ABSTRACT

This chapter shows how the criticisms of the Republic and the Phaedrus leave room for some beneficial drama and some valuable engagement with writing. Beyond the Republic's "condemnation of the poets", a well-known passage in the Phaedrus is widely taken to disparage writing as such. The discussion of art in the Republic is wide-ranging. A well-known passage in the Phaedrus is widely taken to disparage writing as such. Let's grant that the ideal way for people to achieve philosophical understanding is through discussion in a series of tutorial, seminar, or workshop meetings, or other serious conversations. A well-crafted piece of writing can be an instrument both for rendering the dialectical process safer and for speeding it up. In Plato's case the way in which writing simulates discussion is obvious his written works are dramas within which the primary action is discussion. The chapter reanimates the dialectic Plato portrays and do some philosophy ourselves.