The less noble sex Book

"Less perfect than man, though more perfect than other animals, woman is incapable of rational thought and lacks in a moral sense; in fact, woman is characterized by a dangerous sexuality in need of control." Such beliefs were once accepted a prior as evidence of women's inferiority. Ranging over literature from philosophy, cosmology, theology, and science, Nancy Tuana examines theories of woman's nature to illustrate the way scientific literature, from Classical times through the late nineteenth century, has been influenced by - and has in turn affected - religious and philosophical tenets. Tuana provides a framework for understanding the persistence of the Western view of woman as inferior. Equally important, she juxtaposes scientific, philosophical, and religious reasoning on this topic in order to illustrate how disciplines affect and reinforce one another. Only recently have some philosophers and social scientists come to accept the view that science is a social institution influenced by culture and society. Tuana shows that science has also been 'gendered': sexist biases have permeated the entire structure of science, from its very conception.