Editing Plato (section)

=== Rhetoric and poetry ===
Several dialogues tackle questions about art, including rhetoric and rhapsody. Socrates says that poetry is inspired by the [[muses]], and is not rational. He speaks approvingly of this, and other forms of [[divine madness]] (drunkenness, eroticism, and dreaming) in the ''Phaedrus'',<ref>''Phaedrus ''(265a–c)</ref> and yet in the ''Republic'' wants to outlaw Homer's great poetry, and laughter as well. Scholars often view Plato's philosophy as at odds with rhetoric due to his criticisms of rhetoric in the ''[[Gorgias (dialogue)|Gorgias]]'' and his ambivalence toward rhetoric expressed in the ''[[Phaedrus (dialogue)|Phaedrus]]''. But other contemporary researchers contest the idea that Plato despised rhetoric and instead view his dialogues as a dramatization of complex rhetorical principles.{{sfn|Kastely|2015}} Plato made abundant use of mythological narratives in his own work; it is generally agreed that the main purpose for Plato in using myths was didactic.{{sfn|Jorgenson|2018|p=199}} He considered that only a few people were capable or interested in following a reasoned philosophical discourse, but men in general are attracted by stories and tales. Consequently, then, he used the myth to convey the conclusions of the philosophical reasoning.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Partenie |first1=Catalin |title=Plato's Myths |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-myths/ |website=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |access-date=29 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170527053738/https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-myths/|archive-date=27 May 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Notable examples include the story of [[Atlantis]], the [[Myth of Er]], and the [[Allegory of the Cave]].