Un esempio dell’utilità del Multifocal Approach: Platone e i barbari.

This contribution aims to show the usefulness of the Multifocal Approach, a new hermeneutic paradigm recently developed in order to study the Ancient thought thanks to the analysis of a specific issue: Plato’s judgement about the relationship between Greeks and barbarians. By adopting this research methodology, the purpose is to prove that the Author’s reasoning do not lead to either a hostile prejudice against the non-Greeks, also in terms of biological inferiority, or to an unconditional openness toward them. On the contrary, since the distinguishing feature of the barbarians is a marked diversity, the Platonic evaluations are divided into complex theoretical schemes according to multiple argumentative scenarios. These evaluations reveal, at the same time but with distinct regards, both an opened and closed attitude. As a result, on the one hand, a dialectic tension fosters a feeling of superiority, being the non-Greeks considered a threat and a negative ideal to be rejected. On the other hand, instead, a feeling of interest and respect leads to the recognition of their value and potential, as barbarians are not necessarily savages but people who are also able to give lessons and dialogue with others.