Origins of Sex in Plato’s Timaeus and Critias : Between Nature and Artifice

Abstract This article offers a fresh inquiry into Plato’s views on procreation and into the lack of a clearly defined relation in the dialogues between the biology of procreation and the negative remarks on female virtue, or, rather, vice. The focus is on the Timaeus and the often neglected Critias , with some introductory comments on an important passage from the Laws . The leading question is whether Plato’s account of the origins of sex and procreation implies some sort of female inferiority, which would then translate into the political views on marriage and reproduction. The article concludes that Plato’s biology offers no direct justification for treating the difference between men and women as a general moral difference. At the same time, the article suggests that what connects both conceptual realms is Plato’s important recourse to the artisanal model, which bypasses the inherent opacity of nature. It is no coincidence that this device is especially prominent in the treatment of sex and gender in the Timaeus–Critias .