I have seen many quotes in which most of the time philosopher refer to man instead of human, are they being sexist or something.
For example: “Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is.” by Albert Camus
In: Other
Sexism.
Some people say that ‘man’ was a gender neutral term, but I haven’t seen any evidence of this. I think it is more true to say that philosophers (and others) simply did not consider women as significant. Thinking was done by men. Policy was set by men. Action was performed by men. (When women were actually involved, they were exceptions).
When JFK said that the USA “should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth” he said “man” and “him” because it was inconceivable at the time that the effort would involve women (although of course it did, but always in a subservient role).
It can be useful to “translate” the sexist vocabulary of past ages into neutral terms by thinking of “man” as gender neutral, since we now believe that most of what was said applies just as well to women. However, I don’t think we should fall into the trap of believing they were actually including women in their thinking.
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