Metaphorical language in the political philosophy of Plato and Aristotle
DOI: 10.23951/2312-7899-2025-3-215-236
According to Ankersmit, the fundamental role of metaphor in political philosophy has long been neglected. Today, however, the situation has changed: metaphor is no longer seen merely as a linguistic trope or poetic embellishment. It has become a key component of everyday language, thought, and practice, shaping our perception of the world around us. The aim of this article is to identify metaphors in the political philosophies of Plato and Aristotle. For this purpose, the article adopts George Lakoff's definition of metaphor, which understands it as experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another. The primary sources for the analysis are Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Politics. Analyzing Book IV of Plato's Republic, we can conclude that the metaphor of personification establishes a connection between the human soul and the polis. Plato's organicist conception of the polis relies not only on this analogy but also incorporates metaphors drawn from the realms of art and magic. For example, Plato frequently refers to the art of dyeing and compares the virtue of prudence to the harmony of musical strings. In contrast, Aristotle's Politics employs a different configuration of metaphors. While he also uses personification, his metaphors are more spatial and relational in nature. Among them, Aristotle employs metonymy when defining the polis as a community. A particularly prominent metaphor is that of the ship, symbolizing governance and the quest for a prosperous journey. The open lecture explored the metaphorical dimensions of political philosophy and pedagogical thought in the works of Plato and Aristotle. It demonstrated that metaphors help bridge politics and pedagogy. Plato's simile linking the human soul and the polis implies, among other things, that musical (μουσική) education is essential for perfecting the soul and securing a proper place within the polis. The presence of spatial metaphors in Aristotle reveals a different pedagogical concept, where issues of upbringing and education are inextricably linked to the structure of the state and the original class position of the citizen. The discussion explains that the origins of the Platonic metaphors mentioned lie in the idea of the microcosm, the interest in magic in fifth-century B.C. Athens, and the ancient Greek category of τέχνη. As for the origins of Aristotelian metaphors, it has been noted that they are related, on the one hand, to the geographical setting of ancient civilization, and, on the other, to the Greeks' contemporary notions of autonomous space and fear of the sea. Among other things, the novelty of this study lies in the following statements. Firstly, it is shown that Plato's organicist metaphor of the polis involves not only the likening of the polis and man but also the incorporation of non-organicist metaphors related to magic and τέχνη. Secondly, it is argued that an analysis of Aristotle's Politics reveals that metaphors are capable of reinforcing the ideological components of political teachings, as well as reflecting existing social representations of political issues.
Keywords: metaphor, political philosophy, Plato, Aristotle, polis, community
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Issue: 3, 2025
Series of issue: Issue 3
Rubric: OPEN LECTURE
Pages: 215 — 236
Downloads: 245