Magical Things and Their Influence(s): Socrates as Sorcerer and Guide By Gunnar Footh

https://www.academia.edu/165725019/Magical_Things_and_Their_Influence_s_Socrates_as_Sorcerer_and_Guide?sm=b&rhid=40222982448 In his Republic, Plato infamously lays out strict guidelines for the production and consumption of art in his ideal society, gesturing toward its corrupting influence on children and the populace. While much has been written on Plato’s general claim of poetics’ corrupting influence, it is not exactly clear why Plato, in his Republic for example, likens the power and operations of (mimetic) poetry, rhetoric, and the like to sorcery (goêteia). If we accept that Plato’s terminology is not accidental but intentional, I contend that Plato has good reason to employ magical language and characterizations beyond merely inheriting mythical-magical terms and concepts from ancient Greek culture. In this essay, I will analyze Plato’s magical characterization of poetry and its banishment from the ideal city due in large part because of its corrupting and misleading influence on the soul, and I will demonstrate that this claim is reified by the characters of Rikako and Rouichi Ouryou in the sci-fi dystopian anime Psycho-Pass. However, in tandem with Plato’s many characterizations of poetics as sorcery, the Ouryou’s present us with an opportunity to re-characterize the role of Socrates. Therefore, I marshal evidence to support, and encourage us to re-imagine, that Socrates as philosopher is a novel form of psychopomp who leads souls from one place to the next and provides them guidance prior to and during the journey. This reading provides clarification on why Plato uses magical language to characterize rhetoric, poetry, and the character of Socrates himself, providing new directions for researching the Platonic corpus. ...