Inspiration and mimesis in Plato's criticism of poetry

Plato criticizes poetry in several of his dialogues, beginning with Apology, his first work, and ending with Laws, his last. In these dialogues, his criticism of poetry can be divided into two streams: poetry is criticized for either being divinely inspired, or because it is mimetic or imitative of reality. However, of the dialogues which criticize poetry in these ways, it is not until Laws that Plato mentions both inspiration and mimesis together, and then it is only in a few sentences. Furthermore, nowhere in the dialogues does Plato discuss their relationship. This situation has a parallel in the secondary literature. While much work has been done on inspiration or mimesis in Plato’s criticism of poetry, very little work exists which discusses the connection between them. This study examines Plato’s treatment - in the six relevant dialogues - of these two poetic elements, inspiration and mimesis, and shows that a relationship exists between them. Both can be seen to relate to two important Socratic-Platonic concerns: the care of the soul and the welfare of the state. These concerns represent a synthesis of Socratic moral philosophy with Platonic political beliefs. In the ‘inspiration’ dialogues, Ion, Apology, Meno, Phaedrus and Laws, poetic inspiration can affect the Socratic exhortation which considers the care of the individual soul. Further, as we are told in Apology, Crito and Gorgias, it is the good man, the virtuous man - the one who cares for his soul - who also cares for the welfare of the state. Therefore, in its effect on the individual soul, poetic inspiration can also indirectly affect the state. In the ‘mimesis’ dialogues, Republic and Laws, this same exhortation, on the care of the soul, is posed, but it is has now been rendered into a more Platonic form - as either the principle of specialization - the ‘one man, one job’ creed of Republic, which advances the harmony between the three elements of the soul, or as the concord between reason and emotion in Laws. While in Republic, mimesis can damage the tripartite soul's delicate balance, in Laws, mimesis in poetry is used to promote the concord. Further, in both these dialogues, poetic mimesis can affect the welfare of the state. In Republic, Socrates notes that states arc but a product of the individuals of which they are composed Therefore, by affecting the harmony of the individual soul, mimesis can then undermine the harmony of the state, and an imperfect political system, such as a timarchy, an oligarchy, a democracy, or a tyranny, can result. However, in Laws, when it is harnessed by the philosophical lawgivers, mimesis can assist in the concord between the rulers and the ruled, thus serving the welfare of the state. Inspiration and mimesis can thus be seen to be related in their effect on the education of both the individual, in the care of the soul, and the state, in its welfare. Plato's criticism of poetry, therefore, which is centred on these two features, addresses common Platonic concerns: in education, politics, ethics, epistemology and psychology.

Positioning, linguistic theory and Orwell's short nonfiction

It is argued, making reference to an Orwell text sample, that linguistic theory illuminates "positioning" (as term and concept), that positioning's flexibility contributes to critical textual analysis and to attempts to understand complex human processes, but how far language may constrain as well as facilitate such understanding must remain open.

Limitations to free association and interpretation

A core challenge that emerged from the historically based critique of Freud's work that constitutes Freud Evaluated: The Completed Arc (Macmillan, 1991, 1997) was to Freud's claim that the basic rule of psychoanalysis for inquiring into the causes of symptoms was unaffected by his “suggestions.” That is, in demanding that the patient tell the analyst whatever came to mind with complete candor, the patient would not be led astray by the analyst's ideas about the possible causes of the symptoms. In this article, the assumptions underlying Freud's belief in the validity of the method of free association are made explicit and criticized. The basic indetermination inherent in interpreting material apparently recovered by the method is also made explicit. Some of the consequences of the method for psychoanalytic developmental theories and for deciding between the variant schools of psychoanalysis are set out.

The reliability and validity of Freud's methods of free association and interpretation.

Presents a response of the author on the reliability and validity of Freud's method of free association and interpretation. Data gathering in clinical setting of psychoanalysis; Claims for reliability and validity; View of Freud on determinism.

Genre, gender and interpretation of movie trailers an exploratory study

Commercial movies cost tens of millions to make. Because they are now released on thousands of screens simultaneously, movie trailers are a major and necessary method of intensively promoting movies before they disappear from cinemas forever. Yet there is a paucity of research about how potential audiences react to these trailers. This study aimed at exploring consumers’ interpretations of movie trailers. Nineteen in-depth interviews were the means of data collection, using nine trailers for yet to be released movies from the romance/drama, action, comedy and thriller categories. Genre provided a focus for exploring consumers’ interpretations of movie trailers. Evaluative judgments of movies came first as a result of the value of genre to the consumer and then as a result of content which conveyed the movie would be involving relative to past movie experiences. Interpretations about the target audience for a movie were also influenced by assumptions that genre preferences differ according to gender. The findings pose implications for the construction of movie trailers.

