{"product_id":"platos-four-muses-the-phaedrus-and-the-poetics-of-philosophy-9780674417229","title":"Plato's Four Muses: The Phaedrus and the Poetics of Philosophy","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003ePlato's Four Muses\u003c\/i\u003e reconstructs Plato's authorial self-portrait through a fresh reading of the \u003ci\u003ePhaedrus\u003c\/i\u003e, with an Introduction and Conclusion that contextualize the construction more broadly. The \u003ci\u003ePhaedrus\u003c\/i\u003e, it is argued, is Plato's most self-referential dialogue, and Plato's reference to four Muses in \u003ci\u003ePhaedrus\u003c\/i\u003e 259c-d is read as a hint at the \"ingredients\" of philosophical discourse, which turns out to be a form of provocatively old-fashioned \u003ci\u003emousikê\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAndrea Capra maintains that Socrates's conversion to \"demotic\"--as opposed to metaphorical--music in the \u003ci\u003ePhaedo\u003c\/i\u003e closely parallels the \u003ci\u003ePhaedrus\u003c\/i\u003e and is apologetic in character, since Socrates was held responsible for dismissing traditional \u003ci\u003emousikê\u003c\/i\u003e. This parallelism reveals three surprising features that define Plato's works: first, a measure of anti-intellectualism (Plato counters the rationalistic excesses of other forms of discourse, thus distinguishing it from both prose and poetry); second, a new beginning for philosophy (Plato conceptualizes the birth of Socratic dialogue in, and against, the Pythagorean tradition, with an emphasis on the new role of writing); and finally, a self-consciously ambivalent attitude with respect to the social function of the dialogues, which are conceived both as a kind of \"resistance literature\" and as a preliminary move toward the new poetry of the Kallipolis.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCapra, Andrea:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Andrea Capra is Assistant Professor of Greek Language and Literature at the University of Milan.","brand":"Harvard University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50326956900626,"sku":"9780674417229","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_58bf41c6-e84a-42fb-adcd-72c93162f336.jpg?v=1727707371","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/platos-four-muses-the-phaedrus-and-the-poetics-of-philosophy-9780674417229","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}