Classical Greek Athenian philosopher, founder of Platonism
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Plato's Intellectual Roots and First Visit. Guest Author: Professor James Romm. Plato's early life was shaped by the reign of the 30 Tyrants in Athens, including his relative Critias. The execution of his teacher, Socrates, further disillusioned him with traditional democracy. He developed a philosophy centered on an unseen world of perfect "forms." Influenced by Pythagorean mathematics, he viewed numbers as a way to understand the universe's abstract essences. Invited by Dion, Plato visited Syracuse in 385 BCE to explore potential autocratic reforms. This visit failed when Dionysius the Elder dismissed his ethical teachings. Plato then returned to Athens to found the Academy. 2
The Invitation to Educate a Young Tyrant. Guest Author: Professor James Romm. Following the elder tyrant's death, Dion invited Plato back to tutor Dionysius the Younger. Dion hoped to transform the immature ruler into an enlightened monarch. Plato's arrival was celebrated, yet he faced a court culture of "wilding" and 90-day parties. Syracuse was then an expansionist power with a massive military. Tension rose when Dionysius intercepted Dion's letter to Carthaginian diplomats, interpreting it as betrayal. Dionysius banished Dion but kept Plato as a hostage under house arrest. Eventually, the Pythagorean leader Archytas negotiated Plato's release and return to Greece. 3
The Liberation of Syracuse and the Fall of Dion. Guest Author: Professor James Romm. Dion invaded Syracuse with a liberation force but faced internal chaos as populist passions erupted. He clashed with the radical democrat Heraclides, whom he eventually had assassinated. This political murder embarrassed Plato's Academy, as both Dion and his later assassin, Calippus, were students. Following the murder, Dion fell into a spiritual crisis and became ineffective. He was ultimately killed by a disaffected faction of his own army. His death left Syracuse in terminal decline, marked by food insecurity and the destruction of the once-powerful city-state. 5
Timoleon and the Exile of Dionysius in Corinth. Guest Author: Professor James Romm. Dionysius the Youngereventually reclaimed his fortress, but Syracuse turned to Corinth for aid. Corinth sent Timoleon, a retired man leading a meager mercenary force. Surprisingly, Dionysius chose to abdicate rather than fight, negotiating a peaceful retirement in Corinth. The former tyrant lived his final years as a music teacher and priest. He famously claimed his ability to endure poverty proved he had learned from Plato. This fall from power gave rise to the proverb "Dionysius is in Corinth," signifying the inherent uncertainty of fortune and absolute power. 6
Justice and the Allegory of the Philosophic King. Guest Author: Professor James Romm. Plato spent his final decades in Athens, completing The Republic. He categorized governance, placing tyranny at the bottom as a system driven by base appetites. He argued that a true king must be a philosopher to perceive the absolute "form of justice." Using the Allegory of the Cave, he described the philosopher's duty to lead those still in the shadows. The work concludes with the Myth of Er, a vision of reincarnation and the soul's journey. Souls drink from the River of Heedlessness, with the wise retaining subconscious memories of the perfect universe. 7
The Controversial Legacy of Plato's Letters. Guest Author: Professor James Romm. Much of this history comes from thirteen letters attributed to Plato, though their authenticity is debated. Romm accepts five as genuine, including the detailed Seventh Letter. Critics like Karl Popper viewed Plato as an enemy of the "open society" due to his autocratic leanings. In his final work, The Laws, Plato suggested a "dream team" consisting of a tyrant and a wise lawgiver. The Seventh Letter is often seen as a "whitewash" intended to protect the Academy's reputation following the Syracuse failure. These documents reveal a philosopher attempting to spin a moral narrative. 8
What happens when wonder is reduced to curiosity, and curiosity becomes a drive to master everything? In this second conversation with William Desmond, John Vervaeke returns to the question of astonishment: not as a passing emotional state, but as a deeper opening of the mind to reality. Desmond frames scientism as a philosophical interpretation of science that tries to make all essential questions answerable through determinate method, precision, and control. Science remains valuable, but scientism forgets the more original wonder from which inquiry arises. The conversation distinguishes astonishment, perplexity, and curiosity. Curiosity seeks determinate answers, while astonishment opens us to what exceeds our mastery. Vervaeke connects this with his own distinction between the having mode and the being mode, arguing that genuine wonder is bound up with transformation rather than mere information. From there, the dialogue turns to Plato, Aristotle, Hegel, logical positivism, AI, computation, relevance realization, and insight. Desmond and Vervaeke ask whether intelligibility can be reduced to determination, or whether the most important forms of understanding depend on a living act of insight that formal systems cannot generate on their own. The final movement turns toward spiritual practice, Socrates, Jesus, the Buddha, religion, trust, and forgiveness. If modern culture suffers from a dearth of astonishment, then the recovery of meaning may require more than better arguments. It may require practices, communities, and forms of dialogue that reawaken porosity, reverence, and an openness to the sacred. Timestamps 00:00 - Introduction and the Desmond conversation so far 03:00 - Science, scientism, and the desire to make everything univocal 06:30 - Astonishment, perplexity, and curiosity 14:00 - Plato, Aristotle, and the purpose of philosophical wonder 16:30 - Having, being, mystery, and transformation 22:20 - Whether knowledge dissolves wonder 26:10 - Logical positivism and the failure of total certainty 31:30 - The four kinds of knowing and propositional tyranny 34:00 - Insight, inference, and logical systems 41:40 - Relevance realization, computation, and AI 46:30 - What intelligibility means beyond determination 50:40 - Inexhaustibility and the hyper-intelligible 58:20 - Dialectic, dialogos, and the practice of astonishment 01:03:40 - Porosity, the buffered self, and vulnerability 01:07:00 - Meaninglessness, spiritual practice, and cultural homelessness 01:12:30 - Reawakening astonishment without commodifying experience 01:14:10 - Ancient dialogue as a response to skepticism 01:17:30 - Socrates, Jesus, the Buddha, and embodied wisdom 01:22:00 - Religion, the sacred, and suspicion of God 01:27:30 - Trust, forgiveness, and cultural metanoia 01:30:20 - Closing thoughts and the next conversation Key Insights Scientism totalizes science by treating scientific method as the answer to every essential question. Astonishment is more original than curiosity because it opens inquiry rather than merely directing it toward control. Perplexity matters because some mysteries are not failures of explanation but enduring features of the human condition. Insight depends on living participation in intelligibility, not only inference or computation. AI and formal systems can imitate aspects of thought, but they do not resolve the deeper question of living noetic activity. Modern meaninglessness is intensified when institutions, practices, and role models no longer help people recover reverence and connectedness. Religion must be discussed at the level of human vulnerability, longing, trust, failure, and mystery, not only at the level of institutional critique. Resources Astonishments and Science: Engagements with William Desmond - edited by Paul Tyson William Desmond, "The Dearth of Astonishment: On Curiosity, Scientism and Thinking as Negativity" William Desmond, God and the Between Gabriel Marcel, Being and Having Bernard Lonergan, Insight Charles Taylor, A Secular Age Augustine's Cassiciacum dialogues About William Desmond William Desmond is a philosopher whose work engages metaphysics, religion, art, science, and transcendence. In this conversation, he and John Vervaeke continue their exploration of astonishment, scientism, the between, and philosophical practice. Follow The Lectern for conversations on philosophy, meaning, wisdom, and the recovery of deeper forms of knowing. Thanks for listening!
