Political Science · Western Political Thought
UGC NET January 2026 Political Science
Who wrote that 'Women should acquire human virtues by the same means as men, instead of being educated like a fanciful kind of half being'?
AKarl Marx
BMary Wollstonecraft ✓ Correct
CBenjamin Franklin
DJean-Jacques Rousseau
Correct answer: (B) Mary Wollstonecraft — The statement that women should acquire human virtues by the same means as men is Mary Wollstonecraft's.
Explanation
★The statement that women should acquire human virtues by the same means as men is Mary Wollstonecraft's.
★It comes from A Vindication of the Rights of Woman of 1792.
★Wollstonecraft rejects the idea that women are a 'fanciful kind of half being' fit only for ornament.
★She argues that virtue is the same for both sexes and is reached through reason and rational education.
★Denying women a real education, she holds, makes them dependent and weak rather than virtuous.
★The line directly answers Rousseau, who in Emile had urged a separate, domestic education for women.
Want more like this? Create a free account to practise a full test, track your progress, and get spaced-repetition review.
Shared by Mcqkart · via Mcqkart.in