Today on Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, we start our slow, beautiful pilgrimage through arguably the most important book in Western philosophy: Plato’s Republic. It is about justice and whether justice is more profitable to the soul than injustice—but along the way it provides rich conversations on the soul, virtue, education, metaphysics, and the afterlife. If you read this book and read it well, it will change your life.
And we have an excellent guide and mentor to walk us through the opening of Plato’s Republic and the dialogue with Cephalus in Book One (327a-331d), Dr. Alex Priou who currently serves as a professor of political philosophy at the University of Austin.
Today we start something life-changing.
Plato is philosophy. To summarize a famous line, all of Western philosophy is a series of footnotes to Plato, and Plato’s Republic is his masterwork. He does not offer you a sterile, intellectual idea that is neat to contemplate—he makes claims on your soul. For Plato, philosophy is transformative. The goal of the pursuit of wisdom is to have a good soul, a beautiful soul.
Further Resources to Help You Read the Republic:
“I went down to the Piraeus.” The famous opening line gives you much to contemplate, and Dr. Alex Priou is a wonderful guide. We have the verb of descent, which will be important to the entire text, and we have the Piraeus, the port of Athens, which is hosting a new festival to a new goddess. Moreover, Socrates narrates the entire Republic to an unnamed listener who never interrupts… but this allows Socrates to give commentary on the argument he otherwise could not. Dr. Priou shows us how the prologue to the Republic is simple but rich with meaning—a great introduction to how Plato teaches.
In the house of Cephalus, age, wealth, and the old myths give the first account of justice. Asked the greatest good of his money, the old metic does not speak of friends or food. He speaks of the myths he laughed at when he was young, and of the peace of facing them without unpaid debts. Justice, for him, is telling the truth and giving what one owes. Socrates asks whether you return a borrowed weapon to a man who has gone mad. Cephalus cannot defend the rule he has lived by. He laughs, leaves the argument to his son, and goes back to the sacrifices. Cephalus leaves, but his conversation will haunt the entire Republic—as the text begins with a descent and religious myth and will end with an ascent and a religious myth.
Be sure to check out our entire reading schedule, so you can be sure to read alongside us.
Also, thank you to the CLASSIC LEARNING TEST for sponsoring our first month of Plato’s Republic. They are a really excellent group of people trying to change the landscape of education in America. Go check them out.
A good path is before us.
Let’s take it and ascend.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Plato's Republic and guest Dr. Alex Priou
02:01 Why read Plato's Republic today?
04:05 Historical and dramatic context of the dialogue
06:05 Dr. Priou's background and love for Plato
08:00 The purpose of the Republic and its themes
10:03 The setting and composition of the dialogue
11:57 The character of Cephalus and traditional justice
14:01 The significance of the Myth of the Cave
15:49 The pedagogical method of Plato's dialogues
18:13 The role of myths and poetry in philosophy
19:57 The purpose of the Republic and its relevance today
22:11 The character of Polemarchus and justice as friendship
23:50 The challenge of understanding the dialogue's structure
26:12 The importance of rereading Plato's works
28:07 The character of Thrasymachus and cynicism
30:06 The significance of Socrates' narration style
32:06 The allegory of the cave and ascent to truth
34:13 The role of myth and poetry in conveying truth
35:47 The balance between tradition and innovation in the Republic
37:51 The practical purpose of the dialogue
40:00 The limits of human knowledge and the form of the good
42:03 The political and moral lessons of the Republic
43:57 The significance of justice as a personal and political virtue
46:12 The character of Cephalus and his traditional views
48:02 The transition from traditional to philosophical justice
49:59 The role of Socrates in guiding the dialogue
51:56 The importance of self-knowledge and inner reflection
54:05 The myths of the afterlife and their philosophical purpose
55:58 The ongoing relevance of Plato's Republic
Join us next week as we continue our studies on Plato's Republic!