Get Huel today with this exclusive offer for New Customers of 15% OFF with code alexoconnor at https://huel.com/alexoconnor (Minimum $50 purchase).For early, ad-free access to videos, and to support the channel, subscribe to my Substack: https://www.alexoconnor.com.John Sellars is a Reader in philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London, a visiting Research Fellow at King's College London and a Member of Wolfson College, Oxford. His books include Lessons in Stoicism, The Fourfold Remedy, Aristotle and his work has been translated into over a dozen languages.Get John Sellars' books here.TIMESTAMPS:(0:00) What's So Great About Aristotle?(03:06) Actuality and Potentiality(12:59) Forms: Aristotle vs Plato(20:02) The Four Causes(25:16) Evolution and Final Causation(29:40) Did Aristotle Believe In God?(32:38) The Unmoved Mover(38:58) The Soul (Is Not What You Might Think)(48:51) How Aristotle Invented Formal Logic(55:54) The Nicomachean Ethics(01:15:56) Ethics as Descriptive(01:21:04) Where To Start With AristotleCONNECT:Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cosmicskeptic Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cosmicskeptic Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/cosmicskepticTikTok: @CosmicSkepticBusiness Email: contact@alexoconnor.comBrand enquiries: David@modernstoa.co
What if Atlantis is not a legend, but a memory of the world that drowned in the days of Noah? Caleb Jones makes that case in the most information-dense Atlantis breakdown you will ever hear. He goes back to Plato, back to Genesis, and back to a pre-flood civilization the Bible says was advanced, arrogant, and ruled by the offspring of gods and men.Caleb shows how the fountains of the great deep, the storehouses of snow and hail in the book of Job, and the lost city beneath the Azores all tell one connected story. He explains why an Egyptian priest somehow knew the underwater geography of an ocean he never crossed, and what that means for everything we think we know about ancient history. This episode is sponsored by: https://go.goodranchers.com/BLURRY — For a limited time, when you purchase any Father's Day Gift Box from Good Ranchers, they'll throw in FREE Wagyu Burgers for Dad to enjoy. https://zocdoc.com/blurry — Find and instantly book top-rated doctors today! - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It is not so easy to leave the cave. In this episode we look at a new series called Silo, which draws from Plato's allegory The Cave ,and reveals why sometimes revelation is not so well-received. Concerning the Urantia Book, such a bright light is indeed blinding for many. So how do people overcome the fear of new truth? Let's talk about that, plus Urantia news and some thoughts on Angels.
Ben Maller returns to the audio dojo for a Saturday special, taking a deep dive into a world straight out of The Twilight Zone. It's a dystopian digital wasteland filled with bots, sock puppets, engagement farming, and clipping gone wild — the Voodoo Boogaloo. A place where everything is upside down: up is down, first is last, good is bad, wrong is right, and insanity passes for sanity. Drawing on Plato's Cave, Ben explores how millions mistake curated clips, filtered images, and viral narratives for reality when they're only seeing shadows on the wall. It's a journey through the Matrix of modern social media and the illusion factory that powers it. Plus, another shocking plot twist in the never-ending Life of Maller saga as Ben's home appliance drama takes yet another unexpected turn, proving that sometimes fixing one problem only opens the door to two more, Follow, rate & review "The Fifth Hour!" https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fifth-hour-with-ben-maller/id1478163837 Engage with the podcast by emailing us at RealFifthHour@gmail.com ... Follow Ben on Twitter @BenMaller and on Instagram @BenMallerOnFOX ... #BenMaller #FSRWeekendsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ben Maller returns to the audio dojo for a Saturday special, taking a deep dive into a world straight out of The Twilight Zone. It's a dystopian digital wasteland filled with bots, sock puppets, engagement farming, and clipping gone wild — the Voodoo Boogaloo. A place where everything is upside down: up is down, first is last, good is bad, wrong is right, and insanity passes for sanity. Drawing on Plato's Cave, Ben explores how millions mistake curated clips, filtered images, and viral narratives for reality when they're only seeing shadows on the wall. It's a journey through the Matrix of modern social media and the illusion factory that powers it. Plus, another shocking plot twist in the never-ending Life of Maller saga as Ben's home appliance drama takes yet another unexpected turn, proving that sometimes fixing one problem only opens the door to two more, Follow, rate & review "The Fifth Hour!" https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fifth-hour-with-ben-maller/id1478163837 Engage with the podcast by emailing us at RealFifthHour@gmail.com ... Follow Ben on Twitter @BenMaller and on Instagram @BenMallerOnFOX ... #BenMaller #FSRWeekendsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Michael Basham.com SpiritForce01@gmail.com for PayPal! The proverbs (truths obscurely expressed, maxims, and parables) of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: 2 [a]That people may know skillful and godly [b]Wisdom and instruction, discern and comprehend the words of understanding and insight, 3 Receive instruction in wise dealing and the discipline of wise thoughtfulness, righteousness, justice, and integrity, 4 That prudence may be given to the simple, and knowledge, discretion, and discernment to the youth— 5 The wise also will hear and increase in learning, and the person of understanding will acquire skill and attain to sound counsel [so that he may be able to steer his course rightly]— 6 That people may understand a proverb and a figure of speech or an enigma with its interpretation, and the words of the wise and their dark sayings or riddles. 7 The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning and the principal and choice part of knowledge [its starting point and its essence]; but fools despise skillful and godly Wisdom, instruction, and discipline. 8 My son, hear the instruction of your father; reject not nor forsake the teaching of your mother. 9 For they are a [victor's] chaplet (garland) of grace upon your head and chains and pendants [of gold worn by kings] for your neck. 10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. 11 If they say, Come with us; let us lie in wait [to shed] blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause [and show that his piety is in vain]; 12 Let us swallow them up alive as does Sheol (the place of the dead), and whole, as those who go down into the pit [of the dead]; 13 We shall find and take all kinds of precious goods [when our victims are put out of the way], we shall fill our houses with plunder; 14 Throw in your lot with us [they insist] and be a sworn brother and comrade; let us all have one purse in common— 15 My son, do not walk in the way with them; restrain your foot from their path; 16 For their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood. 17 For in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird! 18 But [when these men set a trap for others] they are lying in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives. 19 So are the ways of everyone who is greedy of gain; such [greed for plunder] takes away the lives of its possessors. 