Title Plato and the mythic tradition in political thought / Tae-Yeoun Keum

Published Cambridge, Massachusetts : The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, [2020] ©2020

Click on the following:
EBSCO eBooks

Copies

Description 1 online resource (332 pages) Contents Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- Introduction: Plato's Legacy and the Problem of Myth in Political Thought -- PART ONE. POLITICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL BOUNDARIES -- 1 Nature and Myth in Plato's Republic -- 2 The Utopian Founding Myths of More and Bacon -- 3 An Enlightenment Fable: Leibniz and the Boundaries of Reason -- PART TWO. MYTH AND MODERNITY -- 4 The New Mythology of German Idealism -- 5 The Demon of the City: Cassirer on Myth and Plato -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Acknowledgments -- Index Summary 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 Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on November 19, 2020) Subject Plato -- Influence SUBJECT Plato fast Subject Rationalism -- Political aspects -- History Mythology -- Political aspects -- History Political science -- Philosophy. Electronic books. e-books. PHILOSOPHY -- History & Surveys -- Ancient & Classical. Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.) Mythology -- Political aspects Political science -- Philosophy Rationalism -- Political aspects Genre/Form History Form Electronic book ISBN 9780674250185 0674250184 9780674250178 0674250176 9780674250161 0674250168

  Permalink