The essential approach to the interpretation of the social and cultural mission of women in the philosophy of Georg Simmel

The concept of "women's culture" proposed in the philosophy of the famous German philosopher Georg Simmel is studied in the article. The concept under discussion is considered as one of the most striking examples of arguments about the destiny of women in the context of essential paradigm. The paradigm is based on the existence of some constant and diametrically opposite content of male and female entities. Georg Simmel argues that modern culture is essentially an expression of man's nature, and is only mistakenly characterized as a universal human creation. Contents objectified by culture bear an impress of the traditional features of the "male a priori", namely, the ability to disengage the center and the periphery of the personal being funding a differentiated approach to the perception of the world. The latter, from the author's point of view, allows one to more correctly state the main women's issue of our time. Does woman join the cultural background created by man or provide an alternative woman's aspect in culture? Does woman have a creative potential force? Analyzing the existing cultural manifestations (medicine, literature, art, household) of the feminine in terms of the classical philosophical binarism, G. Simmel, with all effort to recognize the creative potential of the female, is being forced to admit a secondary purpose of the female sex. However, the actual analysis tools, such as categories of the sensory, the passive, the domestic, the physical, the limited, are close with the essential message of the author. Therefore, they initially create barriers in consideration of women's destiny beyond the forms and criteria of the objective / male culture. Thus, the deeper G. Sim-mel describes the mighty creativity of the feminine essence, the more obvious is the practical impossibility of recognizing a place in the culture of the feminine manifestation by the objective content of the original culture. No matter how significant the possible or real successes of females are in art, medicine, science, housekeeping and inspiring influence on men, they can rightfully be categorized as "secondary originality". Outstanding achievements of individual women only confirm the general rule: by expanding the subjective aspect of culture, women are not able to create anything fundamentally different, different from the already developed and approved forms of objective male culture. Any consideration of the woman's destiny in the context of essential approach inevitably involves labeling female inferiority and inadequacy. It is also proposed the analysis of women's productive vocation should be made beyond essentialism.

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