The universal basis for the categorisation 'woman' will, no doubt, be constantly shifting but it is important not to deny it's existence altogether. There is a partly biological basis for this identification. The 'nature' of woman may be conceptualised in the early Greek sense of a force or a power, in its turn shaped by forces outside it, rather than in terms of some set of properties.
Alison AssiterAutonomy is the capacity to act on principles that are one's own and one will exercise this capacity by means of a process of rational reflection on these principles. Autonomy is thought to be necessary for attributing political responsibility.
Alison AssiterWhatever the universal perspective one adopts, it is important to recognise that some form of universalism is politically and ethically necessary.
Alison AssiterThe subject of feminism cannot be purely a fiction, as some postmodern writers suggest, produced by the discourses of power.
Alison AssiterIf there are more than two sexes, then so be it and, of course, the assumption that there are two helps shape, as many have argued, the binary logic that underpins much of the history of western philosophy.
Alison Assiter