The Ancient Quarrel Between Philosophy and PoetryFrom its beginnings, philosophy's language, concepts and imaginative growth have been heavily influenced by poetry and poets. Drawing on the work of a wide range of thinkers throughout the history of Western philosophy, Raymond Barfield explores the pervasiveness of poetry's impact on philosophy and, conversely, how philosophy has sometimes resisted or denied poetry's influence. Although some thinkers, like Giambatista Vico and Nietzsche, praised the wisdom of poets, and saw poetry and philosophy as mutually beneficial pursuits, others resented, diminished or eliminated the importance of poetry in philosophy. Beginning with the famous passage in Plato's Republic in which Socrates exiles the poets from the city, this book traces the history of the ancient quarrel between philosophy and poetry through the works of thinkers in the Western tradition ranging from Plato to the work of the contemporary thinker Mikhail Bakhtin. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 10 | |
2 Aristotle Poetry and Ethics | 32 |
3 Plotinus Augustine and Strange Sweetness | 52 |
4 Boethius Dionysius and the Forms | 86 |
5 Thomas and Some Thomists | 106 |
6 Vicos New Science | 125 |
7 Kant and His Students on the Genius of Nature | 148 |
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abstract Aesth aesthetic Aquinas Aristotle artist Augustine Bakhtin beauty becomes beginning Boethius cited in text City City of God claims concept Conf consciousness Consol contemplation Critique Dasein death demons Descartes dialogue Dilthey Dilthey’s Dionysius divine providence Duffy encounter eternal ethical existence experience expressed false feeling Friedrich Nietzsche G. W. F. Hegel genius Gentile God’s gods Greek Hamann Hegel Heidegger hereafter cited Hesiod human ideas imagination intellect Intro irony Johann Georg Hamann Jove judgment Kant Kierkegaard kind knowledge language living meaning metaphor metaphysics Mikhail Bakhtin mind move myth mythic nature Nietzsche object Phenomenology Plato Plotinus poem poetic poetry and philosophy prophets quarrel between poetry question reality reason religious reveals sense Socrates Socratic dialogue Søren Kierkegaard soul speak spirit theological poets things thinkers thinking thought tion tragedy trans transcendent true truth understanding unity University Press Varro vision voice whole wisdom words