---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am aware, that this argument would…"
description: "\"“I am aware, that this argument would carry me further than it may be supposed I wish to go; but I follow truth, and still adhering to my first positio..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/mary-wollstonecraft-1568_nature_i-am-aware-that-this-argument-would-carr_1455600.png"
---

#  I am aware, that this argument would carry me further than…

![“I am aware, that this argument would carry me further than it may be supposed I wish to go; but I follow truth, and still adhering to my first position, I will allow that bodily strength seems to give man a natural superiority over woman; and this is the only solid basis on which the superiority…” quote by Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/mary-wollstonecraft-1568_nature_i-am-aware-that-this-argument-would-carr_1455600.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/mary-wollstonecraft-1568_nature_i-am-aware-that-this-argument-would-carr_1455600.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/mary-wollstonecraft-1568_nature_i-am-aware-that-this-argument-would-carr_1455600.png)

> ““I am aware, that this argument would carry me further than it may be supposed I wish to go; but I follow truth, and still adhering to my first position, I will allow that bodily strength seems to give man a natural superiority over woman; and this is the only solid basis on which the superiority of the sex can be built. But I still insist, that not only the virtue, but the KNOWLEDGE of the two sexes should be the same in nature, if not in degree, and that women, considered not only as moral, but rational creatures, ought to endeavour to acquire human virtues (or perfections) by the SAME means as men, instead of being educated like a fanciful kind of HALF being, one of Rousseau's wild chimeras.””

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

She argues physical strength is not a valid basis for gender superiority; true equality lies in shared knowledge and rational virtue.

**In simple terms:** Physical strength shouldn't determine gender superiority; equality is intellectual.

Key Takeaway

Promote equal education and opportunities for all genders.

Themes

gender equality philosophy education

Mood

hopeful determined

Type

philosophical advocational

When to use this quote

- advocating gender parity
- designing inclusive curricula
- challenging stereotypes

Key Concepts

social constructs human rights

Questions to Reflect On

- How can education systems embody this equality?
- What barriers persist in achieving shared virtue?

A Different Perspective

Societal change may be slow despite philosophical arguments.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/)

## Related quotes

> [We are foolish, and without excuse foolish, in speaking of the superiority of one sex to the other, as if they could be compared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/we-are-foolish-and-without-excuse-foolish-in-speaking-of-the/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

> [“What can a man say about woman, his own opposite? I mean of course something sensible, that is outside the sexual program, free of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-can-a-man-say-about-woman-his-own-opposite-i-mean-of-course/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Her father, cheering her, showed a compassionate superiority to this woman's weakness, which was wonderful to see.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/her-father-cheering-her-showed-a-compassionate-superiority-to-this/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [The mere size of the brain has been proved to be no measure of superiority. The woman has greater moral courage than the man;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdu-l-bah/the-mere-size-of-the-brain-has-been-proved-to-be-no-measure-of/)

[Abdu'l-Bahá](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdu-l-bah/)

> [“Ralph Waldo Emerson observed that there are always men who like to feel a natural superiority which is not dependent on accomplish­ment and does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hogan/ralph-waldo-emerson-observed-that-there-are-always-men-who-like-to/)

[Michael Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hogan/)

> [Beauty is a natural superiority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/beauty-is-a-natural-superiority/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [They would be the shepherds over us, their sheep. Certainly such an arrangement presupposes that they are naturally superior to the rest of us.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/they-would-be-the-shepherds-over-us-their-sheep-certainly-such-an/)

[Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/)

> [The natural superiority of women is a biological fact, and a socially acknowledged reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-montagu/the-natural-superiority-of-women-is-a-biological-fact-and-a-socially/)

[Ashley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-montagu/)

> [All nobility in its beginnings was somebody's natural superiority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/all-nobility-in-its-beginnings-was-somebody-s-natural-superiority/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Women have seldom sufficient employment to silence their feelings; a round of little cares, or vain pursuits frittering away all strength of mind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/women-have-seldom-sufficient-employment-to-silence-their-feelings-a/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

> [Without meaning to sound anti-men, ghastly women are the closest you get to a male role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-burke/without-meaning-to-sound-anti-men-ghastly-women-are-the-closest-you/)

[Kathy Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-burke/)

> [“Still, my argument was that if she was going to work for the next 30 years, what difference does "going back" 4 years really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/still-my-argument-was-that-if-she-was-going-to-work-for-the-next-30/)

[Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/)

> [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/)

[Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/)

> [Hats off to starting a franchise younger than we all did in 'Twilight' and keeping your cool. The 'Harry Potter' men and women had,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellan-lutz/hats-off-to-starting-a-franchise-younger-than-we-all-did-in-twilight/)

[Kellan Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellan-lutz/)

> [Usually male directors have to use foul language to get the job done. But I never came down to that level as being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-khosla-kumar/usually-male-directors-have-to-use-foul-language-to-get-the-job-done/)

[Divya Khosla Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-khosla-kumar/)

