Plato and Myth

Plato and Myth
Author: Catherine Collobert
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 488
Release: 2012-02-17
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 900422436X

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This volume seeks to show how the philosophy of Plato relates to the literary form of his discourse. Myth is one aspect of this relation whose importance for the study of Plato is only now beginning to be recognized. Reflection on this topic is essential not only for understanding Plato’s conception of philosophy and its methods, but also for understanding more broadly the relation between philosophy and literature. The twenty chapters of this volume, contributed by scholars of diverse backgrounds and approaches, elucidate the various uses and statuses of Platonic myths in the first place by reflecting on myth per se and in the second place by focusing on a specific myth in the Platonic corpus.

Selected Myths

Selected Myths
Author: Plato
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2004-11-11
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0191604690

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'Once upon a time there were just the gods; mortal beings did not yet exist.' We are used to thinking of myths as stories, and modern myths as made up and fictitious. For the ancient Greeks, however, a myth was a story that unveiled reality, and for Plato, myth-maker as well as myth-teller, a myth could tell us something important about ourselves and our world. The ultimate purpose of Plato's myths is to help us live a better life, and to teach philosophical truths in a form we can most easily understand. This volume brings together ten of the most celebrated Platonic myths, from eight of Plato's dialogues ranging from the early Protagoras and Gorgias to the late Timaeus and Critias. They include the famous myth of the cave from Republic as well as 'The Judgement of Souls' and 'The Birth of Love'. Each myth is a self-contained story, prefaced by a short explanatory note, while the introduction considers Plato's use of myth and imagery. These myths are thought-provoking and profound, and together they provide an ideal introduction to Plato's philosophy. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Plato's Mythoi

Plato's Mythoi
Author: Donald H. Roy
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 347
Release: 2018-10-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1498571581

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Recently, in the past thirty years, there has been an upsurge in serious treatment of Platonic mythoi, which were once thought to be only literary decoration and/or the simplistic presentation of philosophic conclusions for the demos (dummies in effect). Nevertheless, the dominant tendency in the exegesis of Platonic mythoi still is to subordinate them to philosophic logos (reason) and not to recognize that such mythoi are philosophic in themselves in the broad sense of “the love of wisdom”. There is something conversional about Plato’s philosophic mythos, reformulating and superseding traditional Greek mythos and then charting the drama of the human soul from Socratic aporia, up and out of the cave, and into the beyond, the Idea of the Good. The late Professor Eric Voegelin understood this existential drama, and his exegesis of Platonic mythos, from engendering pathos to symbols, is revelatory to say the least. My understanding is that logos (reason) is a fundamental and necessary check on mythos, but logos and mythos are complementary via medias; neither are dispensable nor reducible, one to the other. Also crucial to my study of Platonic mythoi is the “analogy of being,” that Voegelin only touches on, but Erich Przywara explores and develops. The relationship between the human and the divine is analogical (likenesses but also significant unlikenesses), and Plato certainly explored the play of opposites and affinities covering the difficult philosophical problems of becoming and being and the temporal and the eternal. Most philosophic commentators on Plato ignore the suffusive presence of the divine in Plato’s love of wisdom. Perhaps only Platonic mythos at its best offers the philosophic imagination the vision of transcendence.

Plato and the Mythic Tradition in Political Thought

Plato and the Mythic Tradition in Political Thought
Author: Tae-Yeoun Keum
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2020-12-08
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0674984641

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An ambitious reinterpretation and defense of Plato’s basic enterprise and influence, arguing that the power of his myths was central to the founding of philosophical rationalism. Plato’s use of myths—the Myth of Metals, the Myth of Er—sits uneasily with his canonical reputation as the inventor of rational philosophy. Since the Enlightenment, interpreters like Hegel have sought to resolve this tension by treating Plato’s myths as mere regrettable embellishments, irrelevant to his main enterprise. Others, such as Karl Popper, have railed against the deceptive power of myth, concluding that a tradition built on Platonic foundations can be neither rational nor desirable. Tae-Yeoun Keum challenges the premise underlying both of these positions. She argues that myth is neither irrelevant nor inimical to the ideal of rational progress. She tracks the influence of Plato’s dialogues through the early modern period and on to the twentieth century, showing how pivotal figures in the history of political thought—More, Bacon, Leibniz, the German Idealists, Cassirer, and others—have been inspired by Plato’s mythmaking. She finds that Plato’s followers perennially raised the possibility that there is a vital role for myth in rational political thinking.

Myth and Philosophy in Plato's Phaedrus

Myth and Philosophy in Plato's Phaedrus
Author: Daniel S. Werner
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2012-07-09
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1139536702

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Plato's dialogues frequently criticize traditional Greek myth, yet Plato also integrates myth with his writing. Daniel S. Werner confronts this paradox through an in-depth analysis of the Phaedrus, Plato's most mythical dialogue. Werner argues that the myths of the Phaedrus serve several complex functions: they bring nonphilosophers into the philosophical life; they offer a starting point for philosophical inquiry; they unify the dialogue as a literary and dramatic whole; they draw attention to the limits of language and the limits of knowledge; and they allow Plato to co-opt cultural authority as a way of defining and legitimating the practice of philosophy. Platonic myth, as a species of traditional tale, is thus both distinct from philosophical dialectic and similar to it. Ultimately, the most powerful effect of Platonic myth is the way in which it leads readers to participate in Plato's dialogues and to engage in a process of self-examination.

Myth and Philosophy in Platonic Dialogues

Myth and Philosophy in Platonic Dialogues
Author: Omid Tofighian
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 261
Release: 2016-11-15
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1137580445

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This book rethinks Plato’s creation and use of myth by drawing on theories and methods from myth studies, religious studies, literary theory and related fields. Individual myths function differently depending on cultural practice, religious context or literary tradition, and this interdisciplinary study merges new perspectives in Plato studies with recent scholarship and theories pertaining to myth. Significant overlaps exist between prominent modern theories of myth and attitudes and approaches in studies of Plato’s myths. Considering recent developments in myth studies, this book asks new questions about the evaluation of myth in Plato. Its appreciation of the historical conditions shaping and directing the study of Plato’s myths opens deeper philosophical questions about the relationship between philosophy and myth and the relevance of myth studies to philosophical debates. It also extends the discussion to address philosophical questions and perspectives on the distinction between argument and narrative.

Plato’s Republic: The Myth of ER

Plato’s Republic: The Myth of ER
Author: George Charalampidis
Publisher: AKAKIA Publications
Total Pages: 179
Release: 2016-12-30
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1911352660

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The Myth of Er is the epilogue of Plato’s Republic. It could be considered as an independent text that refers to the greatest philosophical question of all times."Where does our soul go when we die and where does it come from when we are born?"Socrates in order to give an answer that would lead to a safe conclusion connects the journey of our soul to the function of our planetary system and tries to analyze the following sacramental but also scientific issues:- What is the difference between a developed soul and a developed mind?- Why is the cultivation of virtues necessary?- Which are the three roads of Hades and their connection to the "Van Allen belts"?- How are the penalties and rewards to our soul defined?- Where is Tartarus?- What does the spindle of necessity symbolize?- How are space time and the "Cuiper belt" connected?- What does the existence of Sirens and the three fates mean?- What is the procedure our incarnation?- What contract do we sign before we reincarnate on planet earth?- Which is the role of free will?- What does the mystery of the Dionysial theatre symbolize?- What difference is there between reincarnation and metempsychosis?- What is Socrates’ genius or our guardian angel?

Paradigm, Logos, and Myth in Plato's Sophist and Statesman

Paradigm, Logos, and Myth in Plato's Sophist and Statesman
Author: Conor Barry
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 317
Release: 2022-10-25
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1793649049

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In a sustained study of the Sophist and Statesman, this book explores the use of paradigm, logos, and myth. Plato introduces in these dialogues the term “paradigm” to signify an image or model that can be used to yield insight into higher, ethical realities that are themselves beyond direct visual portrayal. He employs the term to signify an inductive example that can be defined. Finally, Plato shows how to rework existing narrative and myth to an ethically appropriate end. Since this exercise in the Statesman is described as training in dialectic, in Paradigm, Logos, and Myth in Plato's Sophist and Statesman Conor Barry demonstrates how these later works expand the compass of dialectic beyond narrow conceptions that restrict the scope of dialectic to the use of logical techniques. Rather, dialectic is the practice of dialogue as portrayed in the Platonic dialogues, which can involve appeal to analogies and figurative expressions in the search for an understanding of the ethical good. Plato’s dialogues, as works of literary art, aim to lead people to seek such understanding. Nevertheless, insofar as the dialogues are themselves artistic productions, they must also be objects of critical scrutiny and questioning.