Wearing Virtue: Plato’s Republic V, 449a-457b and the Socratic Debate on Women’s Nature
In Plato’s Republic V, 449a-457b, Socrates argues that the guardian class of Kallipolis will comprise both men and women and that women with the appropriate nature ought to receive the same education and fulfill the same tasks as their male counterparts. In this article I argue, against competing i...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | deu |
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Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra; Universidade de Brasília
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Archai: Revista de Estudos sobre as Origens do Pensamento Ocidental |
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| Online Access: | https://impactum-journals.uc.pt/archai/article/view/12671 |
| _version_ | 1797833460437483520 |
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| author | Cinzia Arruzza |
| author_facet | Cinzia Arruzza |
| author_sort | Cinzia Arruzza |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
In Plato’s Republic V, 449a-457b, Socrates argues that the guardian class of Kallipolis will comprise both men and women and that women with the appropriate nature ought to receive the same education and fulfill the same tasks as their male counterparts. In this article I argue, against competing interpretations of this claim as dependent either on the necessity of abolishing the oikos or on eugenic principles, that Socrates’ argument ought to be understood as a genuine argument about women’s natural capabilities and ought to be interpreted in light of the Socratic debate about women’s virtues. Moreover, I show that the legal language mobilized, combined with polemical references to Aristophanes, serves the purpose of evoking Socrates’ trial, thus alerting the reader to the seriousness of the proposal in question.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T14:23:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fbb05c4c2f564c0e8d8075e783359bac |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2179-4960 1984-249X |
| language | deu |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T14:23:26Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra; Universidade de Brasília |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Archai: Revista de Estudos sobre as Origens do Pensamento Ocidental |
| spelling | doaj.art-fbb05c4c2f564c0e8d8075e783359bac2023-05-04T13:57:22ZdeuImprensa da Universidade de Coimbra; Universidade de BrasíliaArchai: Revista de Estudos sobre as Origens do Pensamento Ocidental2179-49601984-249X2023-04-013310.14195/1984-249X_33_06Wearing Virtue: Plato’s Republic V, 449a-457b and the Socratic Debate on Women’s Nature Cinzia Arruzza0New School for Social Research e Eugene Lang College, NY In Plato’s Republic V, 449a-457b, Socrates argues that the guardian class of Kallipolis will comprise both men and women and that women with the appropriate nature ought to receive the same education and fulfill the same tasks as their male counterparts. In this article I argue, against competing interpretations of this claim as dependent either on the necessity of abolishing the oikos or on eugenic principles, that Socrates’ argument ought to be understood as a genuine argument about women’s natural capabilities and ought to be interpreted in light of the Socratic debate about women’s virtues. Moreover, I show that the legal language mobilized, combined with polemical references to Aristophanes, serves the purpose of evoking Socrates’ trial, thus alerting the reader to the seriousness of the proposal in question. https://impactum-journals.uc.pt/archai/article/view/12671WomenVirtueKallipolisAristophanes |
| spellingShingle | Cinzia Arruzza Wearing Virtue: Plato’s Republic V, 449a-457b and the Socratic Debate on Women’s Nature Archai: Revista de Estudos sobre as Origens do Pensamento Ocidental Women Virtue Kallipolis Aristophanes |
| title | Wearing Virtue: Plato’s Republic V, 449a-457b and the Socratic Debate on Women’s Nature |
| title_full | Wearing Virtue: Plato’s Republic V, 449a-457b and the Socratic Debate on Women’s Nature |
| title_fullStr | Wearing Virtue: Plato’s Republic V, 449a-457b and the Socratic Debate on Women’s Nature |
| title_full_unstemmed | Wearing Virtue: Plato’s Republic V, 449a-457b and the Socratic Debate on Women’s Nature |
| title_short | Wearing Virtue: Plato’s Republic V, 449a-457b and the Socratic Debate on Women’s Nature |
| title_sort | wearing virtue plato s republic v 449a 457b and the socratic debate on women s nature |
| topic | Women Virtue Kallipolis Aristophanes |
| url | https://impactum-journals.uc.pt/archai/article/view/12671 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cinziaarruzza wearingvirtueplatosrepublicv449a457bandthesocraticdebateonwomensnature |