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Bezig met laden... Plato and the Mythic Tradition in Political Thoughtdoor Tae-Yeoun Keum
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Tae-Yeoun Keum traces an interesting if selective path through the canon of Western European political thought in a monograph which traverses the political-theoretical ground from Plato to the present. Her distinctive route seeks to establish a ‘mythic tradition’ of stories incorporated into works of political theory, a genre more usually thought to rely on rational argument and persuasion than mythical narrative. In Keum’s model, theorist after theorist uses stories, most notably those connected with the journey through the afterlife told in Plato’s Myth of Er (Republic 10.614b-621b). In this case, myths justify social arrangements and explain individuals’ choice of lives. Keum produces a genealogy of political myth distinct from that offered by political theorist Chiara Bottici. The latter asserted the discontinuities of modern political myth from the classical tradition, but Keum finds continuities in the allusive recurrence of mythical themes, stretching from antiquity to modernity.
An ambitious reinterpretation and defense of Plato's basic enterprise and influence, arguing that the power of his myths was central to the founding of philosophical rationalism. Plato's use of myths--the Myth of Metals, the Myth of Er--sits uneasily with his canonical reputation as the inventor of rational philosophy. Since the Enlightenment, interpreters like Hegel have sought to resolve this tension by treating Plato's myths as mere regrettable embellishments, irrelevant to his main enterprise. Others, such as Karl Popper, have railed against the deceptive power of myth, concluding that a tradition built on Platonic foundations can be neither rational nor desirable. Tae-Yeoun Keum challenges the premise underlying both of these positions. She argues that myth is neither irrelevant nor inimical to the ideal of rational progress. She tracks the influence of Plato's dialogues through the early modern period and on to the twentieth century, showing how pivotal figures in the history of political thought--More, Bacon, Leibniz, the German Idealists, Cassirer, and others--have been inspired by Plato's mythmaking. She finds that Plato's followers perennially raised the possibility that there is a vital role for myth in rational political thinking. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)184Philosophy and Psychology Ancient, medieval and eastern philosophy PlatonicLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde: Geen beoordelingen.Ben jij dit?Word een LibraryThing Auteur. |