| Paragraph | Point | Evidence | Analysis | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1a - Agree | Both agree human nature is rational, flexible, and capable of ongoing progress. Education is seen as the vital tool for this growth. | Extract 1: Man is a “progressive being, capable of improvement through education.” Extract 2: Women are “rational creatures” who need “education” to progress. | Reflects rationalism - the belief that humans use logic to improve themselves. Wollstonecraft explicitly rejects the historic view that women are purely emotional. | Connects to John Locke’s view that humans are naturally reasonable.Aligns with Mill’s developmental individualism (focusing on human potential). |
| 1b - Disagree | They differ on what blocks human nature: Extract 1 fears social conformity; Extract 2 attacks structural sexism. | Extract 1: Human nature is “not a machine… but a tree” that must grow freely. Extract 2: Women face a “distortion” by being seen as “females second.” | Extract 1 warns against social tyranny and the “dull conformity” of public opinion. Extract 2 attacks a patriarchal society that denies women the right to use their minds. | Extract 2 mirrors Betty Friedan (The Feminine Mystique, 1963).Friedan argued post-war social norms trapped women in domestic roles, blocking full personhood. |
| 2a - Agree | Both agree human nature can only thrive when individuals have personal autonomy.Self-ownership is required for moral growth. | Extract 1: Individuals must be “free to develop… through choice and experience.” Extract 2: Women’s nature is “to be self-governing and virtuous.” | Aligns with foundational equality - everyone is born with equal moral worth. To grow, individuals must be free agents, not the property of husbands or states. | Links to negative liberty (freedom from external interference).Reflects Mill’s principle that the individual is sovereign over their own mind and body. |
| 2b - Disagree | They differ on the primary political solution: Extract 1 wants personal freedom; Extract 2 demands structural justice. | Extract 1: Advocates for individual “experiments in living.” Extract 2: Realized only when treated as “human beings first, and females second.” | Mill assumes baseline legal rights and targets social pressure. Wollstonecraft argues growth is impossible without foundational justice and the rule of law. | Extract 1 focuses on liberty; Extract 2 aligns with John Rawls’ focus on equality of opportunity. Rawls argued society must be structured fairly (like under a veil of ignorance) for all to progress. |
Ideally, it is best to always add one key thinker. Try and think about what arguments which could be used before reading the extract. Also, make a plan of 3/4 thinkers. Bullet-point a couple of things to say about each thinker. You want to ‘weed’ the thinkers in, i.e., John Locke to support John Stuart Mill .
Provenance
Instead of looking at the characteristics of the author, we look at the date. I.e., when John Stuart Mill was writing, it was a pre-war world in which rights for women did not exist - he would not have considered this, whereas Betty Friedan was in a more modern world in which they were strained but considered.