Philosophical incantations (Itihāsa and Epode). The power of narrative reason in the Mahābhārata

Both the itihāsa-s of the Mahābhārata and the Platonic philosophical ‘epode’ are often used to persuade in conditions where emotion threatens to incapacitate the person for argumentative discourse. Narrative reason has its own conditions of success and failure, opening up a discursive arena in which...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ferrández Formoso, Raquel (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Carfax 2024
In: Asian philosophy
Year: 2024, Volume: 34, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-15
Further subjects:B Myth
B Imagination
B Plato
B Dharma
B Allegory
B Persuasion
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Both the itihāsa-s of the Mahābhārata and the Platonic philosophical ‘epode’ are often used to persuade in conditions where emotion threatens to incapacitate the person for argumentative discourse. Narrative reason has its own conditions of success and failure, opening up a discursive arena in which all kinds of utterances are welcome. Emphasizing the psychagogic function of the ‘once-upon-a-time’ reason, it is worth asking who the real protagonist of the story is and whether the story has a duty or a dharma of its own to fulfill. Dharma and all the dilemmas it brings along with it constitute one of the fundamental problems that make up the whole Mahābhārata. In this essay I wonder about the dharma of the Mahābhārata itself—a literary work which gives itself the name ‘triumph’ (jaya)—and the cultural mission it fulfills in the lives of those who hear it, read it, study it, and share it with others.
ISSN:1469-2961
Contains:Enthalten in: Asian philosophy
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/09552367.2023.2259189