Caliban’s Cave: Theatre’s Scandalous Ethics
Theatre has often awed philosophers as if it were a dangerous limit to cross: Plato is the perfect example of this dramatic temptation. The reason for this perplexity deserves all possible attention. In this paper, it is contended that Plato’s Complex — the dramatist turned philosopher— unveils a se...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Centre de Recherche "Texte et Critique de Texte"
2014-06-01
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| Series: | Sillages Critiques |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/sillagescritiques/4080 |
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| Summary: | Theatre has often awed philosophers as if it were a dangerous limit to cross: Plato is the perfect example of this dramatic temptation. The reason for this perplexity deserves all possible attention. In this paper, it is contended that Plato’s Complex — the dramatist turned philosopher— unveils a serious ethical issue. Turning the Platonic allegory inside out, I envision Theatre as Caliban’s Cave rather than Prospero’s cell, giving precedence to the slave over the master, to the poetry of shadow over luminescent power. I argue for a philosophy of the Cavern, an attempt to think from the shadows, for which theatre provides a reliable prototype. This theatrical anamorphosis of the myth reveals a political-practical truth rather than a cognitive one. In order to describe this praxis, I invoke the works of some contemporary British and American philosophers who have demonstrated a deep interest in performance matters |
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| ISSN: | 1272-3819 1969-6302 |