Plato and Platonism, Platonic reception, Platonic tradition Research Papers

From the early 1930s to the early 1960s many scholars, whether liberal minded or socialist ideologues, Marxist or scientific positivists, classical scholars or political theorists and historians, have shown a widespread consensus in... more

Starting with the world famous Ambassadors by Hans Holbein, where a lute with a broken string features mysteriously and prominently, this article aims to explore the origins of the symbolism of the lute with a broken string from the... more

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- by Rita Comanducci
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- 46
  History, Ancient History, Early Music, Philosophy

Floyer Sydenham (1710–1787), the eminent British Platonist, has been unduly neglected in the interpretative historiography of the modern Platonic tradition. Amid a climate of indifference, he set out to offer the first English translation... more

Philosophical interpretations of La vida es sueño have long since identified the elements of Platonic epistemology in Calderón’s play, and although some of these elements — such as Segismundo’s alleged spiritual awakening through the... more

Philosophical interpretations of La vida es sueño have long since identified the elements of Platonic epistemology in Calderón’s play, and although some of these elements — such as Segismundo’s alleged spiritual awakening through the contemplation of Rosaura’s beauty — may in fact be more Neoplatonic than Platonic, there can, at least, be little doubt of the relevance of philosophical interpretations. In the present essay, however, I suggest a reevaluation of Calderón’s Platonic heritage, which focuses less on epistemology and more on ethics. After all, at the heart of La vida es sueño’s central inquiry into the problems of freedom and choice there lies a profound ethical preoccupation with the idea of justice, which is not only the main subject of Plato’s Republic, but a central element of Socratic ethos and, hence, of Plato’s entire philosophical project. The philosophical interpretations of Calderón’s play generally remain speculative rather than hermeneutic, neglecting the concrete comparison between the play and its Platonic sources. This way of proceeding, which appears to be the result of the view of Platonism as a body of ideas rather than as a concrete corpus of literary-philosophical dialogues, not only seems quite unsustainable from a scientific point of view. More importantly, it ignores the seminal Platonic relation of aesthetic criticism and ethics, which Calderón, as we shall see, adopted and developed in his most famous play. In La vida es sueño the dramatist conducts a subtle investigation into the relation between tragedy as an aesthetic form and what may be termed the ‘tragic worldview’ or the ‘philosophy of the tragic’, subjecting the latter to a Platonic scrutiny and transfiguring the former into a Baroque comedia. From Aischylos to Shakespeare and beyond, dramatists have of course inquired into the problem of eudaimonia, human happiness, often with an eye to greater metaphysical questions. However, the Spanish Golden Age drama is particularly interesting in this respect. Not only was the period for obvious historical reasons — national bankruptcy, imperial decadence, the Thirty Years’ War, internal upheavals — characterized by a profound feeling of the fragility of human happiness. The Baroque witnessed a quite astonishing ‘ostracism’ of the term ‘tragedy’ from the aesthetic vocabulary and the peculiar triumph of comedia as the common denominator of the serious drama, which a reconsideration of Calderón’s La vida es sueño in the light of the Platonic critique of tragedy may help illuminate. Although no modern critics have taken up the challenge of tracing the influence of Plato’s critique of tragedy on the Spanish comedia, it is certainly worth the effort. In the present essay we shall begin by considering the different philosophical and aesthetic elements of this critique and subsequently move on to a close examination of its resonance in La vida es sueño, arguing that the play’s investigation of the problems of freedom and choice is largely conducted on the background of a critique of tragic fatalism, which finds its emblematic expression in the transfiguration of Sophocles’ famous Oedipus Tyrannos into an ‘Oedipus moralizatus’, ‘Oedipus christianus’, or ‘Oedipus platonicus’. However, we shall also see how La vida es sueño reiteratedly ponders the complexity of this both philosophical and aesthetic transcendence of tragedy. Even if Calderón ultimately decides against the tragic view of life from a moral perspective, he certainly admits the tragic elements of life and ponders the fragility of goodness. The dramatist in fact succeeds in reconciling the inquiry into the complexity of human existence with the moral imperatives of a metaphysical ethics, a reconciliation that may ultimately be seen as the result of his acknowledgement of the need to ‘temper’ the moral imperatives of metaphysical philosophy with the insight gained from practical experience about the complexity of action and judgement.

