The Realm of __Mimesis__ in Plato: Orality, Writing, and the Ontology of the Image

Plato's dialogues stand at a transition from orality to literacy. They are living contradictions—partly oral and partly literary. This relationship between orality and writing is one of the most vexed issues in the history of Platonic interpretation and has particular relevance for the progressive erosion of literacy in favour of digitalisation today. This book argues that the relationship between the oral and the written in Plato's dialogues is not a straightforward opposition, but is instead grounded in ontological analysis and exemplified by the ontology of the image, which appears throughout the Platonic canon.'This book makes a contribution to the topic, with some remarkable scholarly insights, and it may be useful for an introductory reading (in translation) of some key texts in the Platonic corpus, especially for those who are interested in the reception of the problem of mimesis in authors of the philosophical production of the 20th century.'-Tomás N. Castro, University of Lisbon, Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2024 Contents 7 Abstract 8 Acknowledgements 10 Premises 12 Introduction 16 1 The Critique of Writing in Plato’s Works 20 1 “I Have Discovered a Potion for Memory and for Wisdom” 21 2 “If the Author Is Really Serious, This Book Does not Contain His Best Thoughts” 33 3 “If a Man Has Nothing More Valuable Than What He Has Composed or Written” 46 4 “Nothing More Valuable” 54 5 “He Will Sow Gardens of Letters for the Sake of Amusing Himself” 62 2 The Critique of Orality in Plato’s Works 64 1 Orality and Vocality 65 2 Myth and Philosophy 79 3 The Arts and the City 85 4 Hermeneia and Responsibility 95 5 Image-Making 102 3 The Ontology of the Image in Plato’s Works 109 1 Eidos and Eidolon 110 2 The Ontology of the Pseudos 116 3 Mirrors and Paidia 123 4 Shadows and Dialectic 132 5 Beauty and Wonderment 143 Conclusion 152 Afterword: On the Contemporary Relatability of This Study 158 Bibliography 163 General Index 174 Index Locorum 185 Blank Page 9 Blank Page 11 "Plato's dialogues stand at a transition from orality to literacy. They are living contradictions-partly oral and partly literary. This relationship between orality and writing is one of the most vexed issues in the history of Platonic interpretation and has particular relevance for the progressive erosion of literacy in favour of digitalisation today. This book argues that the relationship between the oral and the written in Plato's dialogues is not a straightforward opposition, but is instead grounded in ontological analysis and exemplified by the ontology of the image, which appears throughout the Platonic canon"-- Provided by publisher Plato?s dialogues stand at a transition from orality to literacy. They are living contradictions - partly oral and partly literary. This relationship between orality and writing is one of the most vexed issues in the history of Platonic interpretation and has particular relevance for the progressive erosion of literacy in favour of digitalisation today. This book argues that the relationship between the oral and the written in Plato?s dialogues is not a straightforward opposition, but is instead grounded in ontological analysis and exemplified by the ontology of the image, which appears throughout the Platonic canon