In this presentation, Roger Weir explains Plato's Phaedrus, challenging the common scholarly view of the dialogue as a disorganized "unraveled tapestry" and arguing instead that it's a carefully constructed religious and psychological experience meant to guide the reader toward self-knowledge. He traces Socrates' unusual journey outside the walls of Athens with Phaedrus, his discussion of the four kinds of divine madness (prophetic, mystic, poetic, and erotic), and his mythic image of the soul as a charioteer with two winged horses. Along the way, the talk explores Plato's distinction between written and spoken language, the doctrine of the soul's immortality and self-motion, the archetype of wings and remembrance, and how the dialogue's language works to awaken rather than merely describe spiritual insight—setting the stage for next week's discussion of the Symposium.

This is the sixth presentation of a series on Plato created and presented by Roger Weir in 1990.

More information about these presentations can be found at
https://sharedpresencefoundation.org/presentations/plato
https://sharedpresencefoundation.org/presentations/platos-theory-of-education
https://sharedpresencefoundation.org/presentations/plato-ii

More presentations by Roger Weir are available at the Shared Presence Foundation website and on our YouTube channel