20 [c]Wisdom cries aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the markets; 21 She cries at the head of the noisy intersections [in the chief gathering places]; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: 22 How long, O simple ones [open to evil], will you love being simple? And the scoffers delight in scoffing and [self-confident] fools hate knowledge? 23 If you will turn (repent) and give heed to my reproof, behold, I [[d]Wisdom] will pour out my spirit upon you, I will make my words known to you. 24 Because I have called and you have refused [to answer], have stretched out my hand and no man has heeded it, 25 And you treated as nothing all my counsel and would accept none of my reproof, 26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when the thing comes that shall cause you terror and panic— 27 When your panic comes as a storm and desolation and your calamity comes on as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. 28 Then will they call upon me [Wisdom] but I will not answer; they will seek me early and diligently but they will not find me. 29 Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord, 30 Would accept none of my counsel, and despised all my reproof, 31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way and be satiated with their own devices. 32 For the backsliding of the simple shall slay them, and the careless ease of [self-confident] fools shall destroy them. 33 But whoso hearkens to me [Wisdom] shall dwell securely and in confident trust and shall be quiet, without fear or dread of evil. Footnotes Proverbs 1:2 Over the doors of the school of Plato these words were written in Greek, “Let no one enter who is not a geometrician.” But Solomon opens wide the doors of his proverbs with a special message of welcome to the unlearned, the simple, the foolish, the young, and even to the wise—that all “will hear and increase in learning” (Prov. 1:5). Proverbs 1:2 A key term in the book of Proverbs, “Wisdom” is capitalized throughout, as God's design for living and as a reminder of Christ, Whom the apostle Paul calls “the wisdom of God... in Whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (I Cor. 1:24; Col. 2:3 kjv). Proverbs 1:20 Wisdom here is personified. Read “the Wisdom of God” instead of “Wisdom” and see the wonderful power of this book. Proverbs 1:23 See footnotes on Prov. 1:2 and 1:20.
Who gets to decide what's taught in college classrooms? And should the answer be different at private colleges than at public universities? In today's episode, guest host Avishay Artsy speaks to philosophy professor Martin Peterson about why Texas A&M University asked him to stop teaching part of Plato's “Symposium.” The two discuss academic freedom, who gets to decide what's taught in university classrooms, and the value of Plato's writing. The episode explores what happens when politics and educational values collide on campus. Host: Avishay Artsy, Vox Supervising Producer Guest: Martin Peterson, Professor of Philosophy at Texas A&M University We would love to hear from you. To tell us what you thought of this episode, email us at thegrayarea@vox.com or leave us a voicemail at 1-800-214-5749. Your comments and questions help us make a better show. And you can watch new episodes of The Gray Area on YouTube. Listen to The Gray Area ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Watch every episode ad-free & uncensored on Patreon: https://patreon.com/dannyjones Matthew Ehret is a journalist, lecturer, and founder of the Canadian Patriot Review. SPONSORS https://amentara.com/go/dj - Use code DJP22 for 22% off. https://mengotomars.com - Use code DANNY for 50% off for life. https://whiterabbitenergy.com/?ref=DJP - Use code DJP for 20% off. EPISODE LINKS https://substack.com/@matthewehret https://canadianpatriot.org FOLLOW DANNY JONES https://www.instagram.com/dannyjones https://twitter.com/jonesdanny OUTLINE 00:00 - The plan to reset society on 9/11 03:45 - Plato 12:21 - The fallacy of the creation of the universe 18:28 - Robert Sopalsky & the God-shaped hole 21:50 - Defining wisdom & the connection to truth 26:55 - Epstein's connection to ancient Roman empire 31:50 - Jacques Costeau's views on depopulation 37:57 - Cosmic radiation's impact on the Earth 47:48 - Adversarial scarecrows & trojan horse assumptions 53:05 - Thomas Malthus' prediction of cataclysms 58:39 - The 9 muses & the mystery of creativity 01:01:09 - Kepler's 3 laws 01:08:06 - The forbidden ways of thinking 01:11:01 - Matt's film on the UFO psy-op 01:13:30 - The Esalen program on psychedelics 01:18:03 - Why Satan chooses to be evil 01:26:57 - UFOs are a multi-generational magic trick 01:33:47 - The Rockefellers' control grid 01:41:44 - The one-world alien religion 01:50:20 - Plato's noble lie 01:55:49 - Plato's definition of a human being 02:00:05 - Straussians & Plato's secret doctrine 02:07:18 - What it means to be a Platanist 02:17:01 - Sketpicism of Telepathy Tapes & Uri Geller 02:24:11 - The power of self-deceit & belief 02:28:40 - Washington Irving Bishop 02:35:16 - Houdini's role in national intelligence 02:36:57 - The secret society that killed Lincoln & started the KKK 02:45:20 - Oneida cult 02:47:06 - The paradox of Presidential assassinations 02:52:50 - Shadow organization running the world today 02:57:15 - Dark strategy behind the Epstein files 03:05:10 - The Silicon Valley movement 03:12:39 - Tavistockian method of breaking people 03:15:27 - Suspicious names behind UFO disclosure 03:27:48 - The narrative that explains UFO disclosure 03:33:40 - Varginha, Brazil UFO incident Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Welcome to Episode 338 of Lucretius Today. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most complete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world. Each week we walk you through the Epicurean texts, and we discuss how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you today. If you find the Epicurean worldview attractive, we invite you to join us in the study of Epicurus at EpicureanFriends.com, where we discuss this and all of our podcast episodes.This week we start are continuing our series reviewing Cicero's "Academic Questions" from an Epicurean perspective, which gives us an overview of the issues that split Plato's Academy and helps us understand Epicurus' position on the same issues. This week will continue toward completion of Section 8 of Book 2Our text will come fromCicero - Academic Questions - Yonge We'll likely stick with Yonge primarily, but we'll also refer to the Rackham translation here:Cicero On Nature Of Gods Academica Loeb Rackham : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archivehttps://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/5128-episode-338-eataq20-are-knowledge-and-wisdom-available-only-to-gods/
This evening, we unpack the day's market movements with Terence Hove, learn about the money laundering risk concern and the impact it has on SA staying off the greylist with FIC, unpack how streaming platforms cash in on live sporting events with MyBroadband, look at the key takeaways from African Energy Forum with Standard Bank, and, in our SMME feature, we enter the world of cafes with Plato Coffee SAfm Market Update - Podcasts and live stream
Ryan and Alex journey through the Gnostic scriptures, Plato's Timaeus, mystery religions, the symbolism of the stars, the teachings of Zoroaster, and the enigmatic Gospel of Judas Iscariot.
