Platonic protreptic and the unity of the Phaedrus
If you are fortunate enough to be in Athens on March 4!!
Professor Alex Long (University of St Andrews)
Abstract: Plato’s Phaedrus is widely regarded as the first expression in the Greek and Roman traditions of the view that literary compositions should possess ‘organic’ unity. And yet it is an apparently disjointed work, and the question of its own unity is a long-standing puzzle. The paper argues that there is a function shared by each part of the dialogue: illustrating and defending an indirect approach to protreptic (that is, the conversion of another person to philosophy), where the protreptic is left unannounced and exploits the other person’s pre-existing interests. The dialogue thus defends the distinctive approach to protreptic taken in Plato’s dialogues more generally.
Lecture handout notes are available here
Bio: Alex Long is Professor of Classics at the University of St Andrews. He works on early Greek philosophy, Plato, Hellenistic philosophy and Roman philosophy, and his publications include Death and Immortality in Ancient Philosophy (CUP 2019) and Conversation and Self-Sufficiency in Plato (OUP 2013). Together with Voula Tsouna he edits the book series Key Themes in Ancient Philosophy, and he and Thomas Johansen are the editors of the journal Phronesis.
In-person only
Location: Elli Lampridis Philosophical Library, Ipsilantou 9, 106 75 Athens
Date & Time: Wednesday 4th March, 17:00 (GR)
Registration is not required