A Whole New World? What Plato Would Think of Disney’s Princesses
with Austin Walker
Kibbitznest Liberal Arts Discussions are a collaboration with
The University of Chicago Graham School
to host presentations and discussions of original research.
Nothing is more ubiquitous than Disney's princesses. From movies and toys to dress-up and Disney World, they are an ever-present part of American childhood.
But isn't this a little odd? Is it not unusual that in a representative democracy, we put forward a number of "princesses" for our children to aspire towards, to emulate, to pretend to be? Perhaps the most important part of childhood education lies in the choice of whom we ask our children to look to as models, whom we tell stories about, and whom we encourage them to imagine themselves as. Why should modern democratic education be so drawn to the princess?
To solve this problem, we can rely on Plato's analysis of the different kinds of human "soul" in the Republic, and their relationship to the various forms of political regime. Plato can help us understand why we have a democratic love for princesses (rather than kings, queens, dukes, or empresses) and help us decide whether we ought to be suspicious of the influence of Walt Disney's heirs.
We might even rank the Disney princesses from philosophic best to worst.
About AUSTIN WALKER
Austin Walker holds a BA in Greek and Latin and Comparative Literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MA in Education from the University of Mississippi. He is currently preparing a dissertation at the University of Chicago's Committee on Social Thought on John Henry Newman's political philosophy.
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