Discover the real Atlantis in this deep dive into Plato's Timaeus and Critias. Jason Quitt unveils how the fall of the Pole Star in 9,600 BCE matches the "destruction" of the lost city.Video Episode: https://youtu.be/qahzHZ5JG_oFor thousands of years people have searched for the lost city of Atlantis, scouring the ocean floor and the far corners of the earth for a sunken continent, but what if Atlantis was never a place at all? In this episode, returning guest Jason Quitt joins Chance to unveil the central thesis of his brand new book, The Shining Island, in the very first long-form conversation recorded about it. Together they walk through Plato's two Atlantis dialogues, the Timaeus and the Critias, and make the case that the entire story is a celestial allegory, a creation myth written in the stars. The destruction of Atlantis, dated by Plato to 9,600 BCE, lines up with a moment when there was no pole star to guide humanity. This is a deep, dense, and genuinely mind-expanding conversation about the oldest story ever told, the story of the stars.Remote Biofield Tuning sessions with Chance are available via Zoom. Learn more and book at https://www.innerversepodcast.com/biofield-tuningFull archives, extended episodes, and member community at https://www.innerversepodcast.com/plusWatch the extended episode of this podcasthttps://www.innerversepodcast.com/plus/jason-quitt-atlantisPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/innerverse/posts/real-atlantis-of-161284133Substack: https://innerversepodcast.substack.com/p/jason-quitt-shining-islandYoutube: https://youtu.be/zpysvZRJogsLINKSJason Quitt: https://thecrystalsun.com/https://www.innerversepodcast.com/episodes/jason-quitt-shining-islandSUPPORT INNERVERSE WITH AFFILIATESKyle Denton's Potent Plant Medicines – Tippecanoe Herbs (use coupon code 'innerverse'): https://www.tippecanoeherbs.comThe World's Best Tuning Fork: https://biofieldtuningstore.com/collections/the-sonic-slider-collection?ref=innerverseFlower Elixirs by LotusWei: https://www.lotuswei.com/innerverse Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
American democracy is in a period of crisis, so it seems natural to look back to its origins. So here in Episode 10 of Season 5, I interview Professor Josiah Ober. Having previously taught at Princeton University, Ober is a professor of political science, classics, and philosophy at Stanford University, the Director of the Stanford Civics Initiative, as well as a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. The author of many books, including Mass and Elite in Democratic Athens (1989), The Rise and Fall of Classical Greece (2015), and Civic Bargain (2023), co-written with Brook Manville, he was previously a Madison's Notes guest in Season 3. Drawing on his 2015 book, we discuss the history of ancient Greece and the political legacy of its classical period. Our conversation ranges from the Bronze Age Collapse and the age of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey to the rise of the Greek city-state and decline of democratic Athens. We discuss contingencies of the Peloponnesian war, the cases for and against Alcibiades, whether the polity flourished under Macedonian and Roman empires, the relationship of philosophy to civics, was Socrates guilty and how much did Plato invent about him, in what way the god Hermes symbolized Greek trade in the Mediterranean, if James Madison truly understood ancient history, and lastly Ober's work with the growing civics programs in American higher education. Hosted by Ryan Shinkel, Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. The transcript for this interview is available on our new Substack page, “Madison's Footnotes.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
American democracy is in a period of crisis, so it seems natural to look back to its origins. So here in Episode 10 of Season 5, I interview Professor Josiah Ober. Having previously taught at Princeton University, Ober is a professor of political science, classics, and philosophy at Stanford University, the Director of the Stanford Civics Initiative, as well as a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. The author of many books, including Mass and Elite in Democratic Athens (1989), The Rise and Fall of Classical Greece (2015), and Civic Bargain (2023), co-written with Brook Manville, he was previously a Madison's Notes guest in Season 3. Drawing on his 2015 book, we discuss the history of ancient Greece and the political legacy of its classical period. Our conversation ranges from the Bronze Age Collapse and the age of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey to the rise of the Greek city-state and decline of democratic Athens. We discuss contingencies of the Peloponnesian war, the cases for and against Alcibiades, whether the polity flourished under Macedonian and Roman empires, the relationship of philosophy to civics, was Socrates guilty and how much did Plato invent about him, in what way the god Hermes symbolized Greek trade in the Mediterranean, if James Madison truly understood ancient history, and lastly Ober's work with the growing civics programs in American higher education. Hosted by Ryan Shinkel, Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. The transcript for this interview is available on our new Substack page, “Madison's Footnotes.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history
American democracy is in a period of crisis, so it seems natural to look back to its origins. So here in Episode 10 of Season 5, I interview Professor Josiah Ober. Having previously taught at Princeton University, Ober is a professor of political science, classics, and philosophy at Stanford University, the Director of the Stanford Civics Initiative, as well as a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. The author of many books, including Mass and Elite in Democratic Athens (1989), The Rise and Fall of Classical Greece (2015), and Civic Bargain (2023), co-written with Brook Manville, he was previously a Madison's Notes guest in Season 3. Drawing on his 2015 book, we discuss the history of ancient Greece and the political legacy of its classical period. Our conversation ranges from the Bronze Age Collapse and the age of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey to the rise of the Greek city-state and decline of democratic Athens. We discuss contingencies of the Peloponnesian war, the cases for and against Alcibiades, whether the polity flourished under Macedonian and Roman empires, the relationship of philosophy to civics, was Socrates guilty and how much did Plato invent about him, in what way the god Hermes symbolized Greek trade in the Mediterranean, if James Madison truly understood ancient history, and lastly Ober's work with the growing civics programs in American higher education. Hosted by Ryan Shinkel, Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. The transcript for this interview is available on our new Substack page, “Madison's Footnotes.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
American democracy is in a period of crisis, so it seems natural to look back to its origins. So here in Episode 10 of Season 5, I interview Professor Josiah Ober. Having previously taught at Princeton University, Ober is a professor of political science, classics, and philosophy at Stanford University, the Director of the Stanford Civics Initiative, as well as a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. The author of many books, including Mass and Elite in Democratic Athens (1989), The Rise and Fall of Classical Greece (2015), and Civic Bargain (2023), co-written with Brook Manville, he was previously a Madison's Notes guest in Season 3. Drawing on his 2015 book, we discuss the history of ancient Greece and the political legacy of its classical period. Our conversation ranges from the Bronze Age Collapse and the age of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey to the rise of the Greek city-state and decline of democratic Athens. We discuss contingencies of the Peloponnesian war, the cases for and against Alcibiades, whether the polity flourished under Macedonian and Roman empires, the relationship of philosophy to civics, was Socrates guilty and how much did Plato invent about him, in what way the god Hermes symbolized Greek trade in the Mediterranean, if James Madison truly understood ancient history, and lastly Ober's work with the growing civics programs in American higher education. Hosted by Ryan Shinkel, Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. The transcript for this interview is available on our new Substack page, “Madison's Footnotes.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Plato, with total seriousness (and probably a bit of humor too), said that “of all the wild things, a boy is the most difficult to handle.” A lot of parents would agree to that.
