Myth and Philosophy in Plato's Phaedrus

Examines the role of myth in Plato's Phaedrus, arguing that it leads readers to participate in Plato's dialogues and to engage in self-examination.

Daniel S. Werner (Author)

9781107021280, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 9 July 2012

310 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.1 cm, 0.63 kg

'This is a valuable new work that uses a relatively narrow focus to broaden our general perspectives on the Phaedrus in particular, and on Plato's use of myth and thought about philosophical discourse in general. Werner has not (and does not claim to have) wrestled Proteus into submission. It would be a shame if he had. He has, however, opened up a very promising new angle of approach.' Bryn Mawr Classical Review

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.

1. Introduction
2. Boreas, Typhon, and the allegorization of myth
3. The palinode: soul and eros
4. The palinode: forms and knowledge
5. The palinode: tradition and philosophy
6. The cicadas
7. Rhetoric and dialectic
8. Theuth, Thamus, and the critique of writing
9. The Phaedrus as a whole
10. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500 [HPCA], Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA], Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB]