Myth and Argument in Plato's Phaedrus, Republic, and Phaedo investigates the role played by eschatological myth in the arguments of Plato's Phaedrus, Republic and Phaedo. It argues that a reconsideration of the agenda followed by Socrates in each of these dialogues brings into view the contribution made by the mythological narrative to their argumentative line. Each of the three chapters of my thesis analyses the nature of this contribution. The first chapter argues that the myth occupying the central pages of the Phaedrus contributes to developing one of the themes addressed in the dialogue, namely a link between the divine realm and the activities thought by Phaedrus to be unrelated to the religious sphere. By showing that Eros fosters imitation of the gods, the palinode makes an important contribution to this topic. The second chapter proposes that the myth of Er and passage 608c2-621d3 in which it is included are an essential part of the line of argument of the Republic. I analyse the aims Socrates sets in Book 2 for his investigation into justice, and show that they include the description of the positive consequences of justice along with the benefits it causes in and by itself. By listing the rewards just people will receive from other people and the gods, passage 608c2-621d3 gives a description of the positive consequences of justice. The third chapter argues that the argumentative line followed in the Phaedo finds its culmination in the eschatological myth. Socrates expresses a hope for post-mortem justice in his defence of the philosophical life. To render it plausible to his interlocutors he needs to show that the soul is both immortal and intrinsically intelligent. After vindicating these notions, Socrates presents in the concluding myth the image of an afterlife governed by ethical principles.

Essa tese tem como objetivo apresentar uma leitura alternativa do Fedro de Platão. Seu principal foco é reavaliar o esquema geral do diálogo e seus blocos textuais, considerando a pertinência e a importância de aspectos formais e temáticos da poética de Estesícoro de Himera na leitura do Fedro, especialmente a estrutura triádica de sua poesia, o tema do ídolo como substituto do ser e o poder do canto curativo. Nesse trajeto reconhecemos o desenho triádico estesicórico nas três recitações iniciais do diálogo platônico, meio pelo qual realizaremos um estudo desses blocos textuais, destacando, em seguida, as diferenças entre poética, logografia, retórica e dialética. / This thesis aims to present an alternative reading of Plato\'s Phaedrus. Its main focus is to review the general scheme of the dialogue and its textual blocks, into account the relevance and importance of formal and thematic aspects of the poetic doxography from Stesichorus of Himera in the reading of Plato\'s Phaedrus considered, especially in these regards: triadic structure of his poetry, the theme of the idol as a substitute for the being and the curative power of the chant. In this way we can recognized the stesichoric triadic design in the three initials recitations of platonic dialogue, means by which this work will conduct a study of these blocks of text, highlighting the differences between poetry, logographic, rhetoric and dialectic.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-10-10T10:20:48Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Texto final anita.pdf: 40379047 bytes, checksum: 4aa82f24066881582117816dbcb20bbd (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-10-10T10:20:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Texto final anita.pdf: 40379047 bytes, checksum: 4aa82f24066881582117816dbcb20bbd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-09-03 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The main objective of this work is to answer the problem of unity in Plato's dialogue, Phaedrus. The justification for this investigation is given by the controversy generated by the various readings made throughout the centuries of this Platonic dialogue. It is intended that, in establishing a unity of the dialogue, a better understanding of the topics addressed (such as myth, rhetoric, soul, dialectic, memory, among others) is possible. In seeking to solve this problem, one aspect that was privileged was a dramatic change and the literary resources of the text. In particular, the character of Phaedrus plays a key role in explaining the unity of dialogue. I propose that the appearance of fragmentation of the dialogue is due to Socrates’ attempt to conduct Phaedrus’ soul (psichagogy), throughout the text. This conduction sought to promote, in the Socratic interlocutor, a better understanding of both erôs and rhetoric. Now, rhetoric is a kind of psychagogy through discourses, and this Socratic conduction of Phaedrus is nothing more than the dramatic act of a true rhetorical art that will be developed in theory in the presente dialogue. The rhetoric in the Phaedrus, therefore, can attain a status of genuine technê for philosophical and pedagogical purposes. This philosophical rhetoric is not, however, a dialectic with another name (as some interpreters have suggested), since it presupposes, in addition to the dialectic, the knowledge of the existing types of souls and the appropriateness of discoureses to each type. The Phaedrus, therefore, is a dialogue that has precisely this appearance because Socrates acts as a philosophical rhetorician and, knowing his friend, he was able to adjust the right speech to the right moment to convince him of the erros and problems of sophistry rhetoric / O presente trabalho tem como objetivo principal propor uma resposta ao problema da unidade do diálogo Fedro de Platão. A justificação desta investigação é dada pela controvérsia gerada pelas inúmeras leituras feitas, ao longo dos séculos, desse diálogo platônico. Pretende-se que, ao estabelecer a unidade do diálogo, seja possível uma melhor compreensão dos temas abordados (como erôs, mito, retórica, alma, dialética, memória, entre outros). Ao buscar resolver esse problema, um aspecto que foi privilegiado foi a ação dramática e os recursos literários do texto. Em especial, o personagem Fedro tem um papel fundamental na explicação da unidade do diálogo. Proponho que a aparência de fragmentação do diálogo se deve à tentativa da condução da alma (psicagogia) de Fedro feita por Sócrates ao longo do texto. Essa condução buscou promover, no interlocutor socrático, uma melhor compreensão tanto de erôs quanto da retórica. Ora, a retórica é um tipo de psicagogia por meio dos discursos e essa condução socrática de Fedro nada mais é do que o ato dramático de uma verdadeira arte retórica que será desenvolvida na teoria no presente diálogo. A retórica no Fedro, portanto, pode alcançar um status de genuína technê com propósitos filosóficos e pedagógicos. Essa retórica filosófica não é, no entanto, a dialética com outro nome (como sugeriram alguns intérpretes), pois pressupõe, além da dialética, o conhecimento dos tipos de almas existentes e da adequação de discuros a cada tipo. O Fedro, portanto, é um diálogo que possui tal aparência justamente por Sócrates atuar como um retórico filosófico e, conhecendo o amigo, soube ajustar o discurso certo ao momento certo para convencê-lo dos erros e dos problemas da retórica sofística

