Plato on freedom and beauty
Plato explores the concepts of freedom and beauty from very unconventional angles in Republic; unusual in the context of both contemporary and modern understandings of the two terms. Freedom to a contemporary audience of Athenians could be defined as the ability to think and … Continue reading →
Plato’s Critique on Western 21st Century Politics
While looking at 21st century politics in the eyes of Plato, I am absolutely mortified. I finally understand now why our system is so corrupt. It begins with democracy, which is ineffective on various levels. First of all, everyone is … Continue reading →
Socrates: Throwing Verbal Rocks at these Mediocrities?
Okay, so here’s the situation: me reading Republic at like 1 in the morning, not understanding a word of what was going on. Something something Socrates challenging Thrasymachus… wait… how did he get from point A to point upside down A? Did … Continue reading →
Artistic Oppression in Plato’s Republic
Although Plato’s vision of the perfect state may seem highly functional and productive, he fails almost completely to recognize the arts as a staple of our cultural experience and shuts down freedom of expression. Ironically, Plato states in book three … Continue reading →
Socratic Dialogue for Veganism
Narration of Archie: As I sat at my table, surrounded by friends, I saw Zach with a pork and beef sandwich. My plate was laden, as usual, with a salad, beans, and vegetables. Zach began to attack my habits; Zach: … Continue reading →
A School of Predetermination
The idea that children are told what they are going to do for the rest of their lives may seem oppressive and cruel to some and to others the best way to educate. In the Republic by Plato the idea … Continue reading →
The Principle of Specialization for a “just” city
In the so-called “just city” that Socrates explains in the book The Republic By Plato, it is clear that one of the main ideas he expresses throughout the book is the principle of specialization. The principle of specialization is … Continue reading →
Sketchnotes on Plato’s Republic
We are talking about Plato’s Republic this week and next in Arts One, and over the summer I started getting interested in doing sketchnotes–basically, trying to take notes with both images and words. I have found this a really useful method for forcing myself to take in information and make it my own, to condense […]
Late Night Thoughts on Plato, Hobbes & Food
The thing with working an entry level job is that sometimes business gets really, really slow. When that happens (which it does pretty much every night around 1 am) you find your mind exploring some rather strange ideas. For some … Continue reading →
Plato’s Dystopia?
First of all, my apologies for writing this post so long after we finished Republic (everyone was so happy we…