In this essay, I explore Book 8 of The Republic and set forth Plato’s theory of cultural decline. In Book 8 of The Republic, Plato returns to the theme of how his ideal city degenerates into various lesser forms of government: Philosophical aristocracy falling to timocracy, timocracy to oligarchy, oligarchy to democracy, and finally democracy …
This essay examines books 5 and 6 of Republic and explicates Plato’s notorious doctrine of the philosopher king. Near the end of book 5, Socrates is asked whether the ideal city sketched so far is politically possible. Is it a city that can exist in the physical word like Athens or Sparta or is it …
In this essay I’ll examine Books 3 and 4 of the Republic and set forth Plato’s account of the cardinal virtues and his theory of the tripartite soul. After concluding his description of the guardians’ mental and physical education, Socrates observe that what has thus far been called “the guardian class” actually contains two classes: …
In this essay, I conclude our analysis of Book II of The Republic by examining Plato’s theological critique of religion and contrasting it with contemporary accounts of so-called religious trauma. After establishing the need for a guardian class, Socrates now enquires into their education (376c). As we noted last time, guardians must be both upright …
In this essay, I continue our discussion of Book 2 of the Republic by examining Plato’s account of the formation the city and the emergence of its guardian class. In the process we will also investigate why the fierce negation and boundary setting of the guardians is necessary for both public and private life. The …
Human life, finite and incarnate, burns with desire, craving not only physical necessities such as food and drink, but yearning also for an ever elusive wholeness. As the poet Novalis observed, “we seek the unconditioned, but all we ever find are things.” Man’s life is thus one of love and longing. We learn much about …
In this essay, continue my analysis of Book I of the Republic by examining Plato’s use of the classical concept of excellence to defend the claim that justice is an intrinsic rather than merely instrumental good. After arguing that justice is not, as Thrasymachus contends, merely as the advantage of the stronger, Socrates attempts to …
Plato is one of the most influential philosophers in the history of western philosophy and the Republic is one of his most memorable works. New readers of Plato’s Republic are often surprised to learn that while it does contain important reflections about what constitutes an ideal city, they are not the primary subject matter of …
1. Deconstruction in the Evangelical Church The term “deconstruction” has taken on a life of its own in Evangelical Christian circles. I can remember being both surprised and annoyed when sitting in these churches and hearing pastors rail against postmodern philosophers as if they were prophets of the antichrist. Their animosity surprised me, because I …
Pythagoras on the Purpose of Philosophy In this essay, I’d like to turn from investigating Pythagorean doctrine to examining Pythagorean practice. For Pythagoras identified philosophy not with a set of abstract doctrines to be grasped by the understanding alone, but with a way of life that purified and strengthened the soul. Porphyry, for instance, describes …