The Idea

My new project is a book making the argument that women’s equality is the most important idea in all of human history. On the face of it, this would seem a difficult argument, given the very many important ideas that have popped up throughout the human experience.

Obviously, an idea-by-idea competition is impossible. Instead, I rely on a bit of rhetorical jiu-jitsu. I propose that an idea that makes realization of the purpose of life possible for the first time in history is clearly the most important of all ideas.

Building an argument on the purpose of life, I know, sounds like the proverbial leap from frying pan to fire. In fact, though, most everyone knows that for most people most of the time the purpose of life is to love and be loved.

The most important kind of love, in turn, is long-term partnership love between two people. Without diminishing the importance of same-sex relationships (which play a role in my argument), for most people this is about love between a man and a woman.

While historically, our great philosophers, theologians, and scientists have been, at best, thoroughgoing advocates of patriarchy, and more commonly misogynists, they have nonetheless understood that love between adults requires taking the interests of the other as your own.

Seeing the interests of another adult as your own, I propose, cannot be authentic unless you see the other as an equal. Thus, the argument is made that gender equality is essential for authentic partnership love and for realizing this core life purpose.

It is all very straightforward, though of course, there is a bit more to it than that, which is what makes it a book.