This paper argues that myth in Kallipolis is used to communicate philosophical truths, rather than distribute politically motivated falsehoods. It first considers the function of myth in the ideal artistic culture of Kallipolis (I), and the philosoph-ical theology that informs it (II). On this basis, it is argued that the discussion of medicinal falsehoods at 382a-d is more focused on the truth-content of myth than usually assumed (III). The final section (IV) explores the connection between myth in books 2-3 and Plato's philo-sophical use of myth.
Works of science fiction tend to describe hypothetical futures, or counterfactual pasts or presents, to entertain their readers. Philosophical thought experiments tend to describe counterfactual situations to test their readers' philosophical intuitions. Indeed, works of science fiction can sometimes be read as containing thought experiments. I compare one especially famous thought experiment from Plato's Republic with what I read as two thought experiments from Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy. All three thought experiments concern myths used in political contexts, and comparing them permits me to analyze the morality of political mythologizing.
The UK Coalition Government believes that the key to raising educational quality is to empower students in various ways, especially by providing them with substantially increased amounts of information about provision and quality. The Myth of Student Choice examines the thinking behind this policy in the light of the available evidence about higher education as a process and about the nature of student decision making. It argues that, so far from raising quality, the present push on student information will actually damage quality, not least by reinforcing the reconstitution of the identity of the student from apprentice learner to that of novice consumer.
Plato uses the myth of Er in the Republic in order to carve out space for political freedom and responsibility for human freedom in the ordinary polis. While much of the Republic concentrates on the development of an ideal city in speech, that city is fundamentally a mythos presented in order for Socrates and his friends to learn something about political and individual virtue. The city in which Socrates and his friends exist is an imperfect city and myth of Er is intended for those audience members. Its emphasis on the necessity for personal responsibility in the midst of freedom can be understood as a political claim about the place of individual choice in a world that is constrained by both political and cosmic "necessity".
Plato uses the myth of Er in the Republic in order to carve out space for political freedom and responsibility for human freedom in the ordinary polis. While much of the Republic concentrates on the development of an ideal city in speech, that city is fundamentally a mythos presented in order for Socrates and his friends to learn something about political and individual virtue. The city in which Socrates and his friends exist is an imperfect city and myth of Er is intended for those audience members. Its emphasis on the necessity for personal responsibility in the midst of freedom can be understood as a political claim about the place of individual choice in a world that is constrained by both political and cosmic "necessity".
This paper provides an understanding of the multidisciplinary synthesising of myth conceptualisation in consumer culture theory.Mythology is an umbrella term that has been used in a variety of forms and interpretations. This review draws from psychology, sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, literary criticism, history and political studies to examine the historical and discursive constructions of mythology. We distinguish multiple perspectives of mythology and demonstrate how exemplars of each are used in consumer research. Finally, we suggest new directions for mythology that pertain to consumer culture research.
There is a growing and misinformed sense in some quarters that the United States and other countries have engaged (and continue to engage) in delegations to international institution that involve a significant threat to domestic sovereignty. Concerns about such delegations come from academics (John Yoo: "Novel forms of international cooperation increasingly call for the transfer of rulemaking authority to international organizations"), prominent politicians (Bob Barr: "Nary a thought is given when international organizations, like the UN, attempt to enforce their myopic vision of a one-world government upon America, while trumping our Constitution in the process. Moreover, many in our own government willfully or ignorantly cede constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms to the international community;" Jesse Helms: "The American people see the UN aspiring to establish itself as the central authority of a new international order of global laws and global government."); and senior government officials (John Bolton: "For virtually every area of public policy, there is a Globalist proposal, consistent with the overall objective of reducing individual nation-state autonomy, particularly that of the United States"). In our view the perspective evidenced by the above quotes is almost wholly a myth. But it is a myth that persists and continues to attract attention. This Essay seeks to bring forward a more realistic and accurate view of international institutions and engagement. We demonstrate that meaningful delegations of sovereignty are extremely rare and even when they do exist they are carefully cabined. Decision-making authority in all areas remains firmly in the hands of national governments.
