Women in Western Political ThoughtIn this pathbreaking study of the works of Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, and Mill, Susan Moller Okin turns to the tradition of political philosophy that pervades Western culture and its institutions to understand why the gap between formal and real gender equality persists. Our philosophical heritage, Okin argues, largely rests on the assumption of the natural inequality of the sexes. Women cannot be included as equals within political theory unless its deep-rooted assumptions about the traditional family, its sex roles, and its relation to the wider world of political society are challenged. So long as this attitude pervades our institutions and behavior, the formal equality women have won has no chance of becoming substantive. |
Contents
| 3 | |
PART I PLAT0 | 13 |
PART II ARISTOTLE | 71 |
PART III ROUSSEAU | 97 |
PART IV MILL | 195 |
PART V FUNCTIONALISM FEMINISM AND THE FAMILY | 231 |
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achieve AFTERWORD argues argument Aristotle Aristotle's asserts assumption benefit citizens claims classification clearly conclusions confined conflict considered contemporary defined dependent Discourse on Inequality discrimination discussion Emile Equal Rights Amendment equality Ethics example existence fact father female sex FEMINISM fields find first fit freedom fulfill functionalist functions gender Greek guardians Heloise household human husband ideal ideas important individual influence innate institutions interests John Stuart Mill justice Laws LIBERAL FEMINIST lives male man’s marriage means ment Mill Mill's moral Moreover mother NATURAL WOMAN opinion Pateman patriarchal family perceived persons philosophers Plato political theory Political Thought potential pregnancy PRIVATE WIVES radical rational reason reflect regarded reproduction Republic Rousseau Saint-Preux says sex roles sexual significant slaves social Social Contract society Socrates Sophie specifically sphere status structure subjection of Women subordination Supreme Court theorists things tion traditional treatment of women U.S. Supreme Court virtue wife