The female in Aristotle's biology : reason or rationalization / Robert Mayhew.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mayhew, Robert.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Aristotle.

Misogyny.

Women.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (149 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

While Aristotle's writings on biology are considered to be among his best, the comments he makes about females in these works are widely regarded as the nadir of his philosophical oeuvre. Among many claims, Aristotle is said to have declared that females contribute nothing substantial to generation; that they have fewer teeth than males; that they are less spirited than males; and that woman are analogous to eunuchs. In The Female in Aristotle's Biology, Robert Mayhew aims not to defend Aristotle's ideas about females but to defend Aristotle against the common charge that his writings on female species were motivated by ideological bias. Mayhew points out that the tools of modern science and scientific experimentation were not available to the Greeks during Aristotle's time and that, consequently, Aristotle had relied not only on empirical observations when writing about living organisms but also on a fair amount of speculation. Further, he argues that Aristotle's remarks about females in his biological writings did not tend to promote the inferior status of ancient Greek women. Written with passion and precision, The Female in Aristotle's Biology will be of enormous value to students of philosophy, the history of science, and classical literature.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Preface

Abbreviations

One. Aristotle and "Ideology"

Two. Entomology

Three. Embryology

Four. Eunuchs and Women

Five. Anatomy

Six. The Softer and Less Spirited Sex

Seven. Aristotle on Females: An Assessment of the Biology

References

Index Locorum

Index of Names

General Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 119-124) and indexes.

ISBN:

9786612932847

9781282932845

1282932845

9780226512020

0226512029

OCLC:

692204497