The Ancient Stoic thinkers discuss problems related to gender and sexuality in various contexts of their philosophy : from cosmology to cosmopolitanism , from metaphysics to moral psychology , and from physics to the philosophy of life. These discussions relate to many fundamental doctrines such as their views of body and reason , theory of emotions , and political utopias . Furthermore, the sources also provide detailed accounts of specific topics such as generation , bodily beauty , cosmetics , marriage , and philosophical exercises for dealing with sexual impulses . This book explores these views and their significance in Ancient Stoic philosophy .
More specifically, my aim in this book is to scrutinize what features in humans (or in animals , or even in the entire cosmos) the Stoics discuss as gendered or sexual , and the role of these phenomena in the Stoic theory of a human being. Further, I will analyze how gender and sexuality are related to the Stoic ethics and the ideals of virtue and wisdom . Finally, I investigate how the Stoics view these phenomena in terms of interpersonal relationships that also affect society and politics . In order to arrive at a fuller understanding of Stoic arguments and to position them in a philosophical context, I also consider their background in the Ancient philosophical traditions of Plato and Aristotle . As I will show, the Stoics often take an exceptionally bold line in departing both from their predecessorsâ theoretical views, as well as from the notions on gender embedded in their contemporary culture . I also draw evidence from other Ancient sources such as Galenâs medical treatises and texts by Skeptic, Epicurean , and other rivaling schools of philosophy . However, a more systematic comparison between the Stoics and other schools of the Hellenistic and Roman era will unfortunately fall outside of the scope of this study.
Given that all areas of philosophy are systematically related in Stoicism , and that the discussions on gender and sexuality are scattered throughout the sources, I will investigate Stoic philosophy as a whole, covering their metaphysics , physics , ethics , and political thought. Furthermore, in scrutinizing specific related topics (such as Stoic views on embryology , or the female exemplifications and idealizations used in the sources) I wish to broaden our understanding of Stoic philosophy and to introduce new topics into Ancient philosophical scholarship . I believe that this comprehensive approach corresponds to the nature of Stoicism, but also to the complexity of the problem itself. The question of gender and sexuality is, on the one hand, a theoretical one: it concerns how we conceive of human beings, their capacities , bodies , and characters . On the other hand, it is highly practical, concerning how we grow up and form our identities in a certain cultural and historical situation. Gender and sexuality affect our moral agency and our choices in relation to other humans, and in relation to ourselves and our bodies . They affect intimate choices such as how we dress, present ourselves or embellish our looks , or how we act as sexual subjects . The question is also political given the implications related to the position of gender and sexual ethics in the society in which we live, or as we imagine it to be in an ideal society.
The Stoics were concerned with all of these sides of the problem (including the questions of dressing and beautification ), and they are all of relevance in todayâs world, contemporary philosophy, and feminism . I hope my study will open up new perspectives not only for readers with a general interest in Stoicism and Ancient philosophy , but also for those interested in gender and sexuality as current philosophical questions . Through a systematic discussion of Stoic views I wish to shed light on these very questions: their philosophical relevance, their complexity as a subject of philosophical inquiry , and problems related to defining central concepts such as âequalityâ in current gender-related debates. Through Ancient Stoic views, this book provides a historical background and a detailed philosophical analysis, which I believe is also relevant to the contemporary debate on gender and sexuality .
1.1 Mapping the Terrain: Gender in Stoic Sources and Scholarship
The Stoic school of philosophy flourished from the time of its founder Zeno of Citium (ca. 334â262 BCE) to the late Stoic thinker and emperor of Rome, Marcus Aurelius (121â180 CE). This book covers the entire era of Ancient Stoicism , including both Hellenistic and Roman materials. Unavoidably, there is much more textual material from the later Roman Stoics , since none of the original works of the early thinkers have survived, and the research, therefore, has to rely on secondhand sources such as the testimony of other Ancient philosophers or doxographers. However, our sources both on early and Roman Stoicism include highly relevant arguments on gender , and there are both important continuums and differences between the early and the late school . Indeed, certain later Stoic arguments on gender make sense precisely against the backdrop of earlier Stoic theories, and therefore I find it both interesting and necessary to discuss Ancient Stoicism on the whole. All of these sources must be treated with terminological and historical accuracy and read within their own cultural , historical, and philosophical contexts. Particularly, in the case of such potentially controversial issues as sexuality , translations of the original texts can sometimes be inaccurate, or even misleading. However, even though I make several remarks on the Greek and Latin terminology, the focus of this book is primarily philosophical, not philological.
The original Stoic sources include fascinating discussions on gender and sexuality , and these topics are highly relevant in todayâs world and philosophy. Therefore it is surprising how little attention these topics have attracted in the scholarship on Stoicism . Before this book, there was no monograph focusing specifically on gender and/or sexuality in Stoicism , nor is there a systematic account of their roles in Stoic philosophy as a whole. Thus, one of the important tasks of this book is to fill this lacuna and shift the focus in our way of approaching Ancient Stoicism . As this book demonstrates, when it comes to gender , the lacuna in Stoic scholarship is not due to lack of relevant material in the original sources. Rather, it reflects those questions that the readers pose to the sources and how they evaluate their findings: what is considered central and what marginal. The prism of gender, I claim, opens fresh perspectives to the entire Stoic philosophical enterprise.
Even though there are no extensive studies precisely on gender and sexuality , there are important scholarly contributions to specific parts of this topic, in particular, concerning the relevant questions in Stoic ethics , philosophical practice , and political theory. Of particular importance to my discussion in this book are Julia Annas , who has analyzed the significance of close human relations such as family ties in Stoic ethics (1993), Martha Nussbaum , who has discussed the role of gender in Stoic moral education and philosophical therapy , and scrutinized Musonius Rufusâ views on gender from a feminist point of view (1994, 2002), and Gretchen Reydams-Schils , who has investigated Roman Stoic views on marriage and family life, and highlighted the gendered aspects of these views (2005). Malcolm Schofieldâs reading of Stoic social utopias also pays attention to gender, and this ...