Women In Plato's The Republic

Women are talked about at length in book five of Plato’s The Republic. Plato expresses how women could and indeed should be used in his ideal state providing them with a place in the upper ranks of society; taking the position of a “guardian” alongside their male counterparts. He believed this could happen as women were an unused pool of resources, they had the ability in their nature and because he felt equality was an integral part of justice.

Revisionist historians have argued that Plato felt women could be legitimate political guardians as he was an egalitarian. This idea that women should hold such an important position was extremely radical within the Athenian society he lived in, and indeed was a concept academics “dismissed, deplored

While the idea of equality must not be taken to its extremes, Plato believes in the ability of some women. In book five, Plato discusses how the ideal society is created by making people work in jobs they are best suited for. As the idea of women in work was so radical, he first draws on differences in men. In section 454 d, Plato says that because the long-haired man and the bald man are opposite, they both cannot do the same job. The response to this is that acting in such a way would be “absurd”4. The argument is so carefully constructed in favour of Socrates that it becomes difficult to disagree with the concept of women and men doing the same job if they are both qualified. The only difference being that “the female bears and the male begets.” Plato also provides ideas of how to rule out this difference later in the discussion through removing families. The ability of women was recognised in Sparta during the same period Plato was living in and while the Spartans were often at war with the Athenians, it is possible that Plato admired the Spartan way of life, or indeed the Spartan ideal. Spartan women are renown for enjoying a great degree of freedom in comparison to their counter parts within Greek society. Sparta is remembered by history as a “strong” nation; Plato perhaps wanted to incorporate them in his ideal society to achieve the same ends, a reputation of strength and community not restrained by gender. Further evidence of this is

Along with believing in the ability of some women, Plato believed strongly in “Telos”, which is the purpose or end goal of an individual. To fulfil the telos of women, Plato believes they should move away from their passive roles within society and work for the common good. The idea of working for the community is valued higher than improving the lives of women as Plato expresses in Laws, he talks about his new ideal state, a utopia called Magnesia. He says that within this society, he would feel justified in compelling women to serve the state. This suggests, perhaps that Plato felt women could be legitimate political guardians as the state requires them, not because they are indeed