SOURCE: "Aristotle on the Woman's Soul," in Engendering Origins: Critical Feminist Readings in Plato and Aristotle, edited by Bat-Ami Bar On, State University of New York Press, 1995, pp. 1-30.

In the following essay, written in 1994, Senack investigates Aristotle's theories regarding the soul in order to determine his views on the differences between male and female souls. Senack finds that Aristotle conceived of the woman's rational soul as lacking authority over its irrational part, thus making woman man's social inferior. Attributing Aristotle's conclusion either to inaccurate data (resulting from an undeveloped state of scientific discovery) or the Greek cultural bias against women, Senack concludes that Aristotle was not a "classic misogynist."

The Approach

There is no doubt that Aristotle's theories on women are wrong. As his views are presented in what follows here, all one needs is general knowledge in areas such as biology, sociology and psychology to offer...