Between music and philosophy: passions, soul and logos

Abstract

The paper presents a kind of musical commentary on the Encomium of Helen. Gorgias’ famous text from the fifth century BC deals with passions, soul and speeches. Giovanni Casertano considers the influence of this text by Gorgias on Plato’s dialogues, in relation to the great themes of soul and body, human passions, the power of words. The musical register is on the basis of the whole paper to show how philosophy is the megiste musiké of which Socrates speaks in Phd. 61a. This unpublished text was read posthumously by Lidia Palumbo at the Istituto Italiano di Studi Filosofici in Naples on 31 January 2024.