Myth and philosophy in Plato's 'Phaedrus

Plato is frequently critical of and hostile toward myth; nonetheless, he also uses it in many of his dialogues. This dissertation is an attempt to understand this situation, and to answer the question "Why does Plato use myth?" I do so through a close analysis of one pivotal dialogue, the Phaedrus (the most 'mythical' of Plato's writings).;After laying out some of the historical and cultural background, I examine the four major myths of the dialogue: the Boreas passage, the palinode, the cicada myth, and the Theuth myth. I also consider Plato's use of myth in light of the discussion of rhetoric and dialectic, and in light of the structure of the dialogue as a whole. I conclude---against many commentators---that Plato does not use myth as a vehicle for expressing philosophical truths or supra-rational insights. Rather, Plato has three main reasons for using myth in the Phaedrus. (1) Psychological reasons. Platonic myth is a response to the irrational parts of human nature, and is a uniquely effective means of communicating with the soul as a whole. Moreover, it is a means of leading the appropriate reader toward the philosophical life, and is a form of psychagogia (a 'leading of the soul'). (2) Self-reflexive and methodological reasons. Myth---a conspicuously 'unusual' mode of discourse that flags its own inadequacies---allows Plato to raise second-order questions about language, knowledge, and truth. It also draws attention to the limitations of human discourse and human knowledge. (3) Literary, dramatic, and structural reasons. The myths of the Phaedrus lend coherence and unity to the dialogue as a whole, and draw together disparate parts of the text. This in turn helps us to understand (and resolve) the so-called "problem of unity" of the Phaedrus.;Despite these three uses, however, Plato continues to regard myth as an inherently defective and problematic mode of discourse, and as subordinate to philosophical dialectic. Myth is a provisional and dispensable tool for the philosopher, and it remains extrinsic to the philosophical life. The Phaedrus as a whole is designed to show us this.