The Realm of Mimesis in Plato

Orality, Writing, and the Ontology of the Image

Mariangela Esposito (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

188 Seiten

2022
Brill (Verlag)
978-90-04-53311-0 (ISBN)

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Orality versus writing is a vexed issue in Plato, but is it necessarily an opposition? This book places Plato’s work in the realm of mimesis and argues that we do not necessarily have to see this issue as demonstrating a straightforward opposition.

Plato’s dialogues stand at a transition from orality to literacy. They are living contradictions—partly oral and partly literary. This relationship between orality and writing is one of the most vexed issues in the history of Platonic interpretation and has particular relevance for the progressive erosion of literacy in favour of digitalisation today. This book argues that the relationship between the oral and the written in Plato’s dialogues is not a straightforward opposition, but is instead grounded in ontological analysis and exemplified by the ontology of the image, which appears throughout the Platonic canon.

"This book makes a contribution to the topic, with some remarkable scholarly insights, and it may be useful for an introductory reading (in translation) of some key texts in the Platonic corpus, especially for those who are interested in the reception of the problem of mimesis in authors of the philosophical production of the 20th century."

-Tomás N. Castro, University of Lisbon, Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2024

Mariangela Esposito received her PhD in Philosophy from the University of Limerick in 2019. She currently works as an Education Specialist at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI). Her research interests include ancient aesthetics, philosophy of emotions, and the contemporary reception of ancient philosophy.

Abstract

Acknowledgements

Premises

Introduction

1 The Critique of Writing in Plato’s Works

1“I Have Discovered a Potion for Memory and for Wisdom”

2“If the Author Is Really Serious, This Book Does not Contain His Best Thoughts”

3“If a Man Has Nothing More Valuable Than What He Has Composed or Written”

4“Nothing More Valuable”

5“He Will Sow Gardens of Letters for the Sake of Amusing Himself”

2 The Critique of Orality in Plato’s Works

1Orality and Vocality

2Myth and Philosophy

3The Arts and the City

4Hermeneia and Responsibility

5Image-Making

3 The Ontology of the Image in Plato’s Works

1Eidos and Eidolon

2The Ontology of the Pseudos

3Mirrors and Paidia

4Beauty and Wonderment

Conclusion

Afterword

Bibliography

Index

Erscheinungsdatum	24.02.2023
Reihe/Serie	Brill's Plato Studies Series ; 13
Verlagsort	Leiden
Sprache	englisch
Maße	155 x 235 mm
Gewicht	442 g
Themenwelt	Literatur ► Klassiker / Moderne Klassiker
	Literatur ► Lyrik / Dramatik ► Lyrik / Gedichte
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie ► Philosophie Altertum / Antike
ISBN-10	90-04-53311-7 / 9004533117
ISBN-13	978-90-04-53311-0 / 9789004533110
Zustand	Neuware