• Plato’s Phaedo as a Pedagogical Drama

    Author(s):
    Sarah Ruth Jansen (see profile)
    Date:
    2013
    Subject(s):
    Philosophy, Ancient, Plato
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    Ancient philosophy, Classics
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M6PZ51M0C
    Abstract:
    The Phaedo has long been recognized as dramatic in nature (see, e.g., Jowett 1892, 193). Indeed, the dialogue’s dramatic portrayal of a Herculean Socrates attacking the heads of a hydra naturally invites this assessment (89c). At the out- set of the dialogue Socrates and the fourteen named companions are juxtaposed with Theseus and the fourteen Athenian youth, on their way to defeat the Minotaur (58a-c).1 Also, Socrates’ death scene is particularly dramatic. Fifteen companions, the exact number of a tragic chorus, surround the dying Socrates and lament (117c-d).2 Reflection on this scene has prompted scholars to speculate that it is intended to ‘lend moving force’ to the tragic perspective and to ‘rouse’ readers’ emotions (see Halliwell 1984, 57-58 and Crotty 2009, 87, respectively). Despite these scholarly observations and compelling evidence that the dialogues were treated as dramatic performance literature in antiquity (see Charalabopoulos 2012), a number of key questions have yet to be satisfactorily and systematically answered: What is drama?; What is the Phaedo a drama about?; What is the function, if any, of the dramatic elements of the Phaedo? I undertake to answer these questions. I conclude with some thoughts about Plato’s purpose in writing dramatic dialogues and Plato’s attitude toward poetry. One of my aims throughout will be to demonstrate how a proper understanding of the literary dimension of the Phaedo sheds light on the philosophical content of the dialogue.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Published as:
    Journal article     Show details
    Pub. DOI:
    10.5840/ancientphil201333225
    Publisher:
    Philosophy Documentation Center
    Pub. Date:
    2013-11-7
    Journal:
    Ancient Philosophy
    Volume:
    33
    Issue:
    2
    Page Range:
    333 - 352
    ISSN:
    0740-2007
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    5 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved
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