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Schopenhauer also wrote some cracking stuff on women: http://www.heretical.com/miscella/onwomen.html http://www.heretical.com/miscella/onwomen.html
by george_morgan 17y ago
Schopenhauer also wrote some cracking stuff on women: http://www.heretical.com/miscella/onwomen.html http://www.heretical.com/miscella/onwomen.html
- omouse 17y agoI wonder how much of those ideas are merely a reflection of the society he lived in rather than his own thoughts?
- tdoggette 17y agoThat's an excuse I'd accept for someone's everyday views: "eh, they probably never thought about it and just went with society's default." When a philosopher sits down and writes about their perspective on a topic, it's a safe assumption that they thought about their conclusions before publishing them.
- omouse 17y agoI'm not sure that's a safe assumption. It seems to me that everyone has a weak spot even if they think they're thinking about it thoroughly. We're only human after all.
- christopherolah 17y agoI just read the Wikipedia entry for his views on woman. There's an interesting part at the end: After the elderly Schopenhauer sat for a sculpture portrait by Elisabet Ney, he told Richard Wagner's friend Malwida von Meysenbug, "I have not yet spoken my last word about women. I believe that if a woman succeeds in withdrawing from the mass, or rather raising herself above the mass, she grows ceaselessly and more than a man." He might be a misogynist, but at least he recognised exceptions. It's also interesting (in the context of his time) to note that he was a strong supporter of abolitionism and animal rights.