Muitas mulheres temem que a maternidade lhes tire a liberdade e dificulte a construção de uma carreira. Mas e se, para algumas, ela fosse justamente o impulso que faltava?Marília é casada com um diplomata e mãe da Pina, que nasceu em Tel Aviv há seis anos. Desde então, a família já passou por São Paulo, Brasília, Orlando e agora, Londres. Foram seis escolas para Pina e quase seis vidas para Marília.Marília fala aqui da gestação em Jerusalém, das mudanças e conta como nunca deixou de perseguir o seu desejo mais íntimo.Movida pelo modelo de mãe que queria ser, Marília voltou a atuar e abriu a livraria Plato, em Brasília — uma cidade que não era dela nem do marido, mas que viria a se tornar o ponto de retorno da família.Com muita honestidade sobre suas escolhas, ela fala da vida dividida entre Brasília e Londres, onde hoje vivem o marido e a filha.Assim, longe de afastá-la da realização pessoal, a maternidade lhe deu chão e abriu caminhos. Como entender isso?Talvez porque para se tornar quem se é, é preciso antes se autorizar. E, para algumas mulheres, a maternidade pode ser justamente essa autorização fundamental: aquela a partir da qual todo o resto começa a fluir.Obrigada, Marília, por nos lembrar que não existe uma única forma de ser mãe e que cada mulher inventa o seu próprio caminho.
9 Hours and 55 MinutesPG-13Thomas777 is a revisionist historian and a fiction writer.This is the first 10 episodes of our ongoing Continental Philosophy series with Thomas777. He covers Aristotle, Thucydides, Socrates, Plato, Hobbes, Machiavelli, Grotius, and Hegel.Thomas' SubstackRadio Free Chicago - T777 and J BurdenThomas777 MerchandiseThomas' Book "Steelstorm Pt. 1"Thomas' Book "Steelstorm Pt. 2"Thomas on TwitterThomas' CashApp - $7homas777Pete and Thomas777 'At the Movies'Support Pete on His WebsitePete's PatreonPete's SubstackPete's SubscribestarPete's GUMROADPete's VenmoPete's Buy Me a CoffeePete on FacebookPete on TwitterBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-pete-quinones-show--6071361/support.
What did "materialism" actually mean to the ancients, and how does it differ from our modern scientific understanding? In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Max Wade (Ph.D., Boston College) to bridge the gap between ancient Greek ontology and modern philosophical debates.We dive deep into the "weirdness" of ancient thought, exploring why the Stoics believed in physical gods and why the Epicureans were the only true ancient materialists. Dr. Wade challenges the secularized modern reading of Socrates and Plato, revealing how their theories of divine design were actually a reactionary response to pre-Socratic natural philosophy.In this episode, we discuss:The Miriology of Being: Why the relationship between parts and wholes is the key to unlocking ancient ontology.Active vs. Passive Matter: The crucial distinction that separates Platonists, Aristotelians, and Stoics from the Epicureans.The "Swerve": Why materialism and determinism were considered incompatible in the ancient world.Plato's Atlantis & Egyptian Wisdom: Why reading Plato literally misses his point about the soul's forgetfulness and eternal truth.Marxism & Hegel: How modern materialism is often a misreading of ancient concepts through a German Idealist lens.About Our Guest: Dr. Max Wade is a scholar of ancient philosophy whose dissertation focused on Plotinus' Ontology of Artifacts. Follow his work at maxway.substack.com.Send us Fan Mail Musis by Bitterlake, Used with Permission, all rights to BitterlakeSupport the showCrew:Host: C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesArt Design: Corn and C. Derick VarnLinks and Social Media:twitter: @varnvlogblue sky: @varnvlog.bsky.socialYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeCurrent Patreon at the Sponsor Tier: Jordan Sheldon, Mark J. Matthews, Lindsay Kimbrough, RedWolf, DRV, Kenneth McKee, JY Chan, Matthew Monahan, Parzival, Adriel Mixon, Buddy Roark, Daniel Petrovic,Julian, Drea, Free Beer
We continue our Lord of the Rings study with a detour to Plato and a different ring of power.Purchase the entire course, including our recorded live meetings, here:Purchase CourseWatch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/Z_OfCpjFgTkBecome a patron of Mythic Mind at patreon.com/mythicmindListen to all THREE Mythic Mind podcasts:Mythic MindMythic Mind GamesMythic Mind Movies & Shows(or become a patron to get all three shows in one ad-free feed)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mythic-mind--5808321/support.