the methodology consists of gathering and analysing a corpus of texts, images and speeches that are needed in today's French society, from actors that form the creative elite of society: fashion trend makers, artists, creatives. They have the power to inform social representations and influence people's lifestyles. They deeply irrigate the fashion system and the cultural system more broadly. As artists, they 'materialise the surrounding impalpable spirit' (Maffesoli, 1990). For example, they share a common community of minds, values and imaginations with the whole population and express through their creative capacity the imaginative run-off of society. ; International audience ; the methodology consists of gathering and analysing a corpus of texts, images and speeches that are needed in today's French society, from actors that form the creative elite of society: fashion trend makers, artists, creatives. They have the power to inform social representations and influence people's lifestyles. They deeply irrigate the fashion system and the cultural system more broadly. As artists, they 'materialise the surrounding impalpable spirit' (Maffesoli, 1990). For example, they share a common community of minds, values and imaginations with the whole population and express through their creative capacity the imaginative run-off of society. ; La méthodologie consiste à réunir et analyser un corpus de textes, d'images, de discours qui s'imposent dans la société française actuelle, issu d'acteurs qui constituent l'élite créative de la société : tendanceurs de mode, artistes, créatifs. Ils ont le pouvoir d'informer les représentations sociales et d'influencer les modes de vie des individus. Ils irriguent en profondeur le système mode et plus largement le système culturel. En tant qu'artistes, ils " matérialisent l'impalpable esprit environnant " (Maffesoli, 1990). Ainsi partagent-ils une même communauté d'esprits, de valeurs et d'imaginaires avec l'ensemble de la population et expriment par leur capacité créative les ...
This book looks at how modern philosophers pass on myths about prehistory.Why do political philosophers talk so much about the Stone Age? The state of nature, the origin of property, the origin of government, and the primordial nature of inequality and war are popular topics in political philosophy, but are they being used as more than just illustrative examples? Does the best available evidence from archaeology and anthropology support or conflict with the stories being passed on by political philosophers?This book presents a philosophical look at the origin of civilization, examining political theories to show how claims about prehistory are used and presents evidence that much of what we think we know about human origins comes not from scientific investigation but from the imagination of philosophers.
On explique souvent la rivalité croissante entre André Breton et Salvador Dalí durant les années 1930 par l'« hitlérisme » du Catalan. En réalité, Dalí peut être considéré comme un « rebelle » du surréalisme qui œuvre au sein même du groupe dirigé par Breton, en raison de sa conception spécifique du surréalisme, ainsi que du durcissement progressif de ses vues et de ses pratiques. Dans le cadre de cet article, on soulignera la nature fondamentalement différente du surréalisme élaboré par Dalí et, en même temps, sa volonté d'être reconnu par Breton en 1930 ; on mettra ensuite en évidence la façon dont Dalí manifeste et radicalise cette différence au fil des années 1930, tant sur le plan théorique que sur le plan de ses créations. On s'intéressera, en particulier, aux « mythes » construits par le Catalan autour de Guillaume Tell, de l'Angélus de Millet et d'Hitler. Ces productions sont de moins en moins acceptées par Breton mais elles sont toutes issues d'une réflexion commune avec Crevel, le surréaliste le plus engagé dans l'action politique et le plus proche du communisme, ce qui permet de nuancer et repenser le prétendu « hitlérisme » de Dalí.
In the last two decades, the Spanish press treatment of the Muslim world reflects a change of tone from unsympathetic to enthusiastic, although the information is still marred by confusion and ignorance. This change of attitude has occurred in other Western countries as well, and it is due in part to immigration trends, control over oil resources, and the relativism of official discourses towards the Third World. In the case of Spain, however, there is an additional internal element at play: the mass-media reinvention of a mythical al-Andalus as a tolerant and pluralistic society. This idealized interpretation of seven centuries of Muslim presence in the Iberian Peninsula is fraught with ignorance and distortion of the historical record but is not new. The mystification of al-Andalus has its precedent in romantic accounts that saw in "Muslim Spain" a differential fact that reinforced the exotic image of the country. It can be attributed also to the strategy to "hispanicize" al-Andalus employed by Arabists and historians to make the subject matter appealing to unsympathetic Spanish audiences conditioned by the myth of the Reconquest. Intended or not, the manipulation of the myth of al-Andalus as a historical fact has ideological and political implications that demand an objective and balanced consideration.
Starting from the analysis of a small political demonstration in a Hungarian village in 1989 the author develops a pattern for the interpretation of public political action in Hungary in the years immediately before and after the collapse of the Communist regime. She describes how the first public demonstrations organised by the opposition groups established a ritual for political protest by usurpating the monuments and the actual sites of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and the Hungarian Uprising of 1956. Making use of the selfexplanatory symbolism of theses places, it became virtually unnecessary to announce the meeting places and routes of demonstrations since everybody knew the procedure by heart. The same kind of analysis is applied to one of Budapest's main squares, Hösök tere (Heroes' Square), and to the newly created park for old socialist and communist monuments in Nagyteteny, outside Budapest. The author argues that, by reverting to place- and street-names dating from the 19th century and by exhibiting their socialist past in a museum, Hungarians have found a way to historysize the era of Communist rule in Hungary and to divert attention from their active involvement and participation in it, especially during the later decades of the Kadar regime. ; Starting from the analysis of a small political demonstration in a Hungarian village in 1989 the author develops a pattern for the interpretation of public political action in Hungary in the years immediately before and after the collapse of the Communist regime. She describes how the first public demonstrations organised by the opposition groups established a ritual for political protest by usurpating the monuments and the actual sites of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and the Hungarian Uprising of 1956. Making use of the selfexplanatory symbolism of theses places, it became virtually unnecessary to announce the meeting places and routes of demonstrations since everybody knew the procedure by heart. The same kind of analysis is applied to one of Budapest's main squares, Hösök tere (Heroes' Square), and to the newly created park for old socialist and communist monuments in Nagyteteny, outside Budapest. The author argues that, by reverting to place- and street-names dating from the 19th century and by exhibiting their socialist past in a museum, Hungarians have found a way to historysize the era of Communist rule in Hungary and to divert attention from their active involvement and participation in it, especially during the later decades of the Kadar regime.
