Con un pizzico di follia. La mania platonica e la riabilitazione del mondo emotivo

This paper analyses the theory of mania that Plato proposes in the Phaedrus and in part in the Ion. The philosopher presents this phenomenon as a divine gift that allows people to obtain goods and advantages. The four types of mania (amorous, initiatory, prophetic, poetic) are presented as the possibility of reaching knowledge through a path that enriches, transcends, and completes reason. This view is very different from Plato’s more well-known theories, which contrast reason and emotion and present emotions as an obstacle to knowledge and wise life. The theories proposed in Phaedrus can help us to see Plato with a different and not stereotypical and simplified look: they invite us to recognize the importance of emotional and affective aspects in the processes of formation and education.