Plato's Dialectic on Woman: Equal, Therefore Inferior

Plato’s Dialectic on Woman: Equal, Therefore Inferior
Table of Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: The State of the Question
	CHARACTERIZATIONS OF THE CONTRADICTION
	OBVIOUS RESULTS OF THE ABOVE INTERPRETATIONS
Prologue: The Feminine Presence in the Dialogues — A Methodological Consideration
	INFLUENCES ON PLATO’S UNDERSTANDING OF WOMAN
	THE TEXTS ON WOMAN AND WOMEN IN THE TEXT
Part I: The Dramatic/Rhetorical Texts
1 Dramatic/Rhetorical Views of Woman
	I. WOMAN WITHIN PHILOSOPHICAL ARGUMENTS ON OTHER TOPICS
		A Dramatic/Rhetorical Instance of Woman within a Philosophical Proposal
	II. WOMAN IN THE DRAMATIC/RHETORICAL DRAWING OF CHARACTERS
	III. WOMAN IN THE ATHENIAN AND WIDER GREEK BACKGROUND
	CONCLUSION
	APPENDICES
		A. The Seclusion of Woman
		B. The Mother’s Role
		C. Feminine Characters
Part II: The Philosophical Texts
2 The Socratic Origin
	INTRODUCTION
	THE SOCRATIC ORIGINS
	ANALYSIS OF THE TEXT
	THE INFLUENCE OF SOCRATES
	ARISTOTLE’S TESTIMONY
	SOCRATES’ FRIENDS AND FOLLOWERS
	THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SOCRATES’ CONTRIBUTION
	CONCLUSION
	APPENDICES: THE FOLLOWERS OF SOCRATES ON WOMEN’S EQUALITY
		A. Early Followers
		B. Later Influence in the Socratics and Others
3 Satirical Criticism of Simplistic Views of Equality
	ARISTOPHANES’ SPEECH
	ANALYSIS OF THE TEXT
	ARISTOPHANES’ CONVICTIONS
	LEVELS OF COMPLEXITY
	THE CONTRIBUTION OF ARISTOPHANES’ SPEECH
	CONCLUSION
4 The Three Waves in the Analogy between City and Soul
	THE IMPORTANCE OF THE INVESTIGATION
	A NEW APPROACH
	1 THE GROUNDWORK FOR PLATO’S REFLECTION
	2 THE INTERRUPTION
	3 SELF-EXAMINATION AS A PLATONIC TRAIT
	4 AN ADEQUATE METHOD FOR THE INVESTIGATION
	5 HOW TO UNCOVER THE SUBTEXT
	6 IDENTIFYING THE SUBTEXT
	7 TEXTUAL VERIFICATION
	8 CONCLUSION
	APPENDICES: OTHER INTERPRETATIONS OF BOOK 5
		A. The Sudden Introduction of Woman
		B. The Three Waves
		C. The Relation of the First Wave to the Second
		D. The Community of Women
5 The Logic of the First Wave
	SOCRATES’ PROPOSAL AND ITS OBJECTION
	THE PRECISE MEANING OF PLATO’S “NATURE”
	ERRORS ON THE NOTION OF “NATURE”
	THE ARGUMENT
		1. ARGUMENT OF POSSIBILITY (452e–456c)
			(a) The Logic of the Major Premise (454a–e)
				THE MEANING OF THE EXAMPLE
			(b) Empirical Verifi cation of the Minor Premise (454e–455e)
				WHAT THE PROOF REVEALS
		2. WHETHER THIS PROPOSAL IS THE BEST (456C–457B)
	PLATO’S COMMITMENT TO THE DOCTRINE
	EXAMINING WOMAN’S WEAKNESS
	CONSIDERATION PRELIMINARY TO A CONCLUSION
	CONCLUSION
	APPENDICES
		A. Errors on the Notion of “Nature”
		B. The Bald and the Hairy
		C. Less Likely Interpretations
		D. Woman’s Weakness in the Commentaries
		E. Plato’s Dualism and Contemporary Commentaries
6 Thematic Transformation: The Cosmology of Woman in Timaeus
	THE TEXT
	INTERPRETATIVE DIFFICULTIES
		1) The Paternity of Timaeus’ Cosmology
		2) Man and the Cosmos: Timaeus’ Function within Plato’s Philosophy
		3) The Function of Myth
	THE MEANING OF THE TEXTS ON WOMAN IN TIMAEUS
		I. References to Woman in Republic
		II. Cosmological Dimensions of the Feminine in Myth
			1. The Metaphysical Foundations of the Soul’s Equality
			2. Equality and Inferiority of Woman’s Soul
			3. The Relation of the Woman’s Body to Her Soul’s Moral State
	CONCLUSION
	APPENDICES
		A. On the First Generation
		B. Whether the First Generation Involves Only the Soul
7 Solving the Puzzle of Woman in Laws
	THE BACKGROUND OF PLATO’S THINKING
	THE SUBTEXT OF LAWS
	THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REPUBLIC AND LAWS
	UNUSUAL TEXTUAL TRAITS
	THE PLACE OF WOMAN IN LAWS: THE TEXTS
		1. Educating Female Nature for the Second City
		2. Common Meals
		3. Women’s Assignments in the City
			a) The Supervisors of Marriage
	CONTROVERTED ASPECTS
		1. Reintroducing Nuclear Marriage
		2. The Misunderstanding of “Nature”
		3. The Inferiority of Woman
		4. Plato’s Silence on Woman’s Leadership Positions
	SOLVING THE PUZZLE OF WOMAN IN LAWS
	CONCLUSION
	APPENDICES
		A. Scholars’ Awareness of Plato’s Concern about Woman in Laws
		B. The Reintroduction of Nuclear Marriage
		C. The Inferiority of Women
		D. Women in Athens
		E. Women in Sparta
		F. Women in Literature
Part III: Plato’s Philosophy of Woman
8 Prolegomenon to the Results
9 Equal, Therefore Inferior: The Logic of Plato on Woman
	THE DEFINING FEATURES OF PLATO’S THEORY
	RECONSTRUCTING THE PLATONIC WOMAN
	HOW PLATO KNOWS WOMAN
	“EQUAL, THEREFORE INFERIOR.” THE LOGICAL OUTCOME OF PLATO’S DUALISM
10 Beyond Plato: Groundwork for a Theory of Woman
	THE PRINCIPLES FOR A METAPHYSICS OF WOMAN
	NOTES FOR A DEFINITION OF WOMAN
Appendix to the Text: Greek Words on Women and the Feminine
	1. WORDS THAT REFER DIRECTLY TO WOMEN OR FEMININE PERSONS
	2. WORDS INDIRECTLY REFERRING TO WOMAN OR A FEMININE PERSON
	3. WORDS RELATED TO THE TOPIC
	4. WORDS DERIVED FROM FEMININE TERMS
	5. WORDS THAT APPEAR ONLY IN SPURIOUS OR DOUBTFUL WORKS
Bibliography
Index of Ancient and Medieval Names
Index of Modern and Contemporary Sources
Index of General Concepts
Index of Terms and Concepts Relevant to Specific Dialogues