PLATO’S MIMESIS IN THE CONTEXT OF VARIOUS INTERPRETIVE STRATEGIES

Abstract

The article presents the analysis of the interpretations of the concept of mimesis (μίμησις) traditionally translated as “imitation”. It is shown that when referring to the dogmatic tradition of reading Plato, mimesis is understood exclusively as an aesthetic category or concept related to the theory of art - in this case, the dialogue is considered as a treatise, in which the author’s thoughts and positions are expressed. The reference to the dramatic reading of Plato, when the emphasis is shifted to the formal, structural component, allows interpreting mimesis as a strategy, a method used by the philosopher. The author comes to the conclusion that dramatic reading helps to discover additional meaning of the interpretation of Plato’s mimesis and its role in the dialogues, enriches the interpretation of the text significantly, however, it may lead to the unjustified modernization of the philosopher’s teachings.

References

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Author information

About this article

Publication history

• Received: April 16, 2018.
• Published: July 27, 2018.

Keywords

• Платон
• мимесис
• драматическое прочтение
• метод
• интерпретация
• ирония
• диалог
• эстетика
• Plato
• mimesis
• dramatic reading
• method
• interpretation
• irony
• dialogue
• aesthetics

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© 2018 The Author(s)
© 2018 Gramota Publishing, LLC

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)