Philosophy by the Book: Recent Episodes
Connor Clerkin
What is the nature of happiness? What life will bring us the most happiness? Today we finish the Nichomachean Ethics.
The nature of friendship continued. What should we do if we become much more virtuous than our friends? What if one of our friends goes down a bad path? How many friends can we reasonably have? Can we be friends with ourselves? Should we care for ourselves more than we care for others?
What is friendship? Are there different sorts of friendship? What sorts of people are attracted to each other? How does friendship relate to civic relationships? Can we be friends with those much better or worse than us?
How can we resist our desires in order to act in accordance with reason? Are different sorts of desires different? Is avoiding a pleasure the same as resisting a pain?
What is Aristotle's conception of Justice? How should goods be distributed among people? What role does money play in the establishment of just states? How important is Justice? If we commit injustices are we unjust people?
What is pride? What is liberality? Are their virtues associated with just hanging out with friends?
What is courage? Are there things that seem like courage but which aren't courage? How can we determine what actions are truly voluntary?
How does one become excellent? Is one good because he does good things? Or does one do good things because he is good? Can someone do good but not be good?
What is the purpose of life and how can we achieve it? How is our current state of mind affected by our past actions? What is the nature of happiness?
To what extent can the state interfere justly with the actions of an individual? Why is individuality important in the first place?
Why is it important to allow others to voice their ideas? Is societal suppression of speech even worse than formal legal oppression? When can we be sure that our ideas are correct?
Do miracles occur? Do animals use reason to learn? Where do we get our idea of necessary connections? Can we draw proof of God's existence from the world around us?
Where do our ideas come from? Why study philosophy? What do we have a reasonable chance of being able to understand?
The physical world exists! How does the mind communicate with the body? How do we commit errors? Is free will real?
The final episode on Plato, see previous episodes for his complete work. The unfinished story of Atlantis.
Who watches the watchmen? And who watches them? How do we protect our constitution once our city is set up? The end of Laws.
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How are we to regulate property? What happens in the event of a citizens death? How are wills to be handled? In a state that values the military so much, how should we treat deserters?
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Does god exist? And if so, is he good?
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How should we legislate against crime? What sort of punishments are useful to a perfect society? Are we to focus on retribution or rehabilitation? And what's the goal of all these laws anyway?
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How often should our city celebrate festivals? What sort of relationships are to be encouraged among citizens? Are we going to allow foreigners to live in our city?
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How are children to be educated? Should they learn music? Literature? Should men and women be educated equally?
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How are officers to be appointed in an ideal state? Will slavery be instituted? How is marriage to be regulated?
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Now that we know how to frame a law, we start to actually lay some down. What should laws be established for? Who should institute them? Who should rule before rulers are chosen? How do we choose those rulers?
How should laws be written? Should we accept foreigners into our ideal city? What would government be like if men were ruled by angels? Installment 4 in the Laws.
What is the main goal of the statesman in his creation of laws? Which ancient state best represents monarchy and which democracy?
If the Republic cannot be followed, how are we to form our laws? What role does drinking have in the public good?
Which is closer to the good? Pleasure? Or Reason?
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What are the greatest pleasures? Is a life of knowledge or a life of pleasure the greatest good? Can a life without pain be also free of pleasure?
What's better, pleasure or knowledge? Or maybe a mix of both? Are things in the world limited, or unlimited? Or maybe a mix of both? And what does this second set of questions have to do with the first.
What exactly does it mean to be a king? And more importantly, what if we can't find a good one? Does it make sense to create laws? And if someone comes along that seems better than the laws, should we follow him?
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How is a king like a weaver? Are comparisons and simplifications even helpful? And what exactly does a king do?
Finally we demonstrate if its possible to lie. Turns out that it is. We give a final definition of a sophist as well.
What exactly is a Sophist? And how do we go about defining anything for that matter?
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Is knowledge Justified True Belief? How can we know that we know what knowledge is?
Plato's Theaetetus part 3, final.
