ABSTRACT
This chapter examines denial of differences in the tales told by Plato and Rousseau. It deals with complicated story of Plato's Republic as an antitragic narrative told in an ironic mode and highlights the ironic stance Plato takes in relation to the antitragic story he has Socrates tell. The chapter offers reading of the Republic as a text that simultaneously constructs and deconstructs itself, a story that both tells and untells itself. Many have recognized the various levels of irony in Plato's Republic, but few have paid attention to its limits. On a narrative level, the limits are found in Plato's inability to escape from the endless cycle of repetition and denial inherent in the parasitic nature of his own satire. The problem, of course, is that by remaining on this terrain, Plato risks confirming and reaffirming that which he allegedly deconstructs. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