## More by Mary Wollstonecraft

> [Man preys on man; and you mourn for the idle tapestry that decorated a gothic pillar, and the dronish bell that summoned the fat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/man-preys-on-man-and-you-mourn-for-the-idle-tapestry-that-decorated-a/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

> [“How much more respectable is the woman who earns her own bread by fulfilling any duty, than the most accomplished beauty!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/how-much-more-respectable-is-the-woman-who-earns-her-own-bread-by/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

> [I love my man as my fellow; but his scepter, real, or usurped, extends not to me, unless the reason of an individual demands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/i-love-my-man-as-my-fellow-but-his-scepter-real-or-usurped-extends/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

> [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

> [Fondness is a poor substitute for friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/fondness-is-a-poor-substitute-for-friendship/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

> [Women have seldom sufficient employment to silence their feelings; a round of little cares, or vain pursuits frittering away all strength of mind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/women-have-seldom-sufficient-employment-to-silence-their-feelings-a/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

> [“In this style, argue tyrants of every denomination, from the weak king to the weak father of a family; they are all eager to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/in-this-style-argue-tyrants-of-every-denomination-from-the-weak-king/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

> [ “If children are to be educated to understand the true principle of patriotism, their mother must be a patriot \[...\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/if-children-are-to-be-educated-to-understand-the-true-principle-of/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

> [If women be educated for dependence; that is, to act according to the will of another fallible being, and submit, right or wrong, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/if-women-be-educated-for-dependence-that-is-to-act-according-to-the/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

> [Only that education deserves emphatically to be termed cultivation of the mind which teaches young people how to begin to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/only-that-education-deserves-emphatically-to-be-termed-cultivation-of/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

> [The beginning is always today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-beginning-is-always-today/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

> [“I wish to show that elegance is inferior to virtue, that the first object of laudable ambition is to obtain a character as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/i-wish-to-show-that-elegance-is-inferior-to-virtue-that-the-first/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

> [Perhaps the seeds of false-refinement, immorality, and vanity, have ever been shed by the great. Weak, artificial beings, raised above the common wants and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/perhaps-the-seeds-of-false-refinement-immorality-and-vanity-have-ever/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

> [Make them free, and they will quickly become wise and virtous, as men become more so; for the improvement must be mutual, or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/make-them-free-and-they-will-quickly-become-wise-and-virtous-as-men/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

> [The birthright of man ... is such a degree of liberty, civil and religious, as is compatible with the liberty of every other individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-birthright-of-man-is-such-a-degree-of-liberty-civil-and-religious/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

[Explore all 225 Mary Wollstonecraft quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

## More Nature quotes

> [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/)

[Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/)

> [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/)

[Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/)

> [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Borrow trouble for yourself, if that's your nature, but don't lend it to your neighbours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/borrow-trouble-for-yourself-if-that-s-your-nature-but-don-t-lend-it/)

[Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/)

> [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/)

[Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/)

> [“Men mistook measurement for understanding. And they always had to put themselves at the center of everything. That was their greatest conceit. The earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/men-mistook-measurement-for-understanding-and-they-always-had-to-put/)

[Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

> [“She was, he knew- and had known very early, he supposed- one of those rare and always lovely humans whose moral nature was so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-williams/she-was-he-knew-and-had-known-very-early-he-supposed-one-of-those/)

[John Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-williams/)

> [“When the water covers the earth the sun will vanish the darkess and the cold will come.When the last dragon and the last Elf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvana-de-mari/when-the-water-covers-the-earth-the-sun-will-vanish-the-darkess-and/)

[Silvana de Mari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvana-de-mari/)

> [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/)

[Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/)

> [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/)

[Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/)

> [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/)

[William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/)

> [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/)

[Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/)

[Browse all 47,383 Nature quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“I am aware, that this argument would carry me further than it may be supposed I wish to go; but I follow truth, and still adhering to my first position, I will allow that bodily strength seems to give man a natural superiority over woman; and this is the only solid basis on which the superiority of the sex can be built. But I still insist, that not only the virtue, but the KNOWLEDGE of the two sexes should be the same in nature, if not in degree, and that women, considered not only as moral, but rational creatures, ought to endeavour to acquire human virtues (or perfections) by the SAME means as men, instead of being educated like a fanciful kind of HALF being, one of Rousseau's wild chimeras.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Mary Wollstonecraft"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/i-am-aware-that-this-argument-would-carry-me-further-than-it-may-be/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Nature"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/i-am-aware-that-this-argument-would-carry-me-further-than-it-may-be/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/mary-wollstonecraft-1568_nature_i-am-aware-that-this-argument-would-carr_1455600.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/mary-wollstonecraft-1568_nature_i-am-aware-that-this-argument-would-carr_1455600.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/mary-wollstonecraft-1568_nature_i-am-aware-that-this-argument-would-carr_1455600.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I am aware, that this argument would carry me further than it may be supposed I wish to go; but I follow…” — Mary Wollstonecraft",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Mary Wollstonecraft",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“I am aware, that this argument...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/i-am-aware-that-this-argument-would-carry-me-further-than-it-may-be/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/i-am-aware-that-this-argument-would-carry-me-further-than-it-may-be/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