What if everything you think you know about Ancient Greece is wrong?In this episode of History Rage, bestselling historian Adrian Goldsworthy dismantles the comforting myth of a civilised, philosophical utopia. Forget marble statues and thoughtful men in cloaks — this is a world of bitter rivalries, brutal warfare, political volatility, and communities obsessed with proving they were the best.Drawing on his latest book, Athens and Sparta: The Rivalry That Shaped the Ancient World, Adrian reveals a Greek world far more dangerous, competitive and unstable than most documentaries dare to show.Ancient Greece: 800 Rival States, Not One Noble NationThere was no “Greece” in the modern sense. Instead, there were 800–1,000 fiercely independent city-states, constantly competing for prestige, power and survival.In this episode, we explore:Why the Persian invasions weren't an attack on a united GreeceWhy more Greeks fought for Persia than against itHow competition — not culture — defined Greek identityWhy colonisation, warfare and rivalry were normalThe performance culture of honour and reputationThis isn't Plato's academy come to life. It's a volatile world where cities needed enemies — but not so destroyed that there was no one left to applaud their victories.Athens vs Sparta: Democracy, Discipline and MythWe also unpack the two giants of the Greek world:Athens – Radical Democracy or Mob Rule?Athens pioneered a form of direct democracy that feels startlingly modern — and terrifyingly unstable.Every male citizen could voteThousands could serve on juriesOffices were filled by lotteryCitizens were paid for political serviceLeaders could be exiled through ostracismAdrian explains how Athenian democracy worked in practice — including how the Assembly once voted to execute an entire rebellious city… and reversed the decision the next day.This was participation politics at its most extreme.Sparta – Military Machine or Misunderstood Society?Sparta's reputation as a society of full-time soldiers doesn't tell the whole story.Because the Spartans wrote almost nothing themselves, much of what we “know” comes from outsiders — often centuries later.Adrian challenges the clichés:Were Spartans truly permanent warriors?How rigid was their society in reality?What was life like for the Helots?Why did Sparta's citizen population collapse?How democratic was Sparta — really?The result is a more complex, less cartoonish Sparta than Hollywood's 300 ever allowed. About Adrian GoldsworthyAdrian Goldsworthy is a leading historian of the ancient world and bestselling author. Though best known for his work on Rome, he has written extensively on Greece and the classical world.BookAthens and Sparta: The Rivalry That Shaped the Ancient WorldBuy: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10120/9781800245426
Excuses, excuses: The Parable of the Banquet St. Luke 14:16-24 & Deuteronomy 20:1-9 by The Rev'd Dr. Matthew Colvin I am often asked about “application” in sermons. “I enjoy a good sermon,” someone will say, “but I need to have application so I know what to do with it.” Well, you will notice that neither Fr. Bill nor I, his understudy, do very much with “application.” The pulpit is not the place to give you “ten steps to a better marriage” or “key principles of childrearing” or “the blueprints to build a Christian business.” Rather, we are concerned with the Biblical story, and we want to apply you to it, so that you read the Bible as your story. When Paul says, “These things happened as examples for us, upon whom the ends of the ages have come,” he means that to follow Jesus, we need to understand ourselves as being part of the story of the people of God. That is why Hebrews 11 gives us the “hall of faith”; it is why Stephen's sermon in Acts 7 sums up the entire history of Israel; it is why, when Peter is telling Christian wives to respect their husbands, he calls them “daughters of Sarah.” We are consistently told to inscribe ourselves into the story of God's people Israel. There is nothing more practical. Indeed, if we do not get this right, no amount of “application” will work. Our lectionary for this morning pairs Deuteronomy's laws about exemption from military service with Jesus' parable of the banquet and the excuses made by those who were invited. It is, if we think about it, a very odd transposition, rather as though military language had found its way into a wedding or some similar occasion: “WILT thou have this Woman to thy wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honour, and keep her in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?” “Yes, sir, corporal, SIR. Hoo-ah!” So what is going on here? To understand the parable, we need to think about the nature of banquets and the nature of the excuses. Let's start with the excuses. Verse 20's excuse, “I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come” is an allusion to Deuteronomy 24:5. That passage gives the grounds for the exemption of any newly married bridegroom from military service for a year: “that he may bring happiness to his wife whom he has taken.” There is here something of the logic of the law against boiling a kid in its mother's milk: in both cases, one must not mix up life and death, joy and sorrow. In verse 18, we should understand “I have bought a field and must go out and see it” to mean that the transaction needs to be complete. It is the “closing” of a real estate purchase, not an inspection at leisure that could just as easily be postponed for another day. Legally, socially, this is a very good excuse. Verse 19's excuse about needing to test “five yoke of oxen” recalls the calling of Elisha by Elijah in 1 Kings 19:19. There, Elisha is actually in the middle of plowing when Elijah throws his mantle over him: “Tag, you're it!” This is an act of sudden investiture. Elisha responds to it with alacrity: “he left the oxen and ran after Elijah” and said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” The excuses are such powerful ones that they actually have statutory warrant in Biblical law. Legally, socially, by all the etiquette of ancient Israel, these excuses are golden, unimpeachable, valid. But in the parable, they are not good excuses in the eyes of the host. Who is he? He is introduced as ἄνθρωπός τις, “a certain man.” Immediately, we recall other parables: “A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went in a far country for a long time.” (Mt 21:33) “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none.” (Lk. 13:6) “A certain man had two sons.” (Lk. 15:11) “A certain rich man had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.” (Lk. 16:1) There are other instances where “a certain man” is someone else, but this is a pretty good sample of instances where “a certain man” is instantly known to stand for God. The parable, then, shows us God's response to the excuse-makers. Note that the “certain man” operates through servants. God is frequently depicted this way, sending his angels and human prophets to do his bidding and deliver his messages. God's reaction to the refusal of his invitations is anger (ὀργισθείς). This requires some explanation. In Matthew's gospel, the banquet is a wedding feast for a king's son, and the invited guests behave much like the wicked vinedressers: they “lay hold of his servants and treat them violently and kill them.” But Luke's version has a different emphasis. It is less allegorized and is designed rather to highlight the reversal of fortune and the approaching deadline. “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city and bring here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.” — all of them likely to be beggars, likely to smell bad, likely to be shabbily dressed. Precisely the sort of unsightly people one does not want at a banquet, any sort of banquet. They would never have been invited had not the originally invited guests refused. Just as Esau rejected his birthright and Jacob received it; just as the majority of the Jews rejected the Messiah so that the gospel might be preached to the gentiles, so here, as Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 1:28, “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no flesh might boast in the presence of God.” This is someting God did in history. Unlike every other religion on earth, the Bible makes public claims about events that took place at particular times: “In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against the fortified cities of Judah and took them.” “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.” Or even in our Nicene Creed, where week after week, we make mention of the name of a corrupt Roman official named Pontius Pilate. Contrast the claims of other religions: that Mohammad was out there in the desert and an angel appeared to him and dictated the Quran. That Joseph Smith was guided by an angel named Moroni and found gold plates inscribed with “Reformed Hieroglyphics” which he translated into King James English. That Siddartha Gautama was meditating under a fig tree and became enlightened. The Mary Baker Eddy or L. Ron Hubbard or some other guru has discovered the secrets of the universe. Even in antiquity, the Stoic sage or Epicurus or the philosopher in Plato's Republic is never about history. It is always private revelation or special understanding of timeless truths or the realm of forms or deep insight into nature. By contrast, the assumption of Jesus' parables is that God deals with Israel in time. The invitation to the banquet and the host's angry reaction to the invited guests refusal, and the verdict at the end of the story that “none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet” — all presuppose that Israel is facing a decisive crisis in its history. The invitation to the banquet is the gospel summons to follow the Messiah — and this is appropriate, since Jesus is so frequently shown feasting during his earthly ministry. He feasts so much that he incurs the charge of being a glutton and a