Dramatic structure and cultural context in Plato's Laches
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9664901 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Chris Emlyn‐Jones (The Open University, corresponding author), C Emlyn-Jones |
| Year | 1999 |
| Volume | 49 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 123-138 |
| Publication date | 1999-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Classical Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0009-8388 • E-ISSN: 1471-6844 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1093/cq/49.1.123 |
| OpenAlex | W2065130883 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 20 |
The characters in Plato's Socratic Dialogues and the sociocultural beliefs and assumptions they present have a historical dramatic setting which ranges over the last quarter of the fifth century b.c. —the period of activity of the historical Socrates. That this context is to an extent fictional is undeniable; yet this leaves open the question what the dramatic interplay of (mostly) dead politicians, sophists, and other Socratic associates—not forgetting Socrates himself—signifies for the overall meaning and purpose of individual Dialogues. Are we to assume, with a recent study, that Plato is entirely concerned with his contemporary world and is, as it were, borrowing his characters from the fifth century, or does the fiction reveal something of his real involvement in the values and debates of the recent past? The aim of this paper is to argue that a detailed study of the characterization and dramatic structure of one particular Dialogue, Laches , strongly suggests that Plato is using a perceived tension between past and present to generate not only a philosophical argument but also a commentary on the cultural and political world of late fifth-century Athens and in particular Socrates’ position within it
Aesthetics · Argument (complex analysis · Art · Context (archaeology · Epistemology · Literature · Meaning (existential · Political science · Politics · SOCRATES · Socratic method · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classical Philosophy and Thought · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Law · Philosophy
Fathers and Sons in Athens
An Athenian generation gap
Plato
A History of Greek Philosophy
The Cambridge Companion to Plato
Stylometry and chronology
Plato’s Socratic Conversations
Plato's Ethics
A History of Greek Philosophy
From Popular Sovereignty to the Sovereignty of Law
Plato's Moral Theory
Plato
Socrates
Plato's Moral Theory
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,13 |
| Citation span | 2010 - 2020 (11) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |