In Praise of Plato's Poetic Imagination

Plato has often been read as denigrating the cognitive and ethical value of poetry. In his dialogues, the faculty that corresponds to the poetic—the imagination—is located at the lowest level of human intelligence, and so it is furthest from true understanding. Simultaneously, the Platonic dialogues violate Plato’s own alleged prohibitions against quoting and imitating poets, and much of the writing in the dialogues is poetic. All too often, the voluminous literature on Plato dismisses Plato’s poetic formulations as merely the unintended contradictions of an otherwise meticulous author. In Praise of Plato’s Poetic Imagination asks whether this ubiquitous reading misses something truly significant in Plato’s understanding of the cognitive and ethical dimensions of human existence. Throughout the dialogues, Plato formulates ideas so precisely, utilizing carefully crafted images and structures, that we must question whether his flagrant and performative poetics can be mere mistakes, and inquire into how the poetic and creative arts contribute to true understanding. This book approaches the latter question by analyzing the role of the imagination in Platonic dialogues. It argues that critiquing poetry by poetic means, just as arguing against mimêsis mimetically in the Republic or writing against the written word in the Phaedrus, constitute performative contradictions that bear significant philosophical meaning on further examination. The book suggests that the elusive examples of dialectic referred to in the divided line are the dialogues themselves—the putting into practice of ethical ideals. If so, the role of the imagination is to be sought in the unfolding of the dialogues themselves, not simply in what is said, but also in what takes place within the dialogues.

Tanner's book is a creative exploration of Plato's use of the imagination and its many layers in the dialogues. She offers substantive contributions to the 'quarrel' between philosophy and poetry and to contemporary hermeneutics of Plato., In this lucidly written and engaging book, Sonja Tanner provides an innovative interpretation of the concept of imagination in Plato’s dialogues. Tanner not only rethinks the role imagination plays in Plato’s portrayal of the uneasy yet productive tension between poetry and philosophy, but also extends her analysis to modern debates about the relationship between literature and philosophy., Scholars commonly depict Plato as the archenemy of poetry. This view stems in large part from Socrates' harsh treatment of poets in Republic II, III, and X; however, it also rests on the questionable assumption that Socrates spoke for Plato. Such an assumption, Tanner (Univ. of Colorado at Colorado Springs) insists, flatly ignores the role of literary form in Plato's work. When one takes into consideration that Plato wrote dialogues, not treatises; that the dialogues have poetic features; and that they often violate Plato's alleged prohibitions against quoting and imitating poets, Plato's attitude toward poetry emerges in a different light. Far from being opposed, philosophy and poetry are very much intertwined for Plato; the form of the dialogues contributes to their content. Vital to understanding this relationship is the imagination, though not only in what Plato says of it explicitly but also in how it functions within the dialogues themselves. In the end, though not everyone will agree with Tanner's self-professed 'continental' approach to Platonic studies or find her arguments compelling, her monograph will certainly generate much thought and scholarly discussion. Recommended., By the time Plato takes up the question of how we are to speak truthfully, the quarrel between the two imposing forms of such speech—philosophy and poetry—was already 'ancient.' And it remains a question that is unsettled and unsettling today. Rather than insisting upon a quarrelsome relation, Sonja Tanner argues that this matter is best understood as an infinite dialog that enriches those who engage it, and she shows how imagination assists in the birth of wisdom. Thus begins her real contribution to a conversation that must never end.

Sonja Tanner is assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.