The Concept of Woman

Allen's three-volume magnum opus, The Concept of Woman, is the culmination of a lifetime of the scholarly investigation into how womanhood has been understood throughout the history of philosophy

What In The World

In our modern society today, people have some very far-reaching views regarding sexuality and gender. Conservatives used to think that gay marriage was a major setback in our society but with things like the transgender movement now, the confusion and turbulence seems to be at an all-time high. Responses to these social phenomena have been wide and varied. Videos and articles responding to the transgender issue range from common sense to superficial to vitriolic. There certainly are plenty of intellectual discussion surrounding gender issues that provide sound reasoning but there has not been anything that I have read or listened to that clearly defines a full and comprehensive theory of gender that can be used as a guidepost in discussions about gender. That is, until I found the writings of Sister Mary Prudence Allen of the Religious Sisters of Mercy. Her three-volume magnum opus The Concept of Woman makes her the forerunner in philosophical thought on gender for our modern era.

Sister published her first volume in the 80’s and has since given many lectures summarizing her work. Before the trans-gender movement existed, Sister was putting forth her philosophy on gender with a clarity and depth that has not been rivaled. In this article I summarize Sister’s philosophical method and observations as well as her postulation on Gender Complimentary Theory.

Where To Begin

In an interview with Eerdmans Publishing Sister explains how she got started on this monumental task. “[I’ve been working on this] since the 1970’s, basically as a new professor thinking what can I write about? Trying to find something nobody else had written about. In those days nobody had written about the concept of woman in the history of philosophy. So, I noticed an interesting theory with Kirkegaard and Aristotle who both had the same concept of woman and a different concept of man. So, I wanted to look at that and see what the reasons were. That’s how I got started, then I looked at Plato, then Nietzsche, and one after another and I suddenly realized that there was a pattern of development of theories about woman’s identity in relation to men and in her own identity. So, I began to think it would be interesting to chart what those theories are.”

Like all good philosophers, Sister Prudence went about her work in a very systematic way. In the Concept of Woman, Sister explains that in reading each philosopher who had some statements about women, she asked four questions that helped her to determine what that philosopher’s theory was regarding the concept of woman. The four questions are:

1. In what ways are man and woman opposite?

2. What are the respective functions of mothering and fathering in generation?

3. How do women and men relate to wisdom?

4. How do women and men relate to virtue?

Once Sister analyzed each philosopher with these four questions, some having incomplete theories and some having comprehensive theories, she then categorized each philosopher under one of three labels.

Plato

First is Sex Unity theory, this is a theory that Sister states was founded by Plato who postulated that the unisex soul was re-incarnated into different bodies. Plato believed that women and men were equal, but they were equal because they were not different. For him, equality meant non differentiation in all categories. Plato stated that women, like men, could leave the care of children to others and participate in philosophical studies as well as state life if they wanted to. He argued for the equality of women and men and the reorganization of social structure to accommodate this. He believed that boys and girls, though educated separately, should be educated to the same degree from the beginning of their studies. This sounds like a positive theory that many would agree with today, but it does not ring wholly true because of some very obvious differences between women and men that Plato overlooks.

Aristotle

The second theory is Sex Polarity Theory. This was held by philosophers such as Aristotle, Pythagoras, Agrippa and more recently Simone de Beauvoir. Aristotle was one of the first philosophers to develop the theory of hylomorphism, meaning that humans are body soul composites and that it is impossible for a soul to exist separate from its body. This is a theory that is true and that we accept today. Because of this Aristotle states that men and women are born only once and into male or female bodies with male or female souls. Because men and women are different in body and soul however Aristotle stated that male and female were contraries within the species and that the female was the privation of the male. He associated female with lower properties of matter and male with higher properties of matter.

Beauvoir

Simone de Beauvoir also falls into the category of Sex Polarity Theory. She states that men, in seeing themselves as the primary expression of humanity and seeing women as the ‘other’, have oppressed women throughout the millennia. She states “it is not women's inferiority that has determined their historical insignificance: It is their historical insignificance that has doomed them to inferiority” It seems that Beauvoir inwardly believed in the inherent equality of women and men but outwardly she stated that it is pointless to try to decide whether a woman is superior or inferior, and that it is obvious that the man's situation is "infinitely preferable” because he has placed himself in a position of superiority. She writes, "for woman there is no other way out than to work for her liberation.”

