Philosophy Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
| |||
|
| |||
| Interpretation: A) making statements about other statements, whereby the new statements of the vocabulary make use of the original statements and possibly introduce new vocabulary. If no new vocabulary is introduced, new information can be obtained by changing the syntactic elements. B) In logic, the insertion of values (objects) instead of the constants or free variables. _____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
| Author | Concept | Summary/Quotes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Feminism on Interpretation - Dictionary of Arguments
Gaus I 23 Interpretation/politics/feminism/Ball: Feminism has had a profound and lasting impact on the way we study and interpret works in the history of political thought. >Historiography, cf. >History, >Politics. A feminist perspective puts issues concerning gender at the forefront, and from that vantage point one views political theory anew and makes interesting - and sometimes appalling - discoveries (...). Such a sensibility injects a strong strain of scepticism into the study of ‘classic’ works. For, as Susan Okin observes, ‘the great tradition of political philosophy consists, generally speaking, of writings by men, for men, and about men’ (Okin 1979: 5)(1). To study this tradition from a feminist perspective is to be struck by the extent to which the civic and legal status of women was long considered to be a subject unworthy of theoretical treatment – or perhaps merely beneath the theorists’ contempt, and therefore outside the purview of historians of political thought, most of whom happen to be male. A feminist or gender-centred approach to the history of political thought began in the 1960s when women were looking for a ‘usable past’, a history that connected present struggles with previous ones largely neglected by historians, most of whom were male. Feminist historians of political thought sought heroines – and heroes – who had championed the cause of women’s rights and related causes. One early anthology (Schneir, 1972)(2) included not only selections from Mary Wollstonecraft, Emma Goldman, and others, but also a section on ‘Men as Feminists’, which placed Friedrich Engels, John Stuart Mill, and other men in the feminist pantheon. This transgender ‘popular front’ sought support from all available quarters. Several specialized studies of particular thinkers appeared during this brief period. Theorists who might roughly be labelled as ‘liberal’ were singled out for special attention and homage. Melissa Butler (1991)(3) found the ‘liberal roots’ of feminism in Locke’s ‘attack on patriarchalism’. >J. Locke. Jeremy Bentham was honoured as ‘the father of feminism’ (Boralevi, 1984(4): ch. 2) and John Stuart Mill as its ‘patron saint’ (Williford, 1975)(5). >J. Bentham, >J. St. Mill. This popular front was short-lived, however, for the father was exposed as a patriarch and something of a misogynist and the patron saint as a closet sinner with feet of clay (Okin, 1979(1): ch. 9; Pateman, 1988(6); 1989(7)). >S. M. Okin. 1. Okin, Susan M. (1979) Women in Western Political Thought. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 2. Schneir, Miriam, ed. (1972) Feminism: The Essential Historical Writings. New York: Vintage. 3. Butler, Melissa A. (1991) ‘Early liberal roots of feminism: John Locke and the attack on patriarchy’. In Mary Lyndon Shanley and Carole Pateman, eds, Feminist Interpretations and Political Theory. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press. 4. Boralevi, Lea Campos (1984) Bentham and the Oppressed. Berlin: de Gruyter. 5. Williford, Miriam (1975) ‘Bentham on the rights of women’. Journal of the History of Ideas, 36: 167–76. 6. Pateman, Carole (1988) The Sexual Contract. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. 7. Pateman, Carole (1989) The Disorder of Women. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Ball, Terence. 2004. „History and the Interpretation of Texts“. In: Gaus, Gerald F. 2004. Handbook of Political Theory. SAGE Publications._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Feminism Gaus I Gerald F. Gaus Chandran Kukathas Handbook of Political Theory London 2004 |
||
> Counter arguments against Feminism
> Counter arguments in relation to Interpretation
Ed. Martin Schulz, access date 2024-04-17