Aristotle On Female Animals

Analyses the female in Aristotle's biology, leading to a reassessment of his hylomorphism, scientific methodology and psychology.

Historically and philosophically informed introduction to the embryological, zoological, and medical views presented in this sophisticated and challenging text.

Aristotle’s work "On Generation of Animals" is fascinating. By integrating empirical facts into contexts of justification and by explaining reproduction in the framework of his general theory Aristotle wrote a biological ‘masterpiece’. At the same time it raises many issues because due to the difficulty of the subject under investigation (for example, the egg-cell had not yet been discovered) the theory is complex and often speculative. The contributions in this volume resulting from a conference held in Marburg in 2018 study the challenging writing from various perspectives. They examine the structure of the work, the method and the manner of writing, its relation to other writings, and its scientific context. By investigating the underlying philosophical concepts and their relation to the empirical research offered in "On Generation of Animals" the contributions also try to solve puzzles which Aristotle’s explanation of the role of male and female offers as well as his idea of embryogenesis. An outlook for the history of reception rounds off the volume.

While Aristotle's writings on biology are considered to be among his best, the comments he makes about females in these works are widely regarded as the nadir of his philosophical oeuvre. Among many claims, Aristotle is said to have declared that females contribute nothing substantial to generation; that they have fewer teeth than males; that they are less spirited than males; and that woman are analogous to eunuchs. In The Female in Aristotle's Biology, Robert Mayhew aims not to defend Aristotle's ideas about females but to defend Aristotle against the common charge that his writings on female species were motivated by ideological bias. Mayhew points out that the tools of modern science and scientific experimentation were not available to the Greeks during Aristotle's time and that, consequently, Aristotle had relied not only on empirical observations when writing about living organisms but also on a fair amount of speculation. Further, he argues that Aristotle's remarks about females in his biological writings did not tend to promote the inferior status of ancient Greek women. Written with passion and precision, The Female in Aristotle's Biology will be of enormous value to students of philosophy, the history of science, and classical literature.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1883.

Comprehensive overview of all the key issues in Aristotle's biological works and their place within his broader philosophy and theology.