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Is knowledge true judgement? Or is there still a little something missing? Is your soul more of a block of wax or an aviary full of birds?
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This week we begin an examination of epistemology as it found its roots in Plato's Theaetetus. This part one episode focuses on the first definition of knowledge found in the Theaetetus, that knowledge is perception.
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We explore the tyrannical man, the nature of desire, the benefits of justice and the nature of the soul.
We tackle the cycle of constitutions and their corresponding individuals in Plato's Republic book 8.
This week we explore the famous divided line and simile of the ship in Plato's Republic book 6.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analogy_of_the_divided_line
This week we tackle Plato's Republic book 5, which deals with the role of women in an ideal society and begins a discussion on philosopher kings.
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This week we finish fleshing out our ideal city and finally figure out just what justice is.
This week we finish up our discussion on best education for a city's rulers in Plato's Republic Book 3 and start to examine some of the structures of our perfect city.
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This week we discuss the ring of Gyges, the origin of war and the foundation of cities in Plato's Republic Book 2.
Today we begin our examination of Plato's Republic starting with book 1 considering the nature and worth of justice.
Plato's Phaedrus is a great literary work concerning itself with the nature of love and the use of rhetoric. Socrates gives a defense of the virtues both of being in love and not being so and determines whether or not its worth writing down your thoughts or speeches.
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This extremely short piece details some problems that Clitophon has with the way Socrates teaches.
This week we discuss the nature of love with Socrates and friends in one of Plato's most famous dialogues, the Symposium.
This week we explain Socrates' final conversation and the nature of the soul as seen in Plato's Phaedo.
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This week we explore the natures of virtue and knowledge in Plato's Meno. Is virtue a type of knowledge and if so, can it be taught? How can we gain any knowledge if we must already have that knowledge in order to know when we have gained it? Is it possible to have knowledge at all? Do human's really learn, or are we simply recollecting things we already know from past lives. All of these questions and more are explored this week in Plato's Meno.
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Geometry link: http://www.socraticmethod.net/essays/meno_geometry/meno_geometry.html
Socrates gives a funeral oration detailing the history of Athens this week in Plato's Menexenus.
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Today we finish up the Gorgias with the debate between Socrates and Callicles over what is good and if man holds to different laws than the natural world.
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This week we tackle the first half of Plato's Gorgias, an ambitious dialogue concerned with oratory, justice, power and the good.
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Wordplay and not much wisdom abounds in this week's episode focusing on the foolishness of the Sophists as found in Plato's Euthydemus.
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Today we examine Plato's ideas on the philosophy of language in the Cratylus. Are names and words based on truth or on usage? Can we learn the nature of a thing by examining its name? How do letters work and where did they come from? All these questions and more will be answered.
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This week we examine the nature of the beautiful as seen in Plato's Greater Hippias.
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Today we explore the nature of lying and justice along with Socrates in Plato's Lesser Hippias.
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This week we read Alcibiades, which was written, questionably, by Plato. The dialogue discusses self cultivation as well as what is necessary to rule a city.
This week we examine the nature of temperance along with Socrates and company in Plato's Charmides.
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Today we explore the nature of friendship with Socrates and friends in Plato's Lysis.
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Today we discuss Plato's Laches asking the question: What is courage?
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Today we discuss another of Plato's early dialogues: Ion. In this dialogue we see Socrates debate the nature of poetry and knowledge with the rhapsode Ion. Well maybe debate is the wrong word. He mostly just tells Ion what the truth is.
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Today we discuss Plato's Protagoras which explores the nature of virtue and the relation between different virtues such as wisdom and courage.
Jacques Louis David painting link as promised: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Socrates#/media/File:David_-_The_Death_of_Socrates.jpg
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This week we read Plato's Apology, in which Socrates defends himself against the charges of corrupting the youth, impiety, and making the weaker argument the stronger. An unfortunate outcome leads to examination of the nature of death.
Today we explore Plato's Crito which itself explores the issues of the nature of the good life, the opinions of the majority, and our obligations to the state.
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Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://plato.stanford.edu/