Apollo Breaks His Silence; In defence of theia mania: a preliminary study in the sacred libido of poetry

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Kovalenko, Viacheslav (2020). Apollo Breaks His Silence; In defence of theia mania: a preliminary study in the sacred libido of poetry. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

The creative portion of the PhD focuses on the story of three protagonists, Gaspar, Kevin and Johnny, and their journey to discover their true selves in an authoritarian reality. They start as ordinary citizens of the Republic, and then as the truth of their surroundings and themselves begins to be revealed to them, they begin to awaken politically.
The critical essay explores the themes of poetry and truth and their potential impact on the world of political ideas. It argues for political usefulness of poetry, broadly defined as inspired speech, as the medium of social, idealogical and aesthetic renewal, and for Dionysian elements of mystery and ecstasy as necessary to complement the Apollonian, reason-based aspects of conduct. To do so I have used the case of Pythia as an inspired speaker, and Plato’s Republic (2007) as the telos of political development, supplemented with insights of Herbert Marcuse’s Eros and Civilisation (1998). I have referred to a wide range of philosophers and critical thinkers, chief of them in spirit if not in the particular themes I investigate, Nietzsche, to see how the inspired speech and the telos of the Republic interact and how they might reach synthesis.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):