THE “LIBERAL” STATE… …a woman’s perspective

Introduction This presentation will focus on gender equality in the law. Feminist maintain that historically laws have not been in

women’s hands and have largely been one sided against women

This presentation will discuss the law as a powerful medium of progressive change and furthermore its bias against women and its present quest for equality

I will discuss the perspectives of specific philosophers throughout history including: Plato/Aristotle, John Locke/Hobbes, and the more contemporary views of John Stewart Mill and feminine theorist Catharine Mackinnon

I will discuss their perspectives in terms of feminine equality in their conception of laws

The Ancients Dating back to the fourth century BC, one

can find anti feminist ideas in the philosophies of many great ancient philosophers, namely Plato and Aristotle

It can be argued that the prominent gender-bias found in society and laws stem from these great thinkers.

These two philosophers in particular, purport that women are deficient in some way, whether it be physically, as in Aristotle, or socially and physically, as in Plato

Plato In many of his dialogues Plato posits a sexiest view In his dialogue Timaeus, Plato discuses reincarnation, stating that

men who “were cowards or lead unrighteous lives may…changed into the nature of women” when they are reincarnated

In the Republic, and in the Laws Plato further deprecates the nature of women

Plato calls women the “weaker partners” to men in their occupations, and in the Laws he states the female sex is more “inclined to be more secretive and crafty, because of its weakness..a women’s natural potential for virtue is inferior to a mans”

Through these passages Plato’s sexiest views are made clear Women in their nature are not as emotionally able as men These views still permeate our society today

Question Where can these beliefs be found in

society today?

Aristotle Aristotle, a student of Plato also devalued women in his philosophies He believed that women were inferior to men by nature as a result of

their physical being In his text, A History of Animals, Aristotle engages in a pseudo

scientific discussion about the nature of humans and animals He discuses the bodies of men and women, and furthermore states

that the root of women’s inferiority lies in there defective bodies It is evident that these two ancient thinkers, among others, believed

in the inability of the female sex These two philosophers, being two of the most influential thinkers of

all time, set out a frame work for how we think about gender socially and politically

In turn the discussion and formulation of laws and subsequent philosophies and in practice often incorporate this inherently biased conception of gender

Question As women do you believe in these

ancient views, or in what ways do you think women transcend them?

Social Contract Theory and Feminism

Social contract theory discusses hypothetical “social contracts” or laws, and how people should act politically and morally as a result

Early social contract theorists discussed the nature of society, and furthermore, postulated laws

The Social Contract Theory has its origins in the works of Thomas Hobbes, and John Locke

They essentially considered how man would behave in a world devoid of laws or government- a “state of nature”

Hobbes and Locke both argued that in order to have safe and stable lives, rational beings in this 'state of nature' should enter into an agreement or “social contract” to create a sovereign government that would regulate their lives and the world.

Rational beings will thus be more willing to give up part of their liberty in exchange for a system of law which would therefore make their lives much more stable and secure.

John Stuart Mills John Stewart Mills is a British

philosopher, moral, and political theorist who’s aim was to develop a positive view of the universe and the place of humans in it

He was interested in the progression of human knowledge and individual freedom and wellbeing

Mill therefore wrote in his essay on the Subjection of Women a defense on gender equality

He believed that women must be liberated from the shackles they are trained to voluntarily impose upon themselves, as it is in their own interest and in the interests of society

Mills advocated for women to participate in democratic political processes where they can be free, and debates about social means can be made

He thought that this would be one part of many steps through which women could come to recognize how they were bound contrary to their own interests and thus help secure their own freedom and develop their own individuality

Catharine Mackinnon“Law has the potential to

change the world in which we live” K.M

MacKinnon is a contemporary feminist who believes that our cultural, social environment reinforces a long-standing custom of male-dominance (as seen in Plato and Aristotle)

She believes that “male power is systemic. Coercive, legitimated, and epistemic, it is the regime.”

MacKinnon agreed that gender relationships are deeply political

She maintained that the state is “male in the feminist sense”, or in other words, that the state sees and treats women as men see and treat women

Male is the implicit reference for human; when laws reference humans, they are really referencing them from a male view

promoting freedom and equality for women would reflect a profound shift in basic assumptions about the nature of women and their proper place in the world

Overall, MacKinnon believed that in order to change laws to be truly unbiased in terms of gender, and society one would have to change their deeply rooted views on gender

She believes that laws are inherently male, and they further the male perspective

Laws today are informed by our gender biases, and further subjugate women, even unknowingly

Conclusion In conclusion the gender biased views found in

our society can be traced back to philosophers from the ancient time

Centuries later contemporary philosophers/theorists began to advocate for the equality of women in the law

The law is a powerful medium of progressive change but is also a means to further the inequality

Feminist theorists such as McKinnon continue to advocate for the evolving gender equality in the law