Philosophy of female medicine

Question 1

What do ancient philosophical texts say about the way the Greeks and their approach medicine

Answer 1

Late 6th century, beginnings of systematic inquiry into natural and human phenomena.
First surviving authors are Plato and Aristotle, 4th Century BC
Cynics: Largely non-elite, advocate harmony in nature, e.g. Diogenes: Lived in a pot i the streets of Athens, lived very simply and thought of humans and featherless bi-ped
Gender was only considered in the reproductive sense

Question 2

What did philosophers say about gender?

Answer 2

They were more concerned with creating the ethically ideal man, and inventing ideal societies e.g.

1. Plato’s Republic, Athens 4th c. BC reading 86. He says women should take leading roles if possible, but the structure is very elitist and doesn’t apply to very few women. He wonders why women have different roles, and what society could be like if women were allowed to participate in athletics etc. Same with marriage. Why can’t people marry whoever once the elite are done having their kids
2. Musonius Rufus, Rome, 1st c. AD #90. Encouraged philosophy as a guide to life, wants to educate women in philosophy, but only so they can fulfill their traditional social roles well. He doesn’t expect the roles to change at all, he just wants women to be able to do them better. He says that men are naturally stronger, and women are naturally weaker

Question 3

What did ancient medicine consist of? What was the culture around it like?

Answer 3

1. Ancient medicine was a combination of folk medicine, observation, and speculation (they didn’t do dissections)Similar to modern medicine in a lot of ways, but less effective
2. Traditional healers were relied on a lot more than doctors, and a small minority were practicing doctors

Question 4

Have a lot of medical writings survived? What do the surviving ancient medical texts tell us about medicine?

Answer 4

1. Lots of medical writings have survived, including the Hippocratic writings (hippocratic oath) that tell us how women experienced medicine, what illness they had, etc.
2. Tells us how men imagined women’s bodies, how women were different from men, and what that socio-culturally implied
3. The wandering womb!!! #434 Hippocrates The seven month child: Says you should actually listen to women when it comes to their pregnancies… they know their bodies!
   #429 Diseases of Women Hippocrates, Women have spongier flesh and warmer blood, plus they don’t work as hard so they need to get rid of some blood every month cuz pain
   #438 Galen: The one who says that women’s bodies are colder, which makes it so that their reproductive parts don’t form properly, with the convenient mutation that now they can reproduce
   #442 Soranus: The best time to have sex is when the oman is done menstruating, or is finishing up because otherwise the uterus is overburdened
   #451: Pliny, Menstruation is DANGEROUS, causes death of bugs