Treason To Truth: The Myths Of Plato

[Philosophy Now]

Chad Trainer says Plato betrayed philosophy by resorting to mythology.

https://philosophynow.org/issues/62/Treason_To_Truth_The_Myths_Of_Plato

[Dubious]

An insightful article. Myth becomes of myth which is one reason Plato was early adopted by the Christian Church. The attempted divestiture of myth and superstition by Aristotle is what makes him the real center of Western philosophy.

[Nick_A]

To criticize Plato’s use of myths is not to deny, let alone disparage, the aesthetic appeal of myth or its ability to enrapture and captivate. Rather it is an issue of myth’s proper time and place. What seems to have hampered the development of philosophy historically – and what also seems to hamper the development of philosophy in our own age – is the confusion of missions that is a predictable consequence whenever the natures of mythology and philosophy are not sharply distinguished.

This raises the question as to the purpose of philosophy and myth. Do they compliment or oppose each other?

The purpose of philosophy as I understand it serves the need to experience the love of wisdom through the use of the dialectic.

Joseph Campbell gives four basic functions of mythology

https://fractalenlightenment.com/36315/ ... -mythology

The Mystical Function

“As the island of Knowledge grows, so do the shores of our ignorance –the boundary between the known and the unknown. Learning more about the world doesn’t lead to a point closer to a final destination but to more questions and mysteries.” ~ Marcelo Gleiser
This function is about experiencing the awe of the universe. It’s telling stories that touch the cornerstone of what it means to be a human being engaged with the unexplainable.
From ghost stories, to alien abductions, to confrontations with angels, to long talks with God or the gods, and even scientific stories like Schrodinger’s cat and the multiverse theory of reality, the mystical function is important for relating the mind to the mystery that something exists rather than nothing and creating awe and a connection to the sacred.
Myth, especially within the mystical function, links the unconscious to the conscious by tethering latent instincts between nature and the human soul. The stories we tell are the reconciliation of consciousness with the preconditions of existence. Basically meaning that we tell stories to make sense of our own mortality. We’ve tasted the fruit from the Tree of Good and Evil over and over again throughout the history of the human leitmotif……………………………..

It seems that mythology of a certain quality opens the mind to questions which arouse the depth of human being towards awakening. Logic without meaning seems dead and meaning without an awareness of the dangers of imagination defeats its objective purpose. Plato had the good sense to appreciate the importance of this relationship between mythology and philosophy. Trainer seems unaware of the value created by the blend of philosophy and mythology.

[Dontaskme]

“Myths should have no place in philosophy.”
Cicero De Divinatione II.38.80



The philosopher is a myth.

.

[Nick_A]

“Myths should have no place in philosophy.”
Cicero De Divinatione II.38.80



The philosopher is a myth.

.

Do you mean that the philosopher king is not the ideal ruler because the philosopher is a myth? Do you mean that the great chain of being in relation to the Good which the philosopher becomes aware of also doesn't exist? Are you suggesting it is better just to eat drink and be merry because Man defined as a being in search of meaning is meaningless so the calling of philosophy as the love of wisdom is just foolish?