Wild and Tamed: The Literary Figure of the Dog in Plato’s Republic [Spanish]

Authors

  • Laura Victoria Almandós Mora Profesora Asociada Departamento de Literatura Universidad Nacional de Colombia
  • Catalina López Gómez Departamento de Formación Lasallista Universidad de la Salle, Bogotá, Colombia

Abstract

Plato’s reference to dogs in different passages of the Republic is more than a mere embellishment; it also serves to defend important political theses (335b8; 375e; 376b; 416a; 440d; 451c-e; 459a; 459b). The purpose of this article is to reveal some of these theses and to defend the author’s choice of the dog, among other animals, to characterize the figures of the guardian and of the philosopher. The text discusses the analogy presented in the Republic according to which the natural disposition to guard (someone or something) is the common element shared between a puppy and a young man from good descent. The article focuses on the dog’s role – descending from a wilder and more beastly animal, the wolf - as that of being able to synthesize fierceness and gentleness through learning and domestication.


Author Biographies

Laura Victoria Almandós Mora, Profesora Asociada Departamento de Literatura Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Profesora asociada del Departamento de Literatura, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Bogotá, desde 2005. Filósofa de la Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá). Tesis: “La construcción de lo femenino en Hesíodo” (1989). Distinción: Summa cum laude. Magister en Historia de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Tesis: “Igualdad y diferencia en la democracia ateniense” (1997). Distinción: Laureada. (Publicada en la Universidad Nacional de Colombia, 2003). Doctora en Filosofía de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Tesis: “Arquetipos masculino y femenino en dos diálogos de Platón” (2012). Distinción: Laureada. Investigación en Estudios Clásicos con énfasis en las propuestas teóricas del feminismo, la psicología analítica de Carl Jung.

Catalina López Gómez, Departamento de Formación Lasallista Universidad de la Salle, Bogotá, Colombia

Profesora asistente de la Universidad de la Salle (Bogotá, Colombia). Doctora en Filósofa de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia (2019). Tesis meritoria: “Inteligencia Animal: Un estudio desde Historia Animalium de Aristóteles”. Magíster y filósofa por la misma universidad. Publicaciones recientes: “El cuco y otros animales inteligentes”, en Conversaciones sobre la antigüedad greco-latina; “Apuntes para una teoría estoica de la acción animal”, en Discusiones Filosóficas, n.° 29; “Lenguaje animal en Aristóteles”, en Revista Colombiana de Bioética, vol.11, y “El rol de la imaginación en la búsqueda de lo propiamente humano”, en Discusiones Filosóficas, n.° 22.


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Published

2020-03-06

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No. 33 (2020): July-december

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Articles

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