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Sex and Character (book): Difference between revisions
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One of the core ideas of the work is the idea that there exists two Platonic essences, namely - the 'masculine (M)' and the 'feminine (W) ' - that are inherent in all individuals of both sexes to a greater or lesser degree. Overwhelmingly, in his view, men exhibit more of the masculine essence and women exhibit more of the feminine essence. | One of the core ideas of the work is the idea that there exists two Platonic essences, namely - the 'masculine (M)' and the 'feminine (W) ' - that are inherent in all individuals of both sexes to a greater or lesser degree. Overwhelmingly, in his view, men exhibit more of the masculine essence and women exhibit more of the feminine essence. | ||
In Weininger's view, the masculine essence is active and energetic, and the feminine essence is passive and exists chiefly to be acted upon by the masculine. This means that only those women who are inherently more masculine than other women (and therefore are capable of genius, to some extent) can be truly 'emancipated', he argues, with the "typical" women being portrayed as fundamentally vacuous creatures that are solely concerned with the matters of reproduction and sexuality. Anticipating Freud's "Madonna-whore complex", he saw the true nature of woman as conforming to one of the two types, due to woman's exclusive focus on sexuality, whereas Weininger [[volcel|promoted sexual continence]] as one of the highest virtues. | In Weininger's view, the masculine essence is active and energetic, and the feminine essence is passive and exists chiefly to be acted upon by the masculine. This means that only those women who are inherently more masculine than other women (and therefore are capable of genius, to some extent) can be truly 'emancipated', he argues, with the "typical" women being portrayed as fundamentally vacuous creatures that are solely concerned with the matters of reproduction and sexuality. Anticipating Freud's "Madonna-whore complex", he saw the true nature of woman as conforming to one of the two types, due to woman's exclusive focus on sexuality, whereas Weininger [[volcel|promoted sexual continence]] as one of the highest virtues. Weininger emphasizes though, that he is describing women as they ''are'', in his own time, based on his own observations and reasoning, and not necessarily how they have always been. | ||
In sum, Weininger forcefully disparages femininity, which is consistently identified with passivity, vacuity, and animal lust, contrasting with what Weininger argued are the higher virtues which he judged only men were capable of expressing, typically. The author also sought to undertake a comprehensive study of the nature of genius, in view of his focus on what he saw as the hierarchy that existed between masculine and feminine essences. | In sum, Weininger forcefully disparages femininity, which is consistently identified with passivity, vacuity, and animal lust, contrasting with what Weininger argued are the higher virtues which he judged only men were capable of expressing, typically. The author also sought to undertake a comprehensive study of the nature of genius, in view of his focus on what he saw as the hierarchy that existed between masculine and feminine essences. | ||