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My examination of Plato’s valuation of eros in the Symposium and Phaedrus dialogues in its manifold elements in general has resulted in a more concrete definition of eros as a relational entity. The transition of an initially natural cosmic force in archaic times into a more valid ethical quality so as to encourage betterment in human relations is evident in Plato’s philosophy. The terms ‘Platonic love’ and ‘eros’ are misinterpreted and my thesis purports to prove that Plato’s eros is a spiritual quest for beauty (kalos), truth (alethes) and the good (agathos). Modern scholastic commentaries were referred to and proved helpful in assessing the differences in ancient and current ethical schools of thought. The argument purports that Platonic eros is not a static condition of soul but a continuous movement/progress towards the highest spiritual love. / Ancient Languages and Cultures / M.A. (Ancient Languages and Cultures)

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My examination of Plato’s valuation of eros in the Symposium and Phaedrus dialogues in its manifold elements in general has resulted in a more concrete definition of eros as a relational entity. The transition of an initially natural cosmic force in archaic times into a more valid ethical quality so as to encourage betterment in human relations is evident in Plato’s philosophy. The terms ‘Platonic love’ and ‘eros’ are misinterpreted and my thesis purports to prove that Plato’s eros is a spiritual quest for beauty (kalos), truth (alethes) and the good (agathos). Modern scholastic commentaries were referred to and proved helpful in assessing the differences in ancient and current ethical schools of thought. The argument purports that Platonic eros is not a static condition of soul but a continuous movement/progress towards the highest spiritual love. / Ancient Languages and Cultures / M.A. (Ancient Languages and Cultures)

The central thesis of the dissertation is that in the Phaedrus philosophy is presented as a kind of madness in a strict sense, that is to say, the claim is not that philosophy is necessarily unappreciated by the many, hence considered by their standards as insane, but that the philosophical soul is in a way not in rational control, but in a state of mind that can fairly be defined as madness, and that the philosophical life is arranged in order to visit or revisit this state of mind. Socrates' account of eros and madness is based on his account of the soul, thus the first chapter shall give a close reading of Socrates' account of the soul. The second chapter, in turn, interprets Socrates' account of eros in light of his account of the soul. The third chapter, again, looks into Socrates' depiction of eros as a certain kind of madness in light of the first two chapters, focusing respectively on the following three characterizations: madness as the opposite of sōphrosunē, madness as the opposite of tekhnē, and madness as the core of the best human life, namely, the philosophical life. This dissertation, hopefully, gives a faithful interpretation of Socrates' account of eros in the Phaedrus on the one hand, on the other hand reveals the rationale behind Socrates' conception of eros and its highest form, philosophy, as a kind of divine madness. By doing so, I wish to contribute to our understanding of Plato's Socrates and his life as a paradigm of philosophy.

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.

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

Proefschrift--Utrecht. / Includes bibliography.

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