winebibber. Everywhere he goes, he feasts. He feasts in the house of the Pharisee named Simon; in the house of a tax collector named Zacchaeus; at a wedding at Cana; in company with immoral women, and with “tax collectors and sinners.” This was unusual even by Jewish standards, so that some come to Jesus and ask him, “The Pharisees and the disciples of John fast a lot, but your disciples do not fast.” Jesus explains that the disciples of Jesus do not fast because the bridegroom is with them. What is the appropriate response to the invitation? What do etiquette and emotional rightness and social expectation dictate? Jesus' words about John's ministry and the Jews' reaction to it, in Luke 7:32, are couched in similar terms: “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; We mourned to you, and you did not weep.” The refusal to recognize Jesus as the one Israel has been waiting for is like the refusal of the invitation to the feast. It is a rejection of the good ending of the story, a refusal to take part in the consummation. It is as if all the actors walked off the stage of a Shakespeare play after act 4. There are times when we want to describe a process has failed to produce its intended fulfillment and consummation — say, when I am talking to my Greek students who are struggling with Greek grammar and vocabulary. If they never go on to actually read Greek literature, I say it is like “a courtship without a marriage.” This is not about timeless truths or Buddhist spiritual enlightenment. A marriage is a historical event. That is the language that God uses about his relationship with his people. The coming of Jesus is the climax of Israel's story. And to everyone, the invitation poses the stark alternative: either enter into the banquet, or be excluded. Remember the older brother of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15: Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.' But he was angry and refused to go in•. (Luke 15:25–28, ESV) Or we may recall the words of Jesus after he has healed the centurion's servant in Matthew 8:11: I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. (Matthew 8:11–12, ESV) Or there is the parable of the wise and foolish virgins in Matthew 25: And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. 11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!' 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.' (Matthew 25:10–12) Or we may remember what C.S. Lewis calls the “unforgettable words” in John's gospel's account of the Last Supper, once Jesus has handed the sop to Judas and told him, “What you are going to do, do quickly”: So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night. (John 13:30, ESV) It was night. Judas is literally in the outer darkness. To be excluded from the banquet, to be shut out in the darkness, away from the light and joy of the wedding or the feast or the Passover meal, is all the more tragic in light of the fact that those who are excluded are the very ones who had been invited. Jesus “came to his own, and his own did not receive him.” The result is a crucial difference between Judaism and Christianity over the place of Jesus in the story of the people of God. Can you be a Jew and believe in Jesus? It is a silly question. All the original disciples were Jews. As Peter says, “The promise is to you and to your children” and “You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.' (Acts 3:25, ESV) But can you follow Rabbinic Judaism and believe that Jesus is the Messiah? That is a different question. The Church places Jesus at the hinge of history, dating our years with the words “Anno Domini” from his first coming and looking forward to his second coming, when he will judge the quick and the dead. Judaism, by contrast, denies that Jesus is the Messiah, and insists that all the passages of Scripture that point to him — the sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham, Joseph and his brothers, the suffering servant in Isaiah, “behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel”, Zechariah's “behold your king comes to you, meek and having compassion, lowly and riding on a donkey,” David's beloved son Absalom suspended from a tree and pierced by a spear, and all the rest — are really not about him. Christians say, with Paul, “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us; therefore, let us keep the feast.” In saying this, we are saying that Christ is the climax of the story. It is the natural function of feasting to mark consummations. Weddings, coronations, graduation, retirements, anniversaries, birthdays — all are marked by parties, cakes, feasting, toasts, ceremony. And that is the difference between Christianity and Judaism: Has the story of Israel reached its climax? Has the bridegroom come? Does history now stand revealed as His story? Or are we, with the Rabbis, in the position of insisting that the messiah has not come, and that the Passover does not point to him. God had promised Moses that “I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:18–19, NKJV) And the rabbis say, “Jesus is certainly not the prophet like Moses, but unfortunately he is so much like Moses that we had better delete Moses from the Passover liturgy, lest Christians start using the haggadah to persuade Jews to follow Jesus.” And that is what they have done. David Daube says, “…[T]he figure of Moses, dominating the Biblical narrative of the exodus from Egypt and, naturally, at one time prominent, too, in the celebration of the deliverance on Passover eve, is radically eliminated: in the Passover eve liturgy as it stands, his name is not mentioned once in any of the prayers and recitals woven around the Biblical record, and, more than that, no Biblical passage mentioning it is quoted. It is a fantastic tour de force. Think what it means. It is as if one were to spend annually a night commemorating Britain's rescue in the Second World War, rehearsing the main course of events as well as telling elaborate stories about them — without once mentioning Churchill. A fantastic tour de force: but there must be no human Mediator. We are left with a religion full of pointers that were designed to lead us to Jesus as the climax of the covenant, but the rabbis insist that they do not; a religion of tabernacle and temple that are all about God dwelling with His people, but now that Jesus has come, and ascended and sent the Holy Spirit, complete with the sound of “a mighty rushing wind that filled the whole house where they sat” just like God moving into the temple of Solomon and the tabernacle of Moses — now, no, the rabbis say, it is not about Jesus. But then, Judaism no longer has a temple, and the entire system that God gave in the Torah does not work without the Temple. The emperor Constantine's grandson, Julian the Apostate, hated Christianity and decided he wanted to prove it false, and the way he decided to do it was by rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem that had been destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, in fulfillment of Jesus' prophecies on the Mount of Olives. Julian died before he could do it. Again, Judaism is a religion whose Scriptures promised the forgiveness of sins, so that God's people could live with him, and that demonstrated, as though by a gigantic show and tell of continual slaughter of animals for centuries, of daily splashing of blood against the altar, of red heifers sacrificed every year on the day of atonement, that the forgiveness of sins would happen through blood. But now, the rabbis tell us, the death of Christ was not the fulfillment of the sacrificial system — and oh, by the way, you can't offer sacrifice anymore, anyway. There are still people named “Cohen” or “Cohn” — my mother in law's family, for instance — but they are more likely to be making movies than sacrificing animals. They continue to set out a cup for Elijah, that forerunner of the Messiah promised in Malachi. And Jesus says, “But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. (Matthew 17:12, NKJV) The church father, Athanasius of Alexandria puts it this way in his On the Incarnation: So the Jews are telling fables, and putting off the time which is actually now… They are suffering like one, maimed in mind, who might see the earth illumined by the sun, but denies the sun which illumines it. For what more has he who is expected by them to do when he comes? Call the Gentiles? But they have already been called. To make prophet and king and vision to cease? This has already happened. To refute the godlessness of idols? It has already been refuted and condemned. To destroy death? It is already destroyed. What then must christ do, which has not been done? Or what is left unfulfilled, that the Jews now rejoice and disbelieve? For if, as we see, they have neither king, nor prophet, nor Jerusalem, nor sacrifice, nor vision, but the whole world is filled with the knowledge of God, and those from the Gentiles are abandoning godlessness, and henceforth taking refuge in the God of Abraham through the Word, our Lord Jesus Christ, it should be clear even to those who are exceedingly obstinate that Christ has come, and that he illumines absolutely all with his light and teaches the true and divine teaching concerning his Father. We are about to partake of Holy Communion, which is rightly understood as a continuation of Jesus' meals with his disciples, and an anticipation of the great wedding feast of the Lamb at which “many will come from east and west and recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” The Holy Communion is thus truly the consummation of the story of people of God. By partaking in it, we share in Christ our Passover. We have been crucified with Him, so that we may also share in his resurrection. We locate ourselves in the story of Israel, which is the story of the Messiah. And we recite the shape of the story and inscribe ourselves in it when we say, “Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.”
