摘要
Christopher Janaway＇s recent book on Plato＇s critique of the arts discusses, among other things, Book 10 of the Republic. This paper claims that his comments upon passages in Republic 10 overl Plato＇s ook the Ion and status of the Republic as itself a work of dramatic mimesis, ignore the dialectical form of the work, and miss that in various dialogues, Plato evinces a high view of poetry and the arts and even envisions a techne poietike. The paper defends these claims by constructing a three-stage argument that Plato holds a high view of poetry： （1） It first sketches an outline of a reading of the Ion as a dialogue that, despite being aporetic, nevertheless points ahead to a Socratic philosophizing that is craft-like and open to divine inspiration, and not only recognizes the value of poetry but also sometimes composes poetry; （2） Then, it discusses Socrates＇ use, in his conversational strategies in the Republic, of the techne of rhetoric described in the Phaedrus; and finally, （3） It considers four arguments against mimetic poetry in Republic 10 （598b8-606d7）, and sketches an interpretation of them that takes issue with Janaway＇s. It argues that they are meant to invite readers to a higher dialectical standpoint, from which might come into view the value of mimetic poetry to a community guided by a Basilike techne
