Plato's political imagination

Traditional interpretations of Plato see him either as an enemy of the imagination in his views of philosophic discussion, or as a purveyor of imaginative lies in his authoritarian and anti-democratic view of politics. Instead this thesis challenges both these interpretations by showing how the imagination is both philosophical and democratically political. In the Republic images and stories balance and enrich rational argumentation. I first analyze the imaginary aspects of Plato's ideal city. Secondly, I look more closely to the role of images in education and poetry by focusing on Plato's distinction between good and bad images. Thirdly, I discuss the role of images in relation to notions of the ideal and democracy. I propose that images are crucial in crafting and acquiring a vision of the ideal in speech. Finally, I end by stressing that philosophic discussion, and its use of images, not only contains democratic elements but that it also is more likely to thrive in a democratic space and context, marked by freedom of speech and pluralism