For six centuries, Plato has held German philosophy in his grip. Brill’s Companion to German Platonism examines how German thinkers have interpreted Plato and how in turn he has decisively influenced their thought. Under the editorship of... more

The aim of this paper is to discuss the approach to the Statesman familiar to the Neoplatonists. As Iamblichus, Proclus and the anonymous author of the Prolegomena to Platonic Philosophy point out, their attention is focused on the... more

Weber greift immer wieder auf zwei Autoren zurück. Erstens der russischen Schriftsteller Tolstoi, welcher ihm das Gegenbild zur modernen Welt liefert. Zweitens auf Platon, dessen Vorstellung der dreigeteilten Seele für Weber bestimmend... more

Mark Padilla’s classical reception readings of Alfred Hitchcock features some of the director’s most loved and important films, and demonstrates how they are informed by the educational and cultural classicism of the director’s formative... more

Mark Padilla’s classical reception readings of Alfred Hitchcock features some of the director’s most loved and important films, and demonstrates how they are informed by the educational and cultural classicism of the director’s formative years. The six close readings begin with discussions of the production histories, so as to theorize and clarify how classicism could and did enter the projects. Exploration of the films through a classical lens creates the opportunity to explore new themes and ideological investments. The result is a further appreciation of both the engine of the director’s storytelling creativity and the expressionism of classicism, especially Greek myth and art, in British and American modernism. The analysis organizes the material into two triptychs, one focused on the three films sharing a wrong man pattern (wrongly accused man goes on the run to clear himself), the other treating the films starring the actress Grace Kelly.

Chapter One, on The 39 Steps (1935), finds the origins of the wrong man plot in early 20th-century British classicism, and demonstrates that the movie utilizes motifs of Homer’s Odyssey. Chapter Two, on Saboteur (1942), theorizes the impact of the director’s memories of the formalism and myths associated with the Parthenon sculptures housed in the British Museum. Chapter Three, on North by Northwest, participates in the myths of the hero Oedipus, as associated with early Greek epic, Freud, Nietzsche, and Sophocles. Chapter Four, on Dial M for Murder (1954), returns to Homer’s Odyssey in the interpretive use of “the lay of Demodocus,” a story about the sexual triangle of Hephaestus, Aphrodite, and Ares. Chapter Five, on Rear Window (1954), finds its narrative archetype in The Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite; the erotic theme of Sirius, the Dog Star, also marks the film. Chapter Six, on To Catch a Thief (1955), offers the opportunity to break from mythic analogues, and to consider the film’s philosophical resonances (Plato and Epicurus) in the context of motifs coalesced around the god Dionysus/Bacchus.

"An authoritative collection of essays on George Grote's Greece, Plato and Aristotle. Edited and Introduced by Kyriakos Demetriou [Final list of contents has changed] 1. Sarah Richardson, “‘A regular politician in breeches': the life... more

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- by Kyriakos Demetriou
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- 14
  Plato, History Of Platonic Tradition, Socrates, John Milton

Clement of Alexandria, active in the second half of the second century AD, is one of the first Christian authors to explain and defend the nascent religion in the terms of Greek philosophy and in relation to Greek paideia. His major work,... more

Bryn Mawr Classical Review, BMCR 2021.04.06, https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2021/2021.04.06/

La mentira noble y la generación espontánea como ejes problematizadores

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Andrea Muni (eds), Plato in der Moderne und im Zeitgenössischen Denken (Platone nel pensiero moderno e contemporaneo), vol. VII, Limina Mentis Verlag, Villasanta (Italia), Juli 2017. 245 pp. ISBN: 9788899433390. ISBN-13: 9788899433390.... more

Andrea Muni (eds), Plato in der Moderne und im Zeitgenössischen Denken (Platone nel pensiero moderno e contemporaneo), vol. VII, Limina Mentis Verlag, Villasanta (Italia), Juli 2017. 245 pp. ISBN: 9788899433390. ISBN-13: 9788899433390.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

I. Maurizio Marin, Plato in den Schriften von Jacques Maritain, pp. 1-18.

II. Jonathan Molinari, Denken Sie an den Mythos. Das Problem der Entstehung des “Prisca Theologia” auf “philo nova” Pico della Mirandola, pp. 19-34.

