Gender-sensitive approaches to teaching Aristotle‘s practical philosophy

Abstract

The Aristotelian practical philosophy is an integral element of many school canons and also contains numerous statements which are classified as sexist from today’s perspective. This raises the question of how to deal with discriminatory content in classical works of philosophy within a classroom context. In this article, I argue in favor of a critically-reflective treatment of discriminatory content in the teaching of classical works of philosophy. I propose how this can be achieved in the case of Aristotle’s analysis of gender relations in the Politics employing a three-step model. Following a close reading of key passages, pertinent works of feminist philosophy are presented, which critically reflect upon central theorems of patriarchal views and which also put forward approaches of their own. In order to further stimulate the students’ reflection, the examination of the feminist critique of Aristotle is then expanded into a debate on various forms of discourse on “gender”.