate for feminism. However, I will show that Plato is only a feminist under the proto-traditional definition of feminism. He fails to fit the modern definition of feminism, as this definition is contingent on equality and equity. Furthermore, I will consider the objection that Plato cannot be a feminist due to his motivation for equality. Although Plato endorses some feminist ideologies,

Aspasia of Miletus, born during the 5th century BC, was renown for her outspoken ways and for being the mistress of the statesman Pericles. The expectations of women throughout that century, such as staying at home and serving their spouse, were adhered to by many. However, she defied these expectations which thus resulted in gaining large controversy, yet respect from Athenian citizens. Aspasia's intellect resulted in a minority of Athenian citizens holding her in high esteem. It is said that "some Athenian men even brought their wives to her in hopes that they would gain some insight and intellect from her words." Whilst Aspasia was revered as one of the most influential women of Ancient Greece, especially during the 5th century BC, there were many women who were left ignored due to their supposed lack of influence. These include women such as Gorgo of Sparta; the mistress of the Spartan king named Leonidas, Sappho of Lesbos; a renown lyrical poet, Telesilla of Argos; a poet, and multiple others.

Throughout history, women have been seen in many different lights. From a woman’s perspective she is strong, smart, helpful and equal to men. In the eyes of men, she is seen as the weaker being, the housewife, and the caretaker. By looking at the following pieces of writing, one can see that through the centuries, women have struggled to break out of the mold that man had put her in and make themselves known in society as important.

As a Professor of Comparative Literature and Program of Critical Theory, Judith Butler received her Ph.D. in Philosophy from Yale in 1984 and has received nine honorary degrees since then. Her work has an air of postmodern thought, focusing not on whether cultural practices are correct or not but goes in depth on the use language and its effect on how “gender” limits or even hinders women and those that don’t identify as either. In the 1990’s when Butler wrote this book during a time of great change in the portrayal of the female role. Women started having more empowered roles, no longer simply