Aristotle on the Inferiority of Women

Aristotle tries to justify subordinate roles for women by providing two arguments to illustrate their inferiority to men. The first argument is biological, the second is ethical. The paper examines each of the arguments in turn. The first argument fails due to its own lack of merit, but even if it were to succeed, it cannot justify subordinate roles for women in the political sphere, only an ethical or political argument can do so. But alas, Aristotle's ethical argument not only fails when examined on its own merits, it also subverts important elements of his thought, particularly his views of the highest forms of friendship.