Plato and the Power of Images

Plato is well known both for the harsh condemnations of images and image-making poets that appear in his dialogues and for the vivid and intense imagery that he himself uses in his matchless prose. How then does Plato handle the power of images? The uses of imagery include allegories, metaphors, analogies, models, and even vivid writing styles that capture characters in dialogue – perhaps even ideas of images and image-making not directly connected with writing, since the question of why Plato uses vivid images in his writings is obviously connected with how he understands images and the way the mind handles them.

In conjunction with the Tri-College Working Group in Ancient Philosophy, Radcliffe Edmonds from Bryn Mawr College and Pierre Destrée of Université Catholique de Louvain have arranged a joint-conference, entitled: “Plato and the Power of Images”, in order to focus on the way Plato both worries about and at the same time makes use of the power inherent in imagistic writing. This double colloquium will be held at Bryn Mawr College on October 11 & 12, 2013, and at Louvain, Belgium, on February 13 & 14, 2014, in which scholars from around the world will meet and discuss the issues involved with Plato and his handling of the power of images. Anyone who is interested in attending either session of the conference should contact the conference coordinators, Radcliffe Edmonds (redmonds@brynmawr.edu) for Bryn Mawr or Pierre Destrée (pierre.destree@uclouvain.be) or Erika Gielen (Erika.Gielen@hiw.kuleuven.be) for Louvain/Leuven.

This conference is generously sponsored by the Tri-College Working Group in Ancient Philosophy, the Departments of Greek, Latin, & Classical Studies and Philosophy, the Class of 1902 Lecture Fund, and the offices of the President and Provost at Bryn Mawr College; the Distinguished Visitors Office and the John B. Hurford ’60 Center for the Arts and Humanities at Haverford College; and the Departments of Classics and Philosophy, and the office of the Provost at Swarthmore College.

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Travel to Bryn Mawr
Travel to Leuven/Louvain