Plato’s Political Imagination

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Traditional interpretations of Plato regard him either as an enemy of the imagination in his views of philosophic discussion, or as a purveyor of imaginative lies in his authoritarian and anti-democratic view of politics. This thesis challenges both these interpretations. It argues that the imagination is both philosophical and democratically political. In the Republic images and stories balance and enrich rational argumentation. Socrates, Glaucon and Adeimantus found a city in speech together. Image-making thus contains important democratic aspects. In support of this argument I firstly analyze the founding of the imaginary city. Secondly, I look more closely to the role of images in education and poetry by focusing on the distinction between good and bad images. Thirdly, I discuss the role of images in relation to the ideal and to democracy. I propose that images are crucial in crafting and acquiring a vision of the ideal in speech. Finally, I end by stressing that philosophic discussion, and its use of images, not only contains democratic elements but that it also is more likely to thrive in a democratic space and context, marked by freedom of speech and pluralism.