To the Editor:
Reading sophomore Kenji Hosokawa's column "On Women and Philosophy" and senior Brandon del Pozo's response "Pregancy or Philosophy," which appeared in Tuesday and Wednesday's issues of The Dartmouth, respectively, I found both articles very androcentric and unenlightened.
If philosophy means "men's philosophy," i.e., lesiurely men's printed discourse, of course women can not do as well as men. But who says women have not pondered the meaning of life and used reasoning, reasoning not defined by men?
Secondly del Pozo makes an essentialist mistake of pinpointing child rearing as women's nature. He writes: "Taking [children] away from women to be raised elsewhere just might alienate women from their true nature, a philosophical no-no. When you don't do what you have the urge to do and what you were designed to do, it's not freedom, it's alienation." As if he can define a woman's nature! Del Pozo may rightly argue that by saying women are designed to give birth, he does not mean to say they are not designed ONLY to give birth, an argument that does not confine women just to giving birth.
But he is plainly telling us that since women are "designed" to give birth, they must do so to fulfill their "NATURE;" otherwise it is "alienation." Whether he intends to or not, he erroneously asserts that the act of giving birth is the essence of a woman's "nature," leaving no choice for women in this issue. Even if we set aside the question of what a "woman's nature" is, we cannot but wonder how del Pozo knows all women have the "urge" to bear and raise children?
Del Pozo continues to write that "the end of philosophy is to explain how people can live in a way that fulfils their natures, and leads them to see that discovering their true self and being comfortable and satisfied with acting in a way consistent with their identity is okay and something to be proud of."
Speaking of human nature, I would like to raise the question if it is ever possible to sort out what our true natures are; if it is ever possible to find one thing, one identity, or one wish in ourselves that is not already shaped or manufactured by all sorts of societal forces; or, in this sense, if "human nature" exists at all.
I would also suggest that del Pozo take a Women's Studies class before he starts talking about nature. I am sure that will help enlighten his philosophy.
