Not sure how I feel about this quote

Curebores · 2013-03-10T23:14:11+00:00

There is a trap here: Just because something was said by a famous person, even a scientist or philosopher, does not automatically make it true (or accurate to what they actually said for that matter). There is also the trap of looking at history through modern eyes.

Have your grain of salt at the ready.

[edit] while looking for the source of that quote I did happen across this one that I thought was quite amusing:

"By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher." - Socrates

EvilPundit · 2013-03-10T22:24:46+00:00

I think it's hilarious. They probably think Socrates was a woman.

Though seriously, I don't think that quote means what they think it means. It's basically anti-women's suffrage.

OberJuan · 2013-03-11T03:20:52+00:00

Yeah, Socrates was very much of two minds about women. He thought his wife Xanthippe was an idiot tyrant, but worshipped Diotima, a midwife who helped raise him.

My best guess is that he felt that women who thought they had little power were actually very effective in the world, whereas women who felt empowered were often stupid and controlling.

That makes this a great pun, because it is both true as taken, and ironic, at the same time about different people.

pcarvious · 2013-03-11T00:05:51+00:00

The quote is about useless without the context of the piece it was written in. It can mean anything depending on how you read into it.

Pecanpig · 2013-03-11T07:53:21+00:00

I take this in a different way.

Like it or not women at that time had an inherent value simply as the limiting factor in reproduction, a value which men did not have. If a woman was equal to a man in every way, at that time, she would truly be of superior value.

(devils advocate sounding off)

Deansdale · 2013-03-11T09:22:39+00:00

I think most here misunderstand the quote completely. (Downvote magnet on.)

What this quote means is women in general doen not perceive "equality" like men do. And when men give in to demands of equality by women, the results are anything but equal. When you give 50% of power to women they will not stop there and will grab for more, which is quite hard (if not impossible) to stop because of a kind of avalanche effect.

Modern feminism is the perfect proof of this quote being true. They will never settle for 50%, and there are countless articles out there in which they talk about women ruling the world as "perfect equality". Case in point from 3 days ago. If you give them 50% they will inevitably go for more and become your "superiors".

5th_Law_of_Robotics · 2013-03-11T15:18:41+00:00

Context is everything.

Assuming Socrates actually said this he was an athenian. A greek democracy where every man could vote in addition to his requirement to serve in the military.

If women got that right without the obligation to serve by virtue of not being away fighting and not having their voting power decimated by war casualities this would indeed put women, as equals when it comes to voting, superior to men, as they would be free from the obligations men have (including the detriments that come with those obligations).

NemosHero · 2013-03-11T00:40:32+00:00

I believe what Socrates (if you don't pronounce it so crates you are a fool) was trying to say was, women have the ability to reproduce life. If we made men and women absolutely equal, women would still have ability to reproduce and thus would still have an advantage.

ownworldman · 2013-03-11T00:22:26+00:00

Wait, husband of Xanthippe?

2013-03-11T03:06:33+00:00

In other words:

If you give em an inch, they'll take a mile.

TracyMorganFreeman · 2013-03-11T03:36:46+00:00

I'm pretty sure Socrates was saying women would rule over men, not that women were objectively better or more valuable than men.

Also, as have others have said, grain of salt and whatnot.

Mr5306 · 2013-03-11T05:07:22+00:00

Let them have it, if it makes them feel good.

tyciol · 2013-03-11T06:28:30+00:00

"The worst form of inequality is to try and make unequal things equal." - I have seen this quote attributed to Aristotle, but I have not confirmed if it has.

funnyfaceking · 2013-03-11T06:46:38+00:00

I didn't know Plato wrote a book called "BrainyQuote"

OuiCrudites · 2013-03-11T14:11:14+00:00

This is because people have an instinctive bias to protect and privilege the female, and if she is given equal standing as men to call the shots, female supremacy will naturally arise because most people will want what she wants.

Even if only 80% of women and 30% of men want female supremacy, they're going to get it, because of the instinctive bias in favor of the female.

IHaveALargePenis · 2013-03-11T03:20:15+00:00

Translation: Once a woman and a man marry, she will try to rule his life.

StarFscker · 2013-03-11T00:31:38+00:00

this should go in /r/mensrants. This isn't the place for it.

Title	Not sure how I feel about this quote
Author	jatrz19
Upvotes	55
Comments	42
Date	March 10, 2013 10:19 PM UTC (13 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/mensrights/comments/1a1ni8/not-sure-how-i-feel-about-this-quote/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/not-sure-how-i-feel-about-this-quote.1607952 https://theredarchive.com/post/1607952

Comments