  Final judgment on this question is difficult (see also Saxonhouse 1976, Levin 1996, E. Brown 2002). The disparaging remarks have to be taken one-by-one, as it is doubtful that all can be  understood in exactly the same way. Moreover, it is of the utmost  importance to determine whether each remark says something about the  way all women are by nature or essentially. If Plato thinks that  women are essentially worse than men, then Socrates’ claim that men  and women have the same nature for education and employment is  puzzling. But if the disparagements do not express any considered  views about the nature of women, then we might be able to conclude  that Plato is deeply prejudiced against women and yet committed to  some plausibly feminist principles.