Giorgio de Chirico and the idea of enigmatic imagery : the innocence of becoming

My paintings emerge from within a context best explained by reference to Nietzsche's perspectivism. That is an intellectual attitude that deprivileges rationalism and accommodates scepticism or unknowing as an acceptable starting point From this standpoint art/language can be seen as being in a state of becoming rather than as representing a state of being. This thesis aims to demonstrate, not only by a philosophical encounter with Giorgio de Chirico's work: ie. his use of myth, his Nietzschean perspectivism and his enigmatic interpretation of figuration, that the most helpful context and understanding of my work can be realied. De Chirico's art, like Nietzsche's philosophy seeks in its processes to explore the possible unity of Dionysian aesthetic force with the Apollonian. Neither Nietzsche nor de Chirico considered within a post-Socratic world that this unity was realizable. Nevertheless they both share in their respective art forms a need to represent the relentless struggle to enact the disjunction of the two aesthetic forces in a secular world. The artist’s enigmatic imagery is characterized by a consideration of appearance and reality and it is for this reason that the work was selected as a model for investigating the nature of enigma. His use of seemingly straightforward, ordinary images suggests a sense of accessibility, yet at the same time they are irreducible to knowing and my own image-making was greatly expanded by investigating these concerns. I am not arguing that de Chirico was influenced by Nietzsche but instead that Nietzsche's philosophical point of view and his use of poetic language to express these views lay in discovering the qualities and substance of the Dionysian spirit As well as working within a Nietzschean world-view set out in The Birth of Tragedy, de Chirico has also drawn on the Italian unification, specifically the Risorgimento and the lineage of these political and mythical figures were endemic to his art and they interface the with his use of the Apollonian-Dionysian disunity first explored by Nietzsche. The focus of the exegesis will be to present the poetic and philosophical use made of the latter in de Chirico’s art It is anticipated that this philosophical encounter with the aesthetic, social and political world of de Chirico will, not only assist in interpreting his life's work anew, but will also provide a context in which my paintings of enigma might be interpreted.

Mermaids and sirens as myth fragments in contemporary literature

This thesis examines three works: Margaret Atwood's The Robber Bride and Alias Grace, and Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus. All three novels feature female characters that contain elements or myth fragments of mermaids and sirens. The thesis asserts that the images of the mermaid and siren have undergone a gradual process of change, from literal mythical figures, to metaphorical images, and then to figures or myth fragments that reference the original mythical figures. The persistence of these female half-human images points to an underlying rationale that is independent of historical and cultural factors. Using feminist psychoanalytic theoretical frameworks, the thesis identifies the existence of the siren/mermaid myth fragments that are used as a means to construct the category of the 'bad' woman. It then identifies the function that these references serve in the narrative and in the broader context of both Victorian and contemporary societies. The thesis postulates the origin of the mermaid and siren myths as stemming from the ambivalent relationship that the male infant forms with the mother as he develops an identity as an individual. Finally, the thesis discusses the manner in which Atwood and Carter build on this foundation to deconstruct the binary oppositions that disadvantage women and to expand the category of female.

Liberty in key works of John Locke and John Stuart Mill

The ideas of liberty presented in the important works of John Locke and John Stuart Mill, The Second Treatise of Government (1689) and On Liberty (1859), are often viewed as belonging to the same conceptual tradition, that of English liberalism. This thesis is an articulation of the diversity between the theories of liberty expressed by Locke and Mill in the Second Treatise and On liberty. \ am aiming to provide a corrective to the tendency to ignore or to gloss over very significant differences between the two men. The work concentrates on the philosophical aspects of each theory of liberty, arguing that they differ in four respects. These are; definitions of liberty; justifications of liberty; how much liberty and for whom they recommend it, and finally, who they believe threatens liberty and how this threat is to be curbed. It is the purpose of this thesis to show that in terms of these areas Locke and Mill are pursuing different ends. I conclude that Locke and Mill present strikingly different theories of liberty and cannot be thought of as belonging to the one conceptual tradition in terms of the definition, the justification, the prescription and the threat to liberty. Ultimately, I question the value of including Locke and Mill in the one conceptual tradition of liberty solely on the basis that they argue ‘freedom from.’

Water's edge and the water's edge writing

Thesis consists of a novel and an exegesis with bibliography. There is no title page or abstract provided by the author.

Rope dancer : a novel and accompanying essay

The thesis combines a novel and a critical essay. The novel tells of a group of people in Melbourne, some of whom write, party, have sex, take drugs, go climbing and die. The essay discusses four aspects of the novel: climbing fiction, Nietzsche in literature, place and fiction and character as hero.

Nowhere : novel and exegesis

The thesis is a work of original creative fiction, in which an agoraphobic writer liberates himself from his prison using his writing. The novel employs metafictional techniques and a bifocal narrative. The exegesis explores creativity and originality in modern literature, using both the thesis and contemporary criticism.