Plato and the Mythic Tradition in Political Thought

Winner of the Gustave O. Arlt Award in the Humanities
Winner of the Istvan Hont Book Prize

An ambitious reinterpretation and defense of Platos basic enterprise and influence, arguing that the power of his myths was central to the founding of philosophical rationalism.

Platos use of mythsthe Myth of Metals, the Myth of Ersits uneasily with his canonical reputation as the inventor of rational philosophy. Since the Enlightenment, interpreters like Hegel have sought to resolve this tension by treating Platos myths as mere regrettable embellishments, irrelevant to his main enterprise. Others, such as Karl Popper, have railed against the deceptive power of myth, concluding that a tradition built on Platonic foundations can be neither rational nor desirable.

Tae-Yeoun Keum challenges the premise underlying both of these positions. She argues that myth is neither irrelevant nor inimical to the ideal of rational progress. She tracks the influence of Platos dialogues through the early modern period and on to the twentieth century, showing how pivotal figures in the history of political thoughtMore, Bacon, Leibniz, the German Idealists, Cassirer, and othershave been inspired by Platos mythmaking. She finds that Platos followers perennially raised the possibility that there is a vital role for myth in rational political thinking.