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Lovers and Madmen: The Μανία-Φρονεῖν Opposition in Plato’s Phaedrus
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In this thesis we propose to examine the first half of the Phaedrus (sc. until the
end of the palinode) in light of the opposition between the notions of μανία and φρονεῖν,
as they are explicitly and implicitly presented in the erotic speeches. These are read in
dialogue with what we have designated as the “implicit speech” or “speeches”, i.e., the
plurality of conceptions regarding ἔρως, μανία and φρονεῖν that were part of Ancient
Greek culture. Our reading of the two speeches against ἔρως, Lysias’ and Socrates’ first
speech, engages with this cultural background, and extracts a conception of μανία and
φρονεῖν with which the palinode will primarily confront.
Our reading of the palinode divides it into two sections: the first, the presentation
of the first three kinds of beneficial μανία; the second, the mythical narrative that deals
with erotic μανία. We emphasise the existence of a wide gulf between these two moments
in terms of their ontological, theological and anthropological conceptions. The second
section of the palinode is revolutionary not only in contrast with the “implicit speech”
and the speeches against ἔρως, but also in contrast with the very beginning of the palinode
– which preserves many of the conceptions and assumptions found in the previous
speeches and in the cultural tradition. It is in order to explain the foundation, meaning and
significance of this gulf that we explore and discuss the notion of ὑπόθεσις and its role as
an implicit operator in the Phaedrus.
From our reading of the second part of the palinode, it is clear how the introduction
of the ὑπερουράνιος τόπος brings about a radical revision of the perspectives on the nature
of reality and on human nature and condition that were implicit in the previous speeches
and in the first part of the palinode. We show that the ὑπερουράνιος τόπος corresponds
to the projection of a multiplicity of cognitive and desiderative requirements that our
normal perspective demands, but cannot possibly satisfy. In other words, our perspective
is shown to be living beyond its means, yearning for something that by far exceeds what
it can get in its de facto condition: the superlative. This results in a major revision of the
understanding of φρονεῖν and μανία – a revision that challenges the traditional
understanding of these two notions as binary opposites, thereby revealing a much more
complex landscape.
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Palavras-chave
Platão Fedro Sócrates Lísias