Essa tese tem como objetivo apresentar uma leitura alternativa do Fedro de Platão. Seu principal foco é reavaliar o esquema geral do diálogo e seus blocos textuais, considerando a pertinência e a importância de aspectos formais e temáticos da poética de Estesícoro de Himera na leitura do Fedro, especialmente a estrutura triádica de sua poesia, o tema do ídolo como substituto do ser e o poder do canto curativo. Nesse trajeto reconhecemos o desenho triádico estesicórico nas três recitações iniciais do diálogo platônico, meio pelo qual realizaremos um estudo desses blocos textuais, destacando, em seguida, as diferenças entre poética, logografia, retórica e dialética. / This thesis aims to present an alternative reading of Plato\'s Phaedrus. Its main focus is to review the general scheme of the dialogue and its textual blocks, into account the relevance and importance of formal and thematic aspects of the poetic doxography from Stesichorus of Himera in the reading of Plato\'s Phaedrus considered, especially in these regards: triadic structure of his poetry, the theme of the idol as a substitute for the being and the curative power of the chant. In this way we can recognized the stesichoric triadic design in the three initials recitations of platonic dialogue, means by which this work will conduct a study of these blocks of text, highlighting the differences between poetry, logographic, rhetoric and dialectic.

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Proefschrift--Utrecht. / Includes bibliography.

