Research Catalog
Plato's Four Muses : The Phaedrus and the Poetics of Philosophy
- Title
- Plato's Four Muses : The Phaedrus and the Poetics of Philosophy / Andrea Capra.
- Author
- Capra, Andrea, 1971-
- Publication
- Washington, D.C. : Center for Hellenic Studies, 2014.
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1 Item
| Status | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schwarzman Building to submit a request in person. | Book/text | Use in library | JFE 15-1445 | Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315 |
Details
- Series Statement
- Hellenic Studies ; 67
- Uniform Title
- Hellenic studies ; 67.
- Subject
- Call Number
- JFE 15-1445
- ISBN
- 9780674417229
- 0674417224
- OCLC
- 898418083
- Author
- Capra, Andrea, 1971-
- Title
- Plato's Four Muses : The Phaedrus and the Poetics of Philosophy / Andrea Capra.
- Publisher
- Washington, D.C. : Center for Hellenic Studies, 2014.
- Description
- 234 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.
- Type of Content
- text
- Type of Medium
- unmediated
- Type of Carrier
- volume
- Series
- Hellenic Studies ; 67Hellenic studies ; 67.
- Summary
- Plato's Four Muses reconstructs Plato's authorial self-portrait through a fresh reading of the Phhaedrus, with an Introduction and Conclusion that contextualize the construction more broadly. The reference to four Muses in the myth of the cicadas is read as a hint of the "ingredients" of philosophical discourse, which Plato sets against the Greek tradition of poetic initiations and conceptualizes as a form of provocatively old-fasioned 'mousikē'.The book unravels three surprising features that define Plato's works. First, there is a measure of anti-intellectualism: Plato counters the rationalistic excesses of other forms of discourse, thus distinguishing his own words from both prose and poetry; second, Plato envisages a new beginning for philosophy: he conceptualizes the birth of Socratic dialogue in, and against, the Pythagorean tradition, with an emphasis on the new role of writing and on the cult of Socrates in the Academy; finally, a self-consciously ambivalent attitude emerges with respect to the social function of the dialogues. Plato's works are conceived both as a kind of zresistance literaturey and as a preliminary move towards the new poetry of the Kallipolis.
- Research Call Number
- JFE 15-1445