Agrippa

Sister Prudence Allen explains that Agrippa however postulated reverse Sex Polarity Theory. She says, “German humanist Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa wrote a short text entitled The Superiority of Woman over Man. He interpreted scripture to state that since creation went in a hierarchical sequence and woman was created last from the refined bone of man, she was superior.” Today we consider woman as the pinnacle of creation, giving her a special dignity in this role but this however does not mean that woman is superior to man. Man, being the forerunner into human existence, has a special dignity of his own as well.

Augustine

The third theory is Sex Complimentary Theory held by philosophers such as Empedocles, St. Augustine and St. Hildegard von Bingen. St Augustine states that a woman’s identity is not a defect but her natural state and that after the resurrection women and men will remain different. This theory coincides with Aristotle’s that men and women have male and female souls that remain different apart from the body. St. Augustine however was not consistent in his complimentary theory because he stated that married women did not have inherent dignity but received their dignity from their husbands, falling into a version of Sex Polarity theory. He also states that nuns and widowed women like his mother, St. Monica, were essentially like men falling into a version of Sex Unity theory.

Bingen

St. Hildegard von Bingen however was the first to put forth a full comprehensive argument for Sex Complimentary Theory and is therefore considered the foundress of this model. Sister Prudence states that St Hildegard, “uses the medieval science of elements and humors to bring a balance between the male and the female. She accepted the body soul composite identity of each individual human being…and affirmed male and female differentiation within human identity after the resurrection… in generation she claimed that the man deposited cold seed into a woman who then warmed it up developing the synergetic dimension of how the woman and man work together.” Under all four systematic questions, St. Hildegard put forth a theory that stated that men and women were significantly different while maintaining equal inherent dignity.

Gender Fluidity

If we look at arguments made today within the LGBT and trans gender movements, using Sister Prudence Allen’s framework, we can now more easily make sense of the arguments and more easily explain why they may or may not be incorrect.

One argument that I have heard is that gender is fluid, that a person can identify as non-binary meaning that he or she is something other than male or female. Using Sister Prudence Allen’s analysis, we can determine that this idea adheres to Sex Unity theory which states that a person, whose body is male or female, has a uni-sex soul or form, in the Platonic sense, meaning their essence is sexless and could be any gender. Plato did not uphold the idea of hylomorphism meaning our bodies and souls are integrated and inform each other. A person who claims to be gender fluid and/or non-binary believes that their bodies do not inform their souls. They believe that, in normal cases, despite their genetics and secondary sex characteristics, that they can choose to be either male, female or a made-up gender of their choice.

Another argument that falls into the same category is an analogy made by magician Justin Willman on the topic of gender. Willman stated, “Peanut butter didn’t choose the jar [it is in]. Peanut butter is peanut butter, jelly is jelly, but peanut butter is also jelly and jelly is also peanut butter. But peanut butter is still peanut butter and jelly is still jelly.” When you have worked that out let me know. What I think Willman is trying to say is that the definitions of male and female are equivalent and interchangeable. As I have stated this idea falls under the Sex Unity theory. I believe Willman would agree with Plato that there are no significant differences between women and men.

Sex Polarity theory can be seen in the views of men and women, and more often boys and girls, who belittle the sex with which they were born and desire to change themselves into the opposite which they perceive as better. Aristotle has made the statement that humans, in having rational souls, always strive for what they perceive as the good. In this world we have many struggles and face many challenges that we try to overcome and hope to improve the world by doing so. In the face of hardship, it is human to want to make things better. Many boys and girls are seeing only the hardships of the sexes they are born with and not the benefits, leading them to conclude that changing gender will improve their life. Many people are not seeing the benefits of their own sex and the fact that they can achieve balance and equality by just being themselves as they have been born.

To conclude

In a later article I will being going into more detail about this third theory and the Four Principles of Sex Complementarity that Sister outlines in her works. I am so grateful to Sister for her lifetime’s work that gives us such clear philosophical argumentation grounded in history. I highly encourage you to look into Sister’s works yourself and listen to some of the many lectures she has online. The systematic analysis developed by Sister Mary Prudence Allen is the best guidepost we have for our confusing times today. The theories that she has outlined can help us to clarify the many wild ideas out there and to refute them logically. Her observation and compilation of the pivotal Sex Complimentary Theory can help lead us in the right direction regarding sex and gender and hopefully help us heal the wounds of the transgender movement.