III. Pasquale Indulgenza, Mündlichkeit und Schreiben. Reflexion von Plato und die “Informationsrevolution”, pp. 35-52.

IV. Giuseppe Potenza, Plato und die ästhetische Auffassung von Goethe, pp. 53-64.

V. Mosè Cometta, Politik: Klugheit und Kreativität, pp. 65-80.

VI. Aldo Stella, Die reflektierende und kritische Denken als Grundlage des platonischen Dialog, pp. 81-92.

VII. Annalisa De Razza, Platonismus Buber, die Ich-Du-Beziehung, pp. 93-104.

VIII. Filippo Parmeggiani, Sein und Intuition. Plato: Philosophie und Musik, pp. 105-122.

IX. Aldo Riccadonna, Nietzsche Schüler von Callicles, pp. 123-138.

X. Aldo Bonet, Der Thales von Milet sagte nicht von Plato. Einige Überlegungen aus einem Buch von Livio Rossetti, pp. 139-200.

XI. Ricardo Lucio Perriello, Francis, der sich erobert: die Begegnung mit dem “Aussätzige” in seiner philosophischen Bedeutung, pp. 201-212.

XII. Roberto Santorino, Plato gegen die Demokratie. Eine alte Kritik an der demokratischen Gesellschaft, pp. 213-232.

XIII. Enrico Galavotti, Die Allegorie der Höhle und der Staatsbildung in der platonischen Republik, pp. 233-242.

http://www.ibs.it/code/9788899433390/zzz99-muni-a/platone-nel-pensiero-moderno.html

http://www.libreriauniversitaria.it/platone-pensiero-moderno-contemporaneo-limina/libro/9788899433390

INDICE DEGLI ALTRI VOLUMI GIÀ PUBBLICATI

VOLUME I (2014)
01. ANDREA MUNI, Presentazione.
02. FEDERICO BONZI, «Lisez la République de Platon. Ce n’est point un ouvrage de politique. C’est le plus beau traité d’éducation qu’on ait jamais fait». La portata delle tematiche del «Divin Platon» nell’elaborazione del pensiero di Rousseau.
03. PIERPAOLO LAURIA, Leopardi e Platone. Lo scontro e l’incontro mancato.
04. ANDREA MUNI, Antonio Labriola interprete di Socrate. Tra Platone e Senofonte.
05. FRANCESCO DI BENEDETTO, La matematica platonica di Imre Toth.
06. MARCO DAMONTE, Platone nella recente filosofia analitica della conoscenza.
07. CLAUDIA FAITA, Le antinomie della caverna in un mondo digitale.
08. ANDREA MUNI, Spigolature su Sciacca interprete di Platone.
09. RICARDO LUCIO PERRIELLO, Platone e le dottrine non scritte: l’interpretazione della scuola di Tubinga-Milano.
10. EVERALDO CESCON-PAULO CÉSAR NODARI, La dottrina delle idee di Platone. L’interpretazione di Giovanni Reale.

VOLUME II (2014)
1. GIOVANNI COVINO, La filosofia di Platone alla luce della dottrina del senso comune.
2. GABRIELE ZUPPA, Il problema dell’universale tra Platone e Gómez Dávila.
3. GIUSEPPE D’ACUNTO, «Divenire verso l’essere». Il Platone di Ernst Hoffmann.
4. GIACOMO VIGGIANI, Popper e la critica al Platone “totalitario”.
5. STEFANO SCRIMA, La verità non è per tutti. Leo Strauss interprete di Platone.
6. GIACOMO PEZZANO, L’idealismo (meta)fisico di Platone. Tra Genesis e Geltung.
7. GIUSY MARIA MARGAGLIOTTA, Gerhard Krüger e l’Eros platonico.
8. NICOLA RICCI, Il platonismo di Rosmini. Ipotesi ermeneutiche e prospettive teoretiche sul problema dell’essere ideale.
9. AGUSTÍN HERNÁNDEZ VIDALES, Alcune considerazioni sull’«Estetica» di Platone nel Novecento.

