{"product_id":"platos-dialectic-at-play-kevin-corrigan-9780271024622","title":"Plato's Dialectic at Play: Argument, Structure, and Myth in the Symposium","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe \u003ci\u003eSymposium\u003c\/i\u003e is one of Plato's most accessible dialogues, an engrossing historical document as well as an entertaining literary masterpiece. By uncovering the structural design of the dialogue, \u003ci\u003ePlato's Dialectic at Play \u003c\/i\u003eaims at revealing a Plato for whom the dialogical form was not merely ornamentation or philosophical methodology but the essence of philosophical exploration. His dialectic is not only argument; it is also play. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCareful analysis of each layer of the text leads cumulatively to a picture of the dialogue's underlying structure, related to both argument and myth, and shows that a dynamic link exists between Diotima's higher mysteries and the organization of the dialogue as a whole. On this basis the authors argue that the \u003ci\u003eSymposium\u003c\/i\u003e, with its positive theory of art contained in the ascent to the Beautiful, may be viewed as a companion piece to the \u003ci\u003eRepublic\u003c\/i\u003e, with its negative critique of the role of art in the context of the Good. Following Nietzsche's suggestion and applying criteria developed by Mikhail Bakhtin, they further argue for seeing the \u003ci\u003eSymposium\u003c\/i\u003e as the first novel. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe book concludes with a comprehensive reevaluation of the significance of the \u003ci\u003eSymposium\u003c\/i\u003e and its place in Plato's thought generally, touching on major issues in Platonic scholarship: the nature of art, the body-soul connection, the problem of identity, the relationship between \u003ci\u003emythos\u003c\/i\u003e and logos, Platonic love, and the question of authorial writing and the vanishing signature of the absent Plato himself.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Kevin Corrigan,Elena Glazov-Corrigan\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0271024623\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780271024622\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Penn State University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/12\/2005\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 266\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.26lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.40w x 0.95d","brand":"Kevin Corrigan","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48064808321279,"sku":"9780271024622","price":83.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_5ee77cfa-f7bc-4796-8bb8-078394d0215d.jpg?v=1768671165","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/platos-dialectic-at-play-kevin-corrigan-9780271024622","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}