Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria

Lecturer: Prof Rick Benitez
Entry: FREE

Synopsis

his talk looks at Plato’s critique of poetry in the Ion.  It considers the conversation between a philosopher (Socrates) and a rhapsode (Ion) about how poetry is created and communicated, and what claims a poet or rhapsode might have to deserve praise for wisdom.

Plato’s view is that the composition of excellent poems is a matter of inspiration, and so also is excellent performance. 

While it is not a philosophical matter to receive such inspiration, it is a philosophical matter to subject the products of purported inspiration to examination, to see whether they are are truly inspired or not. The talk concludes by considering the relative value of philosophy and inspiration in the light of Plato’s critique.

Bio

Rick Benitez was born in El Paso, Texas and studied philosophy at the Unviersity of Texas at Austin. He has taught ancient Greek philosophy at the University of Sydney since 1992. 

Rick is a specialist on the philosophy of Plato; his book Reflections on Plato’s Poetics is due out in early May.  Rick is currently Chair of the Department of Philosophy at the Univerity of Sydney.

Donors

We thank the following donors: Theodore Sklavos and Family in memory of Eleni Sklavos | Kostas & Vicky Dimaras | Efstratia Papadopoulos.

During the course of the year considerable expenses are incurred in staging the seminars. In order to mitigate these costs individuals or organisations are invited to donate against a lecture of their choice.  You too can donate for one or more seminars and (optionally) let your name or brand be known as a patron of culture to our members, visitors and followers, as well as the broader artistic and cultural community of Melbourne.
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