Women in Plato’s Political Theory

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-vii

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Morag Buchan

   Pages 1-9

3. The Gender Debate

   • Morag Buchan

   Pages 10-31

4. The Masculine Soul

   • Morag Buchan

   Pages 32-52

5. The Transcendent Male

   • Morag Buchan

   Pages 53-76

6. The Immanent Female

   • Morag Buchan

   Pages 77-97

7. The Nature of Women and the World of Politics

   • Morag Buchan

   Pages 98-134

8. Plato and Feminism

   • Morag Buchan

   Pages 135-154

9. Conclusion: A Return to the Gender Debate

   • Morag Buchan

   Pages 155-161

10. Back Matter

    Pages 162-189

    PDF

Women in Plato's Political Theory argues that Plato's philosophy is a gendered philosophy; it contains within its basic tenets notions associated with masculinity. Consequently, the book explores the reasons why, in The Republic Plato includes women in the ruling class of his proposed ideal State on apparently equal terms with men and appears to offer them the opportunity to become Philosopher Kings, the ultimate rulers.

• feminism
• gender
• nature
• philosophy
• Plato
• political theory
• politics
• women

• South Bank University, London, UK

  Morag Buchan

MORAG BUCHAN is Senior Lecturer in Political Theory at South Bank University. She started working life as a journalist, first on local Scottish newspapers and finally on the staff of a Scottish national daily newspaper based in Edinburgh. She moved to London in 1973, shortly after the birth of her son, and her degrees were taken as a mature student at Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London. She joined the staff of South Bank University in 1991.

Policies and ethics