Welcome to Episode 337 of Lucretius To day. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most comp lete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world. Each week we walk you through the Epicurean texts, and we discuss how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you today. If you find the Epicurean worldview attractive, we invite you to join us in the study of Epicurus at EpicureanFriends.com, where we discuss this and all of our podcast episodes. This week we are continuing our series reviewing Cicero's "Academic Questions" from an Epicurean perspective, which gives us an overview of the issues that split Plato's Academy and helps us understand Epicurus' position on the same issues. This week will continue in Section 8 of Book Two. Our text will come fromCicero - Academic Questions - Yonge We'll likely stick with Yonge primarily, but we'll also refer to the Rackham translation here: Cicero On Nature Of Gods Academica Loeb Rackham : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archivehttps://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/5120-episode-337-eataq19-confidence-in-knowledge-and-the-epicurean-attitude-toward-pa/
Escucha el podcast del programa El Plato del Día a través de CDN Radio, en Santo Domingo, República Dominicana correspondiente al viernes 12-junio-2026.
In 1971, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi threw a party to celebrate the 2,500-year anniversary of the Persian Empire. It was planned to be a massive party, with tents set up in the desert, and invitations sent to just about every world leader across both the Western and Soviet blocs. Robert Templer writes about this celebration–and how it presaged the events of the Iranian Revolution of 1979–in his new book The Shah's Party: And the Iranian Revolution That Followed (Hurst, 2026). Robert Templer is a writer and former professor at the Central European University, where he also founded a research centre on post-conflict recovery. From 2011-2012, he was director of the Asia Programme at the International Crisis Group and has visited Iran on many occasions. He is the author of four books including the acclaimed Shadows and Wind: A View of Modern Vietnam and A Basilisk Glance: Poisoners from Plato to Putin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
In 1971, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi threw a party to celebrate the 2,500-year anniversary of the Persian Empire. It was planned to be a massive party, with tents set up in the desert, and invitations sent to just about every world leader across both the Western and Soviet blocs. Robert Templer writes about this celebration–and how it presaged the events of the Iranian Revolution of 1979–in his new book The Shah's Party: And the Iranian Revolution That Followed (Hurst, 2026). Robert Templer is a writer and former professor at the Central European University, where he also founded a research centre on post-conflict recovery. From 2011-2012, he was director of the Asia Programme at the International Crisis Group and has visited Iran on many occasions. He is the author of four books including the acclaimed Shadows and Wind: A View of Modern Vietnam and A Basilisk Glance: Poisoners from Plato to Putin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science
In 1971, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi threw a party to celebrate the 2,500-year anniversary of the Persian Empire. It was planned to be a massive party, with tents set up in the desert, and invitations sent to just about every world leader across both the Western and Soviet blocs. Robert Templer writes about this celebration–and how it presaged the events of the Iranian Revolution of 1979–in his new book The Shah's Party: And the Iranian Revolution That Followed (Hurst, 2026). Robert Templer is a writer and former professor at the Central European University, where he also founded a research centre on post-conflict recovery. From 2011-2012, he was director of the Asia Programme at the International Crisis Group and has visited Iran on many occasions. He is the author of four books including the acclaimed Shadows and Wind: A View of Modern Vietnam and A Basilisk Glance: Poisoners from Plato to Putin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/middle-eastern-studies
Athenian Democracy provides innovative readings of ancient theorists to reveal both the complexity of democracy's achievements and its limits. In Athenian Democracy: Modern Mythmakers and Ancient Theorists (U Notre Dame Press, 2026), noted political scientist Arlene W. Saxonhouse offers fresh and provocative explorations of ancient political theorists, lending new insights about democracy's foundations and principles. These insights are more relevant than ever in a moment when the viability of democratic regimes is under scrutiny. Saxonhouse provides an in-depth discussion of the modern mythmakers (Hobbes, Paine, Hamilton, Mill, and Arendt, among others) who, in praising or excoriating Athenian democracy, have in fact distorted it to support their own assessments of democracy. She then offers detailed reinterpretations of the writings on democracy of four ancient theorists who had directly experienced life in the first democratic regime: Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato, and Aristotle. Saxonhouse argues that the mythmaking that often attends our views of Athenian democracy—whether as a flawed, slaveholding regime that fostered factions and oppressed women or as an ideal regime of egalitarian and participatory democracy—blinds us to the deeper understanding of democracies that these ancient theorists can offer. Arlene W. Saxonhouse is the Caroline Robbins Collegiate Professor of Political Science, Emerita, at the University of Michigan. She is the author of numerous books and articles dealing with ancient Greek political thought, including Free Speech and Democracy in Ancient Athens and Fear of Diversity: The Birth of Political Science in Ancient Greek Thought. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
John Dewey is among history's most celebrated thinkers on democracy and education, yet he has often been underappreciated and misunderstood as a philosopher. This book paints a fresh portrait of Dewey as not only a reformer of schooling but also a profound theorist of human development, whose vision of the centrality of education to democracy, philosophy, and flourishing can still inspire us today. What can we learn from this great thinker as we face challenges such as widespread drudgery and disaffection, estrangement among individuals and groups, and a crisis of democracy? This book supplies the answers, offering a bold new account of Dewey as an educational theorist who is essential for our troubled times. Revealing the true scope of Dewey's educational vision, this book provides a new perspective on a neglected aspect of the philosophical tradition. Natalia Rogach Alexander's Growing People: The Enduring Legacy of John Dewey (Columbia University Press, 2025) presents an alternative canon—running from Plato to Rousseau to Du Bois—that recasts philosophy in terms of education and, in so doing, opens new pathways for social critique and the liberation of human potential. Natalia Rogach Alexander is a lecturer in philosophy at Columbia University. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Athenian Democracy provides innovative readings of ancient theorists to reveal both the complexity of democracy's achievements and its limits. In Athenian Democracy: Modern Mythmakers and Ancient Theorists (U Notre Dame Press, 2026), noted political scientist Arlene W. Saxonhouse offers fresