Audience Psychology and Censorship in Plato’s Republic

In Republic X, the “problem of the irrational part” is this: Greek tragedy interacts with non-reasoning elements of the soul, affecting audiences in ways that undermine their reasoned views about virtue and value. I suggest that the common construal of Socrates’s critique of Greek tragedy is inadequate, in that it belies key elements of Plato’s audience psychology; specifically, the crucial role of the spirited part and the audience’s cognitive contribution to spectatorship. I argue that Socrates’s emphasis on the audience’s cognitive contribution to spectatorship allows him to anticipate a non-authoritarian solution to the problem of the irrational part

Plato’s Phaedo as a Pedagogical Drama

The Phaedo has long been recognized as dramatic in nature (see, e.g., Jowett 1892, 193). Indeed, the dialogue’s dramatic portrayal of a Herculean Socrates attacking the heads of a hydra naturally invites this assessment (89c). At the out- set of the dialogue Socrates and the fourteen named companions are juxtaposed with Theseus and the fourteen Athenian youth, on their way to defeat the Minotaur (58a-c).1 Also, Socrates’ death scene is particularly dramatic. Fifteen companions, the exact number of a tragic chorus, surround the dying Socrates and lament (117c-d).2 Reflection on this scene has prompted scholars to speculate that it is intended to ‘lend moving force’ to the tragic perspective and to ‘rouse’ readers’ emotions (see Halliwell 1984, 57-58 and Crotty 2009, 87, respectively). Despite these scholarly observations and compelling evidence that the dialogues were treated as dramatic performance literature in antiquity (see Charalabopoulos 2012), a number of key questions have yet to be satisfactorily and systematically answered: What is drama?; What is the Phaedo a drama about?; What is the function, if any, of the dramatic elements of the Phaedo? I undertake to answer these questions. I conclude with some thoughts about Plato’s purpose in writing dramatic dialogues and Plato’s attitude toward poetry. One of my aims throughout will be to demonstrate how a proper understanding of the literary dimension of the Phaedo sheds light on the philosophical content of the dialogue

Poetry and Skiagraphia in Republic X: A New Analysis of Tragic Mimesis

In Republic X Socrates accuses poetic “imitators” [μιμητικοί] of corrupting the soul (the psychological charge) and producing appearances that are far removed from truth (the metaphysical charge). The success of the psychological charge against mimetic poetry crucially depends on the success of the metaphysical charge; tragic poetry corrupts the soul by making images that are far removed from truth (that is, appearances of virtue and value). The dominant interpretive strategy cashes out the relationship between these two charges as follows: images corrupt the soul, because images are metaphysically inferior; all images are “far removed from truth” and hence potentially corruptive. Unfortunately, this strategy pits Book III against Book X; mimetic poetry forms the foundation of the guardians’ early education (in Book III), but mimetic poetry is corruptive (in Book X). In this paper I defend an alternative strategy. I contend that the metaphysical charge should be interpreted narrowly, to encompass false and illusory appearances of virtue and value produced via skiagraphic techniques. I argue that Socrates’ critique of tragedy and Homeric poetry does not rest on dubious metaphysical claims about images per se, but rather on the plausible and interesting claim that tragedians and their leader, Homer, employ skiagraphic techniques – that is, the manipulation of temporal distances and the contrasting of fortune with misfortune and virtue with vice - in order to produce powerful illusions of virtue and value. Even the denier of the Forms must take this claim seriously. I conclude with some thoughts about good mimesis and the importance of poetry to the larger project of the Republic

Serbian/Albanian Bilingualism in Kosova: Reversal or Entrenchment of the Curse of Babel?

Dynamics of power between multiple languages in one space are indicative of and inform the relationship between the speakers of those languages. In post-conflict Kosova, two ethno-linguistic groups, Kosovar Serbians and Kosovar Albanians, live in a context where language has become politicized and long-standing linguistic, political, and social hierarchies of power have been radically disturbed. This paper describes the myriad of images of the Serbian language in the country, focusing particularly on those that come from the Serbian/Albanian bilingual Kosovar Albanian community. It then discusses how these inform language as a political tool and what the consequences of this are for peaceful intercommunity relations. A total of eight bilingual respondents from Prishtina and Prizren were interviewed about their perceptions, feelings, and use of the Serbian language, including how these may have changed over time. Three sets of images or narratives are identified, then this paper explores how each set relates to theories of bilingualism and potential for progressive social change

Vertical Agreements:Getting the Deal Through

Quick reference guide enabling side-by-side comparison of local insights, including into the legalframework; types of agreement; analytical framework for assessment of supplier and buyer positions;block exemption and safe harbour provisions; types of restraint; notifcation procedure and scope forguidance from applicable authorities; enforcement; other jurisdiction-specifc issues; and recent/anticipated trends

Plato on Laughing at People

In this paper I explore the ethics of laughing at people. I argue that for Plato laughter plays an important role in discourse. Through a new analysis of both the dialectic and drama of the dialogues (especially the Philebus), I argue that Plato distinguishes between specific forms of bad and good laughing at people; the former harms the soul and stifles human inquiry, whereas the latter benefits the soul and furthers human inquiry

Estimating prevalence and diagnostic test characteristics of bovine cysticercosis in Belgium in the absence of a ‘gold standard’ reference test using a Bayesian approach

A Bayesian model was developed to estimate values for the prevalence and diagnostic test characteristics of bovine cysticercosis (Taenia saginata) by combining results of four imperfect tests. Samples of 612 bovine carcases that were found negative for cysticercosis during routine meat inspection collected at three Belgian slaughterhouses, underwent enhanced meat inspection (additional incisions in the heart), dissection of the predilection sites, B158/B60 Ag-ELISA and ES Ab-ELISA. This Bayesian approach allows for the combination of prior expert opinion with experimental data to estimate the true prevalence of bovine cysticercosis in the absence of a gold standard test. A first model (based on a multinomial distribution and including all possible interactions between the individual tests) required estimation of 31 parameters, while only allowing for 15 parameters to be estimated. Including prior expert information about specificity and sensitivity resulted in an optimal model with a reduction of the number of parameters to be estimated to 8. The estimated bovine cysticercosis prevalence was 33.9% (95% credibility interval: 27.7-44.4%), while apparent prevalence based on meat inspection is only 0.23%. The test performances were estimated as follows (sensitivity (Se) specificity (Sp)): enhanced meat inspection (Se 2.87% - Sp 100%), dissection of predilection sites (Se 69.8% - Sp 100%), Ag-ELISA (Se 26.9% - Sp 99.4%), Ab-ELISA (Se 13.8% - Sp 92.9%)