Ontological Foundations of the Concept of Gender in the Paradigm of Ancient Greek Philosophy
Abstract
The discussion on the status of women in the public sphere has been taking place since the beginning of the socio-political thought. Contemporary dispute over women’s identity appears to have two possible ontological foundations. The first was developed on the basis of Platonic thought, the second – by Aristotle. The aim of this article is to study the two ontological foundations of the discourse on women's identity presented by both philosophers and to show how the choice of one possible concept generates different social directives. The first concept assumes that “woman” is a more or less arbitrary socio-political construct, thus the concept of women does not have any fixed content. Women’s character is secondary to their socialization. Woman is equal to man in terms of intellectuality and mentality. It is the method of education that makes woman handicapped relative to man. The division into masculinity and femininity is therefore an example of abuse. The second concept affirms the differences in the way of viewing the world of man and woman, based on their different mental structures/constructions. It is said that if humanity is divided into two biological sexes, this difference has to be reflected naturally in the culture and behaviours. Behaviours, interests, goals and needs of men and women are and should be different, because they are grounded on the distinct experiences of both sexes.
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