Plato’s Seventh Letter contains a digression on the philosopher as a wise and unheard adviser. Through this digression, it is possible to see the entire letter as a representation of the philosophical activity addressed mainly to non-philosophers. While commentaries on the letter have generally focused on the signs of its authenticity, this paper proposes to read it considering the activity of political counselling through three distinct sections of the text. In this way, we get a new insight into the problem of the letter’s composition and discover an important and lasting aspect of the philosopher’s political self-representation within the Platonic tradition
THE PHILOSOPHER AS A POLITICAL ADVISER: A NEW READING OF PLATO’S SEVENTH LETTER
Butti de Lima, Paulo
2025-01-01
Abstract
Plato’s Seventh Letter contains a digression on the philosopher as a wise and unheard adviser. Through this digression, it is possible to see the entire letter as a representation of the philosophical activity addressed mainly to non-philosophers. While commentaries on the letter have generally focused on the signs of its authenticity, this paper proposes to read it considering the activity of political counselling through three distinct sections of the text. In this way, we get a new insight into the problem of the letter’s composition and discover an important and lasting aspect of the philosopher’s political self-representation within the Platonic traditionI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