VOLUME III (2015)
1. EDOARDO GREBLO, L’inimicizia di pensiero e azione. Il Platone di Hannah Arendt.
2. MARY LEONARDI, Il platonismo romantico di F.D.E. Schleiermacher (prima parte).
3. ANIELLO MONTANO, Il contributo di Platone alla formazione del concetto di filosofia di Sciacca.
4. GIOVANNI COPPOLINO BILLÈ, La virtù come «divino fato». Rensi interprete di Platone.
5. MICHELE ROZZI, La cosmogonia del senso. Fra metafisica e dialettica.
6. CLAUDIO TUGNOLI, L’obsolescenza del vecchio umanesimo platonico nella prospettiva del postumanesimo e dell’antropologia mimetica.

VOLUME IV (2015)
1. ANNA PIAZZA, Simone Weil: l’idea di mediazione tra Platone e il cristianesimo.
2. FRANCESCO FIORENTINO, L’autonomia ontologica delle idee platoniche. Il dibattito ottocentesco e le radici scolastiche.
3. MATTEO SCOZIA, Alcune riflessioni analitiche sul realismo platonico a partire dal Preface to Plato di Eric Havelock.
4. RODOLFO SIDERI, Platone nella cultura politica della destra italiana del Novecento.
5. NICOLÒ SEGGIARO, Il diritto identificato con il dovere: Platone e Ugo Spirito.
6. DIMITRJ ZEN, L’influenza platonica sulla modernità: similitudini tra il pensiero di Platone e il sistema filosofico cartesiano.
7. CARLO EFISIO MARRÈ BRUNENGHI, Il bene tra dialogo socratico e dialettica platonica. Alle origini del nichilismo contemporaneo.
8. AURELIO RIZZACASA, Platone cripto-totalitario nel quadro formale della democrazia. Riflessioni a proposito di un’interpretazione di Popper.

VOLUME V (2016)
1. PAOLO GIOVE, L’illusione del conoscere: lineamenti di una pedagogia dell’ignoranza.
2. MARCO CASUCCI, Il platonismo essenziale in Arthur Schopenhauer.
3. PAOLO MENEGHETTI, Platone e la compartecipazione delle idee nella generazione dell’empatia.
4. ANNA LUCIA MANNI, Platone ed Hannah Arendt: quale filosofia politica possibile?
5. MAURO MURZI, Le origini neoplatoniche del dibattito sui generi naturali.
6. GIANPAOLO CAPPELLARI, Chomsky e il problema di Platone.
7. MOSÈ COMETTA, Politica. Una possibile definizione tra Platone e Schmitt.
8. FRANCO CAMBI, Banfi interprete di Platone. Tra filosofia e pedagogia.
9. RODOLFO SIDERI, «Il platonismo che non muore». Platone e il platonismo nel pensiero di Giovanni Gentile.

VOLUME VI (2016)
1. ALFONSO CARUSO, Platone e la Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana.
2. MARY LEONARDI, Il platonismo romantico di F.D.E. Schleiermacher (seconda parte).
3. ANGELA MEOLI, Elementi di un’ontologia dinamica in Kant e Platone. Il Sofista e la Critica della ragion pura a confronto.
4. FABIANA CASTELLINO, Il De ente et uno di Pico della Mirandola e la ricerca dell'autentico Platone.
5. MASSIMO MANCINI, Stato, giustizia, legge. La posizione di Trasimaco nel pensiero di Carl Schmitt.
6. ALDO MECCARIELLO, L’immagine infranta della caverna di Platone. L’interpretazione di Hannah Arendt.
7. CHIARA ROBBIANO, Plato’s and Nishida’s bridges over dualistic gaps.
8. MARCO CIRILLO, Platone nella fenomenologia di Edith Stein.

Platonism and Christian Thought in Late Antiquity (désormais PCTLA) est un ouvrage collectif édité par P. G. Pavlos, L. F. Janby, E. K. Emillson et T. T. Tollefsen. PCTLA se focalise sur la relation complexe entre platonisme et... more

Plato and Platonism, Platonic reception, Platonic tradition

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