@Lily,
Lily;67044 wrote:Here's my theory: women have been busy. Taking care of the household is a 24/7 job. Men on the other hand, they have been able to meet, have a beer and philosophize. But that's about to change, eventually.
The thing is, it already has changed in those societies that allow it. How much can a woman philosophize if she lives in culture where even going to school may get her blown up or acid thrown in her face?
Today (again, in societies that allow it), women are participating in every walk of life. Personally I am thrilled to see women in politics, law, science, etc. because they definitely bring much-needed qualities to society. The very best managers I've worked with (before retiring) were women; I don't want to over-generalize, but I think they are better "natural" managers than men.
Also, I think it presents a distorted picture to
only point at women in traditional mother-house keeper roles, and then contrast that
only with men philosophizing. What about the hordes of men whose life is barely more than watching sports, drinking beer, working on cars, lusting after big boobs, fighting, cussing, scratching, spitting . . . well, you know. For a while when the feminist movement was first getting started, some of the radical feminists in their writings pointed only to the worst traits more common in men; boy did I resent that prejudicial treatment, so I can understand how it must feel to have been subjected to it far longer and more oppressively as some groups have experienced (Blacks, women, gays, etc.).
Lily;67044 wrote:And I think we have to clearify something, women might not want to philosophize as much as men, but that doesn't mean that they can't philosophize. There are a lot of things women can learn from men, and there are a lot of things men can learn from women.
I am married to a relatively unreflective woman, but who embodies in how she actually is and lives much of what I contemplate in philosophy. I wonder, who is more powerfully aware . . . the person who lives it, or the person who conceptualizes about it? That thought brings us to . . .
Lily;67044 wrote:There are a lot of things women can learn from men, and there are a lot of things men can learn from women.
IMHO, this is far, far more true than than any culture has yet realized. In my marriage, I totally subordinate myself when I can tell she is exercising her natural strengths; and she does the same with me. It has created a a most loving friendship and effective partnership, and for me been a source of constant learning.
It is unfortunate that kids are not taught relationship skills from puberty onward because most people enter into love relationships blinded by hormonal drives, and then after that calms down it too often turns into a competition between the male and female perspectives (rather than a cooperative, mutual-learning arrangement). There is a great body of work that addresses what Justin mentioned . . .
Justin;67091 wrote:It has nothing to do with the sex of the individual as we are all part of ONE sex of Gods divided light of thinking in sexed opposites as expressed everywhere we look and in all that we are and do.
A very nice way to put it. One of the great philosophies that is yet to get the kind of attention it deserves is Chinese Yin Yang theory, particularly as embodied in the I Ching expounding on the principles of
complementary opposites.
One has to extrapolate from all the cultural metaphors and analogies used in the work, but the early yin yang philosophers (which included Confucius) figured out some amazing stuff about the interaction of opposites. One insight especially relevant to this discussion is that apparent opposites are really two aspects of one thing -- look at a situation from one side and it appears one way, look at from the other and it appears a different way . . .yet there is only one situation being looked at. No single book has taught me more about polarities like male-female than the I Ching.
But even deeper than learning to recognize the action of complementary opposites is realizing where oneness is. We call it love, but even if we never call it anything, or never philosophize about it, we can always feel it.