For
as there is no merit in the science of medicine unless it conduces to the
healing of man's body, so if a philosopher has or teaches reason, it is of no
use if it does not contribute to the virtue of man's soul.
Above
all, we ought to examine the doctrine which we think women who study philosophy
ought to follow; we ought to see if the study which presents modesty as the
greatest good can make them presumptuous, if the study which is a guide to the
greatest self-restraint accustoms them to live heedlessly, if what sets forth
intemperance as the greatest evil does not teach self-control, if what
represents the management of a household as a virtue does not impel them to
manage well their homes.
Finally,
the teachings of philosophy exhort the woman to be content with her lot and to
work with her own hands.
I once
listened to an academic administrator explain that we were all being too naïve
about the purpose of higher education. We were grooming future lawyers, not to
work for justice, but to “legitimize power.” The next generation of bankers
wasn’t going to protect their depositors’ savings, but would rather “increase
corporate profitability.” Some of our students would become doctors, and their
critical role was not going to be the healing of the sick, but the “maximizing
of social efficiency.”
I
couldn’t resist impishly asking him later what role philosophers were supposed
to play in this new world order. Would attending our professional conferences
“facilitate the marketability of value systems?”
I should
not have been surprised, but he took my question quite seriously. “That’s an
excellent point, because we can’t underestimate the benefit that kind of
exposure has for promoting the university’s brand.”
My
apologies for seeming so naïve, but we don’t need lawyers, bankers, or doctors
who are merely buying and selling a product. If they are not defending our
rights, or preserving the fruits of our labors, or curing our diseases, they
aren’t doing their jobs.
The same
is true of philosophers. If they aren’t inspiring us to fall in love with the
truth, and moving us to live with a sense of right and wrong, then we might be
better off without them.
Long
before we consider the roles of men and women, or the functions of different
professions, or who should be richer and who should be poorer, we should surely
ask a much more important question, a question that only philosophy can properly
address. What is it that will make any life worth living? What steps can be
taken by anyone to achieve this end?
A Stoic,
like Musonius, offers an answer that looks to human nature itself. Look first
to the content of character, to the merit of understanding and love, to the
virtue in thoughts and deeds. All the rest can only fall into place after that.
Is it
helping me to love wisdom, to be inspired with courage, to have mastery over my
desires, to treat my neighbor with justice? If the answer is yes, I should by
all means proceed. If the answer is no, I need to follow a different path.
Should I
worry about all the fame and fortune the world keeps talking about? What about
the pleasure, the profit, the power? In and of themselves they are nothing for
me, and I can take them or leave them, finding value only in whether or not
they benefit the health of my soul.
“Well,
an attitude like that won’t make you
a partner, or get you a job on Wall Street, or win you that research grant!”
Perhaps it won’t, but that isn’t what matters, is it? Set the priorities right,
whatever others choose to think. Happiness doesn’t come from those things.
Turning
back now to the original question, is it right for women to study philosophy?
More fundamentally, is it right for any of us at all, men or women, young or
old, rich or poor, to study philosophy? Yes, if it teaches us human decency.
Will it encourage
us to modesty, self-control, and temperance? Will it strengthen us in fairness,
friendship, and compassion? Will it commit us to gladly take responsibility for
what is ours? Will it allow us to be at peace with the world as it comes to us, and
to be content with our own work?
If
philosophy can do that, it will form the best of women, and the best of men.
Written in 4/1999
IMAGE: Jean-Francois Millet, The Gleaners (1857)
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