Musonius Rufus Quote on Women: The Same Reason

Quote

"Women have received from the gods the same reasoning power as men: the virtues are the same, and the philosophy that trains the reason belongs to them equally. The person who would be wise must learn, whether man or woman." — Musonius Rufus, That Women Too Should Study Philosophy (1st century CE)

Author

Musonius Rufus (c. 30–100 CE) was the most important Stoic teacher of the first century CE and the teacher of Epictetus. His defense of women's education was the most radical of the ancient discussions of the question.

Source

The quotation is from the lecture "That Women Too Should Study Philosophy," the third in the collection of Musonius's lectures preserved by his pupil Lucius. The English translation follows Cynthia King's Musonius Rufus: Lectures and Sayings (2011).

Context

The lecture belongs to the Stoic account of the common reason and its application to the education of women. Musonius argues that the virtues are the same for men and women, because the human nature is the same: women, like men, are rational beings, and the training of reason — philosophy — belongs to them equally. The lecture also argues practically: since women are the first teachers of children, their education is the foundation of the education of the next generation. The teaching was remarkable for its age, and it made Musonius the most progressive of the ancient philosophers on the question.

Meaning

The quotation states the Stoic account of the common reason with complete clarity. "Women have received from the gods the same reasoning power as men" — the foundation: the reason is the same — the gift of the gods, given to women and men alike. "The virtues are the same" — the consequence: the virtues — the wisdom, the justice, the courage, the temperance — are the same, because they are the perfection of the same reason. "The philosophy that trains the reason belongs to them equally" — the application: the philosophy — the training of the reason — belongs to women and men equally. "The person who would be wise must learn, whether man or woman" — the conclusion: the wisdom is open to all who would learn, and the exclusion of the women from the education is the exclusion from the wisdom. The quotation is the Stoic account of the education, and it grounds the Stoic wisdom tradition's most radical claim: the equality of the reason.

Related Wisdom

The quotation belongs to the Stoic ethics of justice and the philosophy of education. Its account of the common reason connects to the wider Stoic doctrine of the kinship of humanity and to the tradition's most progressive claims. The teaching is among the most important in the Stoic wisdom tradition, and it remains a landmark in the history of the education of women.