Nights of Insight: Plato on the Philosophical Qualities of the Night
Publication date
2020
Authors
Joosse, Albert
Editors
Ker, James
Wessels, Antje
Advisors
Supervisors
Document Type
Part of book
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taverne
Abstract
This chapter surveys the different roles which the night plays in Plato. Among these there are two main roles. First, in different places in the corpus the night appears as a structural factor: in the cosmos, but also in the narrative dimension of the dialogues. Second, the night allows for privileged cognitive access. This concerns passages that feature the night as a period during which good and bad deeds are done, but also the more technical discussions in the Timaeus (the discussion of divination) and the Laws (about the Nocturnal Council).
Keywords
plato, night, cognition, philosophy, narratology, Taverne, Classics
Citation
Joosse, L A 2020, Nights of Insight : Plato on the Philosophical Qualities of the Night. in J Ker & A Wessels (eds), The Values of Nighttime in Classical Antiquity : Between Dusk and Dawn. Mnemosyne Supplements, vol. 434, Brill, Leiden, pp. 93-111. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004436367_006