WHAT PLATO WROTE: Three lectures by Danielle Allen (Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton)

Plato's biographer Diogenes Laertius remarked that "in his own country Plato did not meddle with political matters, although he was a politician as far as his writings went." These lectures argue that this analysis was correct and that Plato had, among many goals, self-consciously political objectives for his dialogues (or at least some of them). The question of why Plato wrote can be answered by contrasting the arguments against writing made in the Phaedrus with the arguments about poetry in the Republic. The latter serve as a defense of philosophical writing as a political enterprise. Nor was Plato's desire to affect politics wishful thinking. Athenian political rhetoric of the late 4th century reveals his profound influence. Plato was not only the western world's first systematic political philosopher but also its first think tank activist and message man.

Schedule of Lectures:

1. Why Plato Wrote (with comment by Amelie Rorty, Department of Philosophy, Boston University)
January 25, 2010, 7 PM

2. What Plato Wrote (with comment by David Roochnik, Department of Philosophy, Boston University)
January 26, 2010, 4 PM

3. Plato Politikos, or What Plato Did (with comment by Mitch Miller, Department of Philosophy, Vassar College)
January 28, 2010, 4 PM

All lectures are free and open to the public and will be held in Room 205 of the Photonics Building, 8 Saint Mary's St., Boston, MA 02215
[Boston University Central stop, MBTA Green Line, B train]

For further information, contact Professor Aaron Garrett, Department of Philosophy, Boston University (garrett@bu.edu)