Assignment 4 - Chelsea Valentine HIS 102 Assignment#4 The Natural Inferiority of Women pg 499 In the seventeenth century it was very apparent that women

Chelsea Valentine February 20, 2010 HIS 102 Assignment #4 The “Natural” Inferiority of Women, pg. 499 In the seventeenth century, it was very apparent that women were regarded as subordinate to men. There were a number of reasons behind this but the prevailing ideation was that women were predisposed to immorality, inherently low, and “sexually insatiable.” Benedict de Spinoza, a seventeenth century philosopher, argues that women are “naturally” inferior to men. Among the support behind Spinoza’s assertion lie several different lines of reasoning. Initially, Spinoza argues that women are “below” men not because of society but, rather, due to nature. He states that there has never been an instance where a woman held a role in the government or even ruled alongside a male. While one may argue that this was due to the institutions of the time, Spinoza negates this claim by noting that there was not a single society where a woman ruled.