{"product_id":"platos-four-muses-andrea-capra-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\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Andrea Capra\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0674417224\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780674417229\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Harvard University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/15\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 252\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.76lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.53d","brand":"Andrea Capra","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43990253961471,"sku":"9780674417229","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_d73124b2-9807-4806-8db1-b0497ea3c516.jpg?v=1683303837","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/platos-four-muses-andrea-capra-9780674417229","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}