Open AccessPlato and Equality for Women across Social Class
Author(s) -
Coleen P. Zoller
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
revista de filosofia antiga
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1981-9471
DOI - 10.11606/issn.1981-9471.v15i1p35-62
Subject(s) - ideal (ethics) , socrates , the republic , class (philosophy) , mythology , extension (predicate logic) , gender studies , sociology , gender equality , law , epistemology , philosophy , political science , theology , computer science , programming language
This essay will marshal evidence for Plato’s extension of equal education and professional opportunity to all women, including artisan women who are not his ideal city’s philosopher-queens. I examine the explicit commentary in the Republic, Timaeus, and Laws about women in artisan professions, and I link it together with the three of the core principles advanced in the Republic, particularly (1) the principle of specialization (R. 369b-370c), (2) the principle of irrelevant reproductive differences (R. 454b-e, 456b), and (3) the principle of children’s potential (R. 415a-c, 423c-d) that arises from the myth of metals. Plato uses his Socrates and the Athenian to argue against gender discrimination because it violates these principles. Plato offering a theory of equal opportunity for women across all classes ought to be highlighted as one of the central achievements of the Republic.