Engendering origins: critical feminist readings in Plato and Aristotle

509 Pages·1994·1.2 MB·English

by  Bat-Ami Bar On

Engendering Origins : Critical Feminist
title: Readings in Plato and Aristotle SUNY
Series, Feminist Philosophy
author: Bar On, Bat-Ami
publisher: State University of New York Press
isbn10 | asin: 0791416445
print isbn13: 9780791416440
ebook isbn13: 9780585067674
language: English
subject Plato, Aristotle, Feminist theory.
publication date: 1994
lcc: B395.E64 1994eb
ddc: 184/.082
subject: Plato, Aristotle, Feminist theory.
Page i
Engendering Origins
Page ii
SUNY SERIES, FEMINIST PHILOSOPHY
JEFFNER ALLEN, EDITOR
Page iii
Engendering Origins
Critical Feminist Readings in Plato and Aristotle
Edited by
Bat-Ami Bar On
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS
Page iv
Portions of this text have been taken from Inessential Woman by
Elizabeth V. Spelman
Copyright © 1988 by Elizabeth V. Spelman
Reprinted by permission of Beacon Press.
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 1994 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner
whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
For information, address State University of New York Press, State
University Plaza, Albany, N.Y., 12246
Production by Diane Ganeles
Marketing by Fran Keneston
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Engendering origins : critical feminist readings in Plato and
Aristotle / edited by Bat-Ami Bar On.
p. cm. (SUNY series, feminist philosophy)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7914-1643-7 (alk. paper). ISBN 0-7914-1644-5 (pbk. :
alk. paper)
1. Plato. 2. Aristotle. 3. Feminist theory. I. Bar On, Bat
-Ami, 1948 II. Series.
B395.E64 1994
184'.082dc20 92-36046
CIP
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Page v
This book is dedicated to my students
and to my teachers.
Page vii
CONTENTS
Preface ix
Introduction xi
Bat-Ami Bar On
Part One: Plato
Hairy Cobblers and Philosopher-Queens 1
Elizabeth V. Spelman
Eros and Epistemology 25
Christine Pierce
Feminist Dialectics: Plato and Dualism 41
Judith Genova
Overcoming Dualism: The Importance of the Intermediate 53
in Plato's Philebus
Cynthia Hampton
Diotima Speaks Through the Body 83
Susan Hawthorne
Part Two: Aristotle
97
Who's Who in the Polis
Elizabeth V. Spelman
127
Women, Slaves, and "Love of Toil" in Aristotle's Moral
Philosophy
Eve Browning Cole
Page viii
Nourishing Speculation: A Feminist Reading of 145
Aristotelian Science
Cynthia A. Freeland
Aristotle and the Politics of Reproduction 189
Nancy Tuana
Aristotle: Women, Deliberation, and Nature 207
Deborah K. W. Modrak
Aristotle on the Woman's Soul 223
Christine M. Senack
Suggestions for Further Reading 237
Contributors 241
Index 243
Page ix
PREFACE
The idea for an anthology of feminist critical readings in Plato and
Aristotle was inspired by my teaching and by my students, especially
by Cathy Martin. Following some work Cathy did with me in a course
about the history of ancient Greek philosophy at the end of the 1988
spring semester, she told me how upset she was about the history of
philosophy curriculum since it was not relevant enough to her life as a
woman, let alone a black woman. Cathy did not object to studying the
canonical philosophers, but what she wanted most was to (1) examine
their views about women; and (2) look at other views and analyze
them in relation to views about women.
While Cathy inspired the idea for the anthology, Jeffiner Allen
coached the development of this idea into a proposal to the press, and
an incredible network of women philosophers encouraged me to
implement the idea and helped me do so by suggesting possible
contributors to the anthology or by contributing to the anthology
themselves. The contributorsEve Browning Cole, Cynthia A.
Freeland, Judith Genova, Cynthia Hampton, Susan Hawthorne,
Deborah K. W. Modrak, Christine Pierce, Christine M. Senack,
Elizabeth V. Spelman, and Nancy Tuanaare the ones who actualized
the idea, and I would like to thank each one for their work, for
indulging my editorial requests, even the quirky ones, and doing so
with a sense of humor, and for the generosity of their spirits.