Comparing Plato, Aquinas And Aristotle's Views On Women

Philosophy on Women Women are seen from many different perspectives by philosophers. Plato, Aquinas, and Aristotle each expressed their opinions on women and women 's’ roles in society differently. Plato believed that women should be treated as property of man and not as individuals. Aristotle taught that women had some use, but are very low class of the society classes compared to the males. Aquinas on the other hand believed and taught that women are not superior to men, but have a social status as being a part of society because women were made from man. Each philosopher continues to influence society’s view on women through their teachings today. Plato seems to have been very inconsistent on his views on women and their roles. Plato taught that women should be considered property of men and amount to nothing else in society. On the other hand, in Plato’s idea of a republic, Plato stated that women should be educated equally to the males, but only for the highest of functions. Many people believe that Plato meant that women should not be excluded from society completely, but the women that show signs of being a successful guardian should be given the same education as the males in order to fulfill the job of being a guardian. …show more content…
Aristotle stated that women should be considered to be a part of the social classes, but they must not be in a class that is higher than the social class of the men. He argued that men by nature rule the women. Aristotle taught the difference between men and women based on the two parts of the soul; rational and irrational. He stated that men represent the rational element of the soul and women represent the irrational part of the soul. Aristotle is now considered by many people to be sexist due to his association of men with rational souls and women with irrational souls because it links back to his idea of men ruling over