Panel Title
The Art of the Helmsman and the Uses of Comparison
Location
Kardinaal Mercierzaal, Institute of Philosophy, Kardinaal Mercierplein 2, 3000 Leuven
Start Date
2-13-2014 11:00 AM
End Date
2-13-2014 11:45 AM
Abstract
At the beginning of Republic Book 6, the interlocutors have concluded that the government of the state should be handed over to philosophers. Adeimantos, however, presses Sokrates with the general perception that philosophical study renders the talented good for nothing. In order to defend his position, Sokrates declares he will need to speak in images. He responds with the famous image of wrangling sailors and the helmsman, and, even more interestingly, uses the simile of a painter creating a “goat stag” to illustrate the difficulties of composing a suitable image to fit the current situation. Taking this passage as the starting point of my paper, I shall examine why Sokrates feels himself compelled to “strain after imagery” and, further, how the image of the helmsman (here and elsewhere) reveals the cultural tensions inherent in strategies of comparison.
The Art of the Helmsman and the Uses of Comparison
Kardinaal Mercierzaal, Institute of Philosophy, Kardinaal Mercierplein 2, 3000 Leuven
At the beginning of Republic Book 6, the interlocutors have concluded that the government of the state should be handed over to philosophers. Adeimantos, however, presses Sokrates with the general perception that philosophical study renders the talented good for nothing. In order to defend his position, Sokrates declares he will need to speak in images. He responds with the famous image of wrangling sailors and the helmsman, and, even more interestingly, uses the simile of a painter creating a “goat stag” to illustrate the difficulties of composing a suitable image to fit the current situation. Taking this passage as the starting point of my paper, I shall examine why Sokrates feels himself compelled to “strain after imagery” and, further, how the image of the helmsman (here and elsewhere) reveals the cultural tensions inherent in strategies of comparison.