Awards

• Joint winner of Istvan Hont Book Prize 2020 (United States)
• Long-listed for Nayef Al-Rodhan International Prize in Transdisciplinary Philosophy 2023 (United States)
• Long-listed for Runciman Award 2022 (United States)
• Winner of Gustave O. Arlt Award in the Humanities 2021 (United States)

Overview

Winner of the Gustave O. Arlt Award in the Humanities Winner of the Istvan Hont Book Prize An ambitious reinterpretation and defense of Plato's basic enterprise and influence, arguing that the power of his myths was central to the founding of philosophical rationalism. Plato's use of myths-the Myth of Metals, the Myth of Er-sits uneasily with his canonical reputation as the inventor of rational philosophy. Since the Enlightenment, interpreters like Hegel have sought to resolve this tension by treating Plato's myths as mere regrettable embellishments, irrelevant to his main enterprise. Others, such as Karl Popper, have railed against the deceptive power of myth, concluding that a tradition built on Platonic foundations can be neither rational nor desirable. Tae-Yeoun Keum challenges the premise underlying both of these positions. She argues that myth is neither irrelevant nor inimical to the ideal of rational progress. She tracks the influence of Plato's dialogues through the early modern period and on to the twentieth century, showing how pivotal figures in the history of political thought-More, Bacon, Leibniz, the German Idealists, Cassirer, and others-have been inspired by Plato's mythmaking. She finds that Plato's followers perennially raised the possibility that there is a vital role for myth in rational political thinking.

Full Product Details

9780674984646

Table of Contents

Reviews

Plato and the Mythic Tradition in Political Thought provides a fine, original, and persuasive case for a reconsideration of Plato's myths and their bearing on political thought. Tae-Yeoun Keum's reading of Plato as a political philosopher who sees the value of myth-making deserves a wide audience.--Tushar Irani, author of Plato on the Value of Philosophy

An important book for our troubled times. Beginning with Plato and extending into Plato's reception amongst modern theorists of myth, Keum's guiding question is whether myth, in its ability to captivate the mind in what might be described as a non-rational way, can achieve forms of communication that strictly rational thought cannot, and whether there may be a normative role for myth to play in political discourse today. -- Angus Nicholls, Queen Mary University of London Tae-Yeoun Keum traces a rich tradition reflecting on Plato's use of myth, revealing how attention to myth as a literary artifact can modulate its relationship to unchallenged social verities and serve in philosophical self-examination and social improvement. Her readings of More, Bacon, Leibniz, the German Idealists, and Cassirer are subtle and original in drawing out these themes. -- Melissa Lane, Princeton University Plato and the Mythic Tradition in Political Thought provides a fine, original, and persuasive case for a reconsideration of Plato's myths and their bearing on political thought. Tae-Yeoun Keum's reading of Plato as a political philosopher who sees the value of myth-making deserves a wide audience. -- Tushar Irani, author of <i>Plato on the Value of Philosophy</i>

Author Information

Tae-Yeoun Keum is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and was previously the Christopher Tower Junior Research Fellow at Christ Church, University of Oxford.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available