The eroticism of statues and the rhetoricism of phantasms. A contrast between the mimetic productions of the philosopher and of the sophist in Plato

Authors

  • Martín Sebastián Forciniti University of Buenos Aires (UBA), National Council in Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET)

Keywords:

Platón, Ágalma, Phántasma, Mímesis

Abstract

In this paper I compare the erotic bond between the philosopherand his young beloved, as described in Phaedrus 249b-256b, with the rhetoricalrelationship established between the sophist and the people, as described inSophist 232b-236d and 265a-268d. I postulate that these are two structurallyanalogous cases of mimetic production. The first results in an ágalma (“holystatue”), while the second produces a phántasma (“simulation”). I identify thesimilarities and differences between the elements involved in each production,and conclude by questioning the supposed safety of philosophic erotics on theone hand and the alleged harmfulness of sophistic rhetoric on the other.

Author Biography

Martín Sebastián Forciniti, University of Buenos Aires (UBA), National Council in Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET)

Professor of Middle and Superior Education in Philosophy. (UBA), specialized in Classical Philosophy. PhD student in Philosophy (UBA). Postgraduate scolarship holder (CONICET: Scolarship Type II).

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Published

2014-02-23

Issue

No. 33 (2014)

Section

Articles

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