Reason in the shadow of sexism: the feminine in Seneca’s thought

Abstract

In this article we will address the ambiguous and sometimes contradictory representation of women in the thought of the Stoic philosopher Seneca. With this, we want to show that the construction of the misogynist posture in philosophy takes place, first, since antiquity and, often in conflict with the presuppositions and principles professed by the different currents of thought. In the specific case of this text, we intend to show how Seneca, a stoic philosopher, presents the female gender in a derogatory way and, as we shall see, with arguable support in the set of principles of stoic philosophy. By following the reflections of the Roman thinker on the feminine gender, we realize that there is a double presentation of women. In some passages, the philosopher exposes them as virtuous and, therefore, worthy of philosophical activity and capable of good deeds. On the other hand, and most of the time, the Latin author gives the feminine gender characteristics that indicate limitations and can impact their ethical behavior, thus impairing the full exercise of their rationality. Many times, we see Seneca associate feminine adjectives to moral flaws and character deficiencies, while masculine adjectives are associated with virtuous actions linked to rationality. Nevertheless,
how to understand such ambiguity in relation to the female gender if, in principle, the Stoic thought upholds that the potentiality of performing virtuous actions is guaranteed to humanity due to its participation in universal reason?