News at Eleven: There were, however, also political

reasons (as opposed to purely philosophical reasons) why Plato banished the poets from his ideal city. This had to do with the fact that the poets of ancient Greece were also the educators. As such, they had access to and could influence young minds. Plato regarded this educational role for the poets as incompatible with his ideal of the philosopher kings who needed to be educated in geometry, philosophy and mathematics, rather than in the description of frivolous and fleeting experience.

Since the beginning, then, of Western literature, the poets are in danger (and here I am using the term "poet" to refer to the whole range of aesthetic activity). Why is this so?

from Thought Leader: Exiling the poets

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