In my paper, I will be discussing feminism in the field of science and critiquing Godfrey-Smith for not covering the topic as well as he should have. Since this is a serious issue, I believe Godfrey-Smith should have argued his side efficiently instead of not stating his opinions clearly. I feel that his use of questions, in place of his opinions, are mainly excuses to avoid critiques from feminist and other social groups. He could have done a lot with this chapter to teach us about feminist issues in the field of science and I feel he did not do it justice based on the small amount of material provided.
Feminism is a study to help create equal opportunities for women where they are being oppressed in our society. Feminism is a very broad term to cover all the relationships between a man and woman. Godfrey-Smith’s definition is that “feminism in general aims to understand and fight against inequalities between sexes, with respect to political rights, economic standing, and social status.” One downside of this study is that the people who consider themselves ‘feminist’ do not always agree on the action they should take to improve women’s lives, as I’ll show later on. However, this study should still be taken seriously because feminist do agree on one thing and that is that women are being oppressed in our society.
Godfrey-Smith does not give a clear opinion towards feminism, but after reading the chapter, I believe I may have some ideas of where he sides on this subject. He states, “Feminist thinking about science makes up a diverse movement. It is unified, perhaps, by the idea that science has been part of a structure that has perpetuated inequalities between men and women.” His use of the word “perhaps”, in my opinion, means th...
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...ource of knowledge. Feminist empiricism is acknowledging that men and women approach the world and experience it differently. How can this not be a valuable source of knowledge? Men and women are embodied in the world, not separate from it. This also means that our conflicting physical and psychological composition matters in a significant way. A clear example is Evelyn Fox Keller who discovered “jumping genes.” She claims how her subject Barbra McClintock had a “feeling for the organism” that was different from her male coworkers.
In conclusion, I believe Godfrey-Smith needs to clearly state his opinion and give more information on the topic overall. I believe he overlooks this topic because of his beliefs that it holds no importance to scientific results and data. I think both women and science would be better served by having a greater amount of women in science.
...en. Nevertheless being a feminist and a friend, I think, Sayre presents strong evidences of articles, testimonies from scientist who were part of the story and close friends of Franklin for putting up right facts to construct enough concrete arguments against Watson’s unassertive narration of Franklin both as a ‘women’ and a prominent scientist.
The word feminism is sometimes misinterpreted and associated with female superiority and hatred of men, although most people probably agree that feminism can mean the desire for social and economic parity. There is so much baggage surrounding this term that clarification of what feminism is and is not, is essential. Indeed, the way feminism has developed has not been pretty. “Feminism over the years have [sic] evolved away from its noble purpose of creating awareness and defending women rights to creating new ridiculous ‘belief systems.’...feminism has become more like a medium for angry women to vent their hatred and frustration towards man”(“Feminism is Chauvinism”). This definition goes completely against the true meaning of what feminism entails. Feminism can be defined as a fundamental respect for others and the desire for equality between men and women.
The ideology of feminism is that women should be treated as potential intellectual equals and social equals to men. Feminism also, by its nature, embraces the belief that all people are entitled to freedom and liberty within reason-including equal civil rights-and that discrimination should not be made based on gender, sexual orientation, skin color, ethnicity, religion, culture, or life style. Feminists -and all persons interested in civil equality and intellectuality are dedicated to fighting the ignorance that says people are controlled by and limited to their biology, Elizabeth Blackwell is considered an important
Women's Brain When you look at the dictionary, the definition of 'Science' is "a branch of knowledge or study dealing with a body of facts or truths systematically arranged and showing the operation of general laws" (Webster's dictionary). In order to make a truth, many scientists take the time to observe or test with scientific methods. In the nineteenth century, there are some incorrect truths, even if it looks like truths logically arranged by scientific method, because the scientists understood the priori that already assumed the outcome would be the same as their predictions. As I read Stephen Jay Gould's argument from "Women's Brains", he found some unequal conditions that supported scientific method for intelligence of man. Paul Broca tried to measure the inferiority of women with scientific criteria that were invidious comparisons such as races, classes, and sexes.
Maurice Wilkins: This scientist is seen as somewhat sexist, because he does not believe in the potential of Rosalind’s scientific abilities. At the same time, he seemed to be dedicated to work, but Rosalind seems to do a majority of the work.
229). According to the founding members of Royal Society, the rise of the masculine philosophy was going to be accomplished without the involvement of any women. In nineteenth century it twas believed that in order to be able to conduct real science women's exclusions was unquestionably necessary. The male domination in science, and undermining of women's intellect was upsetting a lot of women. Only few women at the time had the courage to challenge this thyps of philosophies and Margaret Cavendish was one of them. Cavendish always expressed her dissatisfaction about the unavailable higher education for women in universities. Cavendish added her concern that if things did not change withe in the near future she would not be able to put her work forward and have her influence on philosophy. Scince the nineteenth century a lot has changed in the benefit of women in science but we still have long way to go until we reach complete equality among sexes in science. Acording to Women, Gender, and Science The need for orbitals in Higher education Ingrid Bartsch mentions that “it is time for ideas already accepted by feminists to permeate the thick insulation that both protects and isolates the natural science, to explore ways that women’s studies and sciences might become legitimate partners in the production of future scientists. Today, with all the women presents in science it is easy to forget about the hardship women had to go trough in the nineteenth
Female scientists such as Maria Merian and Marquise Emilie du Chatelet had an impact on western science, demonstrating how women were capable of contributing to the sciences despite society’s opinions. Merian published her book Wonderful Metamorphoses and Special Nourishment of Caterpillars during a time when women were criticized for publishing books and demonstrates how society was not able to completely repress women in science (Doc 5). Marquise Emmilie du Chatelet’s letter to the Marquis Jean Francois de Saint-Lambert also demonstrates how women refused to be repressed by society. She refuted his reproach of her translating Newton’s Principia, a translation so thorough it is still used today (Doc 11). Some men in the sciences also gained a respect for women and their contributions. Not all men at the time believed women were incapable of learning at a university level like Junker did. Gottfried Leibniz, a German mathematician, even went as far as to state “women of elevated mind advanced knowledge more properly than do men.” As a philosopher Leibniz likely thought beyond society’s opinions, which is why he did not conform (Doc 7). Johannes Hevelius and Gottfried Krich disregarded the notion that collaborating with women was seen as embarrassing, and both collaborated with their wives (Doc 4 and Doc
Feminism, in its simplest definition, is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. (Webster) Feminists fight for equality for women to men socially, politically, and economically. At the peak of feminist discourse is equality for men and women in education and in employment. However, feminism also focuses on more than issues regarding the rights of women in relation to men. Issues of gender equality and women’s right to control their sexuality are also at the core of feminist theory. A key argument made by many feminists is how women have very little control over their sexuality, mainly being defined and controlled by men. T...
According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, feminism is defined as the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism is a major part of the short story, “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, which is a story that portrays women’s lack of freedom in the 1800s. Women had no rights, and had to cater to all of their husband’s needs. The main character in “The Story of an Hour” is a woman who suffers from heart trouble, named Mrs. Mallard. When Mrs. Mallard was told about her husband’s death, she was initially emotional, but because of her husband’s death, she reaped freedom and became swept away with joy.
I was very surprised in the podcast when Dr. Grossman states that it is okay for people in the science world to cry- not just women, but also men. I actually do not hear a lot of stories about this topic in the news. I really thought that the part where Dr. Grossman talks about women like her being feminists and that they hate men was very amusing. Personally, I think women care about their rights as much as men do and do not hate them. I believe hate is a strong word in this context. Female scientists just do not like how people don’t give any thought to their ideas or have the men take credit for their ideas. I think that I really liked her message at the end also- people should all be excited about the scientific world. I actually agree
“Scientists Not Immune from Gender Bias, Yale Study Shows.” Yale News. Yale University, 24 Sept. 2012. Web. 05 Mar. 2014.
Feminism is a perspective that views gender as one of the most important bases of the structure and organization of the social world. Feminists argue that in most known societies this structure has granted women lower status and value, more limited access to valuable resources, and less autonomy and opportunity to make choices over their lives than it has granted men. (Sapiro 441)
In an online article titled "What is Feminist Theory" by Erwin Z, he writes about what the feminist theory is. The feminist theory, in simple terms, is a theory on the rights for women and equality for all genders. The theory involves the study of women's roles in society including their privileges, interests, rights, and concerns. It turns out that there were many different feminist theories that were released as early as 1792. Many of these publications featured limited privileges and rights of women due to wrong perceptions against them. The feminist theory can be applied to several disciplines, one being language. The feminist theory also points out the world's bias on women's bodies. According to history, men were associated with the brain while women were associated with the body.
Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, fictional or philosophical dissertation. It helps to explain the main nature of gender inequality. It further explains the social roles of women in the society such as education, communication, philosophy, sociology and so on (Chodrow, Nancy 1991).
Michael Levin, a professor of philosophy and author of the book Feminism and Freedom, faults feminism for trying to impose an inappropriate equality on men and women that conflicts basic biological differences between the sexes (Levin, Taking Sides, 42). Women are not the same as men, neither physically nor psychologically. In the past, men tended to be the stronger more powerful gender, while women have traditionally been viewed as the weaker, more feeble one. The untrue assumption that men and women are the same in their ways of thinking and physical capabilities leads to the failure of the feminist message. Their agenda of eliminating all observable differences between men and women is doomed to fail and will inflict more pain than gain in the process. Recognizing the differences between the sexes and allowing each to do what they are strongest at will in the long run make society stronger, more efficient, and more effective.