ill. en noir et en coul., cartes ; Ainsi que le soulignait J. Scheid, pour les Romains, le " moment essentiel de l'univers n'était ni la création de l'Olympe, ni celle du monde, mais la fondation de la cité par les hommes et les dieux ". Les mythes fondateurs, plus que tous autres, étaient donc auréolés d'une importance particulière au sein de la civilisation romaine : on révérait le fondateur, dont l'ascendance et la protection divine apparaissaient comme une garantie de prospérité et de puissance. Ainsi, l'image de Romulus et celle d'Énée étaient-elles étroitement liées à l'attachement superstitieux que les Romains portaient à la victoire, et à leur domination sur le monde. Dès lors, cette étude tentera d'établir de quelle manière aristocrates et empereurs d'une part, mais aussi de simples particuliers, qu'ils soient ou non acteurs de la vie politique de leur cité, pouvaient s'approprier les images des fondateurs, selon des desseins que l'on s'attachera à définir. L'ouvrage qu'on va lire porte sur la formation, la diffusion et l'interprétation du corpus iconographique des mythes fondateurs, au sein de la civilisation romaine de la fin de l'époque républicaine et de l'époque impériale. Ce corpus est un objet d'étude d'une immense richesse en raison de sa forte connotation politique, culturelle et littéraire ; une autre de ses qualités réside dans la diversité des types d'images attestés : cycles narratifs, scènes figurées et motifs schématiques. D'autre part, les images des origines de Rome présentent la particularité d'avoir fait l'objet d'une utilisation de caractère politique par les acteurs du pouvoir, mais également d'une diffusion en contexte funéraire et domestique. Autrement dit, l'iconographie des mythes fondateurs est l'objet d'étude idéal dans le cadre de recherches sur la question de la réception et de l'interprétation d'une image publique au sein de la sphère privée. L'approche typologique mise en œuvre au cours de l'étude iconographique permet une analyse inédite de la formation et de la diffusion ...
Desde una lectura psicoanalítica se analiza este mito como producto de un imaginario social que organiza y estructura las relaciones humanas, la feminidad y la masculinidad, las instituciones, etc. Se analizan los discursos de los miembros de esta familia trágica: a) los diálogos entre Antígona y Creonte, enfrentándose aquélla al poder político y familiar; b) los diálogos entre Antígona y su hermana Ismene, reflejando dos posturas distintas ante ese poder; y c) algunas conclusiones que permitan relacionar lo analizado con las significaciones sociales y psicológicas que este mito tiene en las familias contemporáneas. ; From a psychoanalytic perspective, Antigona´s myth may be regarded as a product of a social consciousness that organizes and structures human relations, femininity and masculinity, institutions, etc. Various discourses of members of this tragic family are analyzed: a) the dialogues between Antigona and Creonte, the former confronting political and family power; b) the dialogues between Antigona and her sister Ismene, reflecting two different stances vis-àvis this power; and c) some conclusions that endeavour to connect this analysis with the social and psychological meanings that this myth has in contemporary families.
From a psychoanalytic perspective, Antigona´s myth may be regarded as a product of a social consciousness that organizes and structures human relations, femininity and masculinity, institutions, etc. Various discourses of members of this tragic family are analyzed: a) the dialogues between Antigona and Creonte, the former confronting political and family power; b) the dialogues between Antigona and her sister Ismene, reflecting two different stances vis-àvis this power; and c) some conclusions that endeavour to connect this analysis with the social and psychological meanings that this myth has in contemporary families. ; Desde una lectura psicoanalítica se analiza este mito como producto de un imaginario social que organiza y estructura las relaciones humanas, la feminidad y la masculinidad, las instituciones, etc. Se analizan los discursos de los miembros de esta familia trágica: a) los diálogos entre Antígona y Creonte, enfrentándose aquélla al poder político y familiar; b) los diálogos entre Antígona y su hermana Ismene, reflejando dos posturas distintas ante ese poder; y c) algunas conclusiones que permitan relacionar lo analizado con las significaciones sociales y psicológicas que este mito tiene en las familias contemporáneas.
