by phillipw | Jul 16, 2020 | PL, SO
Stabbing in the Cave-like Dark before There Were Laboratories or Electron Microscopes, Plato Presumed that There Are Souls and that They Grow. How Very Poetic. “Halliwell claims that Socrates’ remarks about poetry early and late in the Republic differ because the...
by phillipw | Jul 16, 2020 | DI, IN, PH, PL, PO, SO, TI
Spells and the Thoughts of Tiresias “Halliwell’s basic argument is that Socrates admits the Book X arguments to be insecure and open to defeat. He calls them ‘spells’ rather than philosophical knowledge, and he asserts that he must use them [those arguments]...
by phillipw | Jul 16, 2020 | AN, PH, PL, PO
Sovereignty Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem “Is it simply that people who philosophize think that people who produce, consume, or appreciate poetry (the philopoiêtai) have the wrong...
by phillipw | Jul 16, 2020 | IN, JO, KE, PL
Sing in Me, Rational Muse! Plato’s “descriptions of poetic inspiration occur over a long period of time, ranging from his earliest works to his latest, and there is considerable uniformity in what he says. Throughout P.’s work the mental state of the inspired poet is...
by phillipw | Jul 14, 2020 | PL, PO
Poets as Healers The first great poet, Orpheus, was called The Healer. Is there some great truth involved In that? Surely Plato wasn’t enthralled With poets. Plato sneered. He was resolved To say that they were more inclined to ill And that they couldn’t...
by phillipw | Jul 14, 2020 | OR, PL, PO
Poetry and Hateful Plato Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Alone among male populations of The ancient world (and modern) Plato held The poet Orpheus in hatred. Love Of poets and of music had not...