Prompt #2

Gender and Philosophy

Views about gender varied back in the early days of philosophy.  Many people did not think that women could ever be as good as men.  Others started to realize their potential at being something more than just the caretaker of the family.
When I read that Aristotle did not think that women could ever be as wise as men, I had to disagree.  I have met some females that are very intelligent and are smarter than a lot of males that were in my classes.  Women can be smarter and wiser than men if they want to and if they work for it.  Men and women are equals and both can equal the other in their accomplishments if they worked for it.  Aristotle probably had a very biased view when it came to work done by women.  He would probably look down upon their work and think that it would never be as good as what a man could do.
I could not agree more with Plato when he believed that women could be just as good as men at philosophy.  He is probably the one that tries to be unbiased with his answers so he could provide better answers to questions.  Plato did not say that women are anything special, but neither did he say that they are not as good as men are.  Plato saw the possibilities that women had in them, and knew they could be just as good as any man.
The reason for the vast majority of males as authority figures in the novel is because males are typically seen as a dominating force.  Men are usually stereotyped as having huge muscles and are all about dominating anybody that stands in their way.  The stereotype of men being bigger is probably the only reason why there are so many male authority figures in the book.  In today's society bigger is usually associated with being more better or more powerful.  When a figure of authority walks into a room most people think of a person that gets most people's attention.  Due to the stereotype, men would have a commanding presence.  Women are usually portrayed as frail and weak so they would not have a presence that would get anybody's attention.
Even today people will have different opinions on whether not a women can ever be as good as a man.  In today's society women are being accepted by more and more people as man's equal.  More people are siding with Plato and agreeing that women can be just as good as a man in anything she does.