This thesis is an investigation into the role of the dramatics in Plato's Phaedrus. I claim that the dramatics are meant to point the reader to the religious ceremonies known to us as the Mysteries of Eleusis, and further to the profanation of those mysteries that occurred in Athens in 415 BCE. This contextualization of the dialogue is done in order to locate Socrates' and Phaedrus' discussion in an historical setting that was having difficulties determining where between the public and private distinction in society the responsibility for temperance lies. The Phaedrus can thus be read as Plato's response to the problem in this area that the generation before his own faced. The conclusion that Socrates draws in the Phaedrus is that some will be able to act in a temperate and moderate fashion of their own accord, with no influence needed from the state apparatus, and that these citizens must lead the way on a path that all society must be convinced to follow if the city is to be unified in its being. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

This thesis compares the interaction of philosophy and literature in Plato and Lucretius. It argues that Plato influenced Lucretius directly, and that this connection increases the interest in comparing them. In the Introduction, I propose that a work of philosophical literature, such as the De Rerum Natura or a Platonic dialogue, cannot be fully understood or appreciated unless both the literary and the philosophical elements are taken into account. In Chapter 1, I examine the tradition of literature and philosophy in which Plato and Lucretius were writing. I argue that the historical evidence increases the likelihood that Lucretius read Plato. Through consideration of parallels between the DRN and the dialogues, I argue that Plato discernibly influenced the DRN. In Chapter 2, I extract a theory of philosophical literature from the Phaedrus, which prompts us to appreciate it as a work of literary art inspired by philosophical knowledge of the Forms. I then analyse Socrates’ ‘prelude’ at Republic IV.432 as an example of how the dialogue’s philosophical and literary teaching works in practice. In Chapters 3 and 4, I consider the treatment of natural philosophy in the Timaeus and DRN II. The ending of the Timaeus is arguably an Aristophanically inspired parody of the zoogonies of the early natural philosophers. This links it to other instances of parody in Plato’s dialogues. DRN II.333-380 involves an argument about atomic variety based on Epicurus, but also, through the image of the world ‘made by hand’, alludes polemically to the intelligently designed world of the Timaeus. Through an examination of Plato’s and Lucretius’ polemical adaptation of their predecessors, I argue that even the most seemingly technical passages of the DRN and the Timaeus still depend upon literary techniques for their full effect. The Conclusion reflects briefly on future paths of investigation.

Le présent mémoire décrit le rôle et l’application de la méthode platonicienne des divisions telle que décrite dans le Sophiste, le Politique, le Phèdre et le Philèbe. Il met en relief les différences et les similitudes du rôle et de l’application de la méthode dans ces quatre dialogues, afin d’analyser la possibilité ou bien de postuler l’unité de la doctrine platonicienne, ou bien de retracer les lieux de son évolution. Certains auteurs du siècle dernier affirment qu’il n’est pas possible de retracer quelque évolution que ce soit dans la doctrine, et estiment même que la méthode des divisions est utilisée bien au-delà de ces quatre dialogues, et que son absence des dialogues de jeunesse ne doit en aucun cas être prise pour une absence de la doctrine de l’époque. D’autres sont au contraire convaincus que la méthode des divisions est propre à un stade de la pensée de Platon qui ne peut être que postérieur à l’introduction de la théorie des Formes intelligibles, et que cette méthode incarne même, à toutes fins pratiques, la dialectique platonicienne des dialogues tardifs. / This thesis aims to describe the role and application of Plato's method of divisions as it is seen and described mainly in Sophist, Statesman, Phaedrus, and Philebus. Through analysis of similarities and differences of the method in the different dialogues I intend to describe the possibilities of claiming the unity of Plato's doctrine, or to see in which regards it has evolved. In the last century some authors were convinced that no such evolution could clearly be seen in Plato's thought, and that the method of divisions was to be found in a lot of passages both before and after the four dialogues mentioned above, whereas others argue that the method of divisions is to be seen as specific t the later dialogues, because it cannot possibly be used before the introduction of the theory of the Forms, and further, that it is to be identified with Plato's later method of dialectic.

Many scholars who study Plato and Shakespeare together focus only on erotic love between lovers or nonsexual love between others. A closer study of A Midsummer Night’s Dream shows that Shakespeare uses Plato’s concepts of the soul in addition to the Forms, the guide, as well as staging the varieties of love that can exist between two individuals and the dangers of loving the physical more than the mind. Shakespeare takes these ideas embedded in Symposium and Phaedrus and not only crafts his play accordingly, but also creates his own versions through his unique interpretations. These alterations appear reflected in the play’s sequence of events, the characters’ actions, and the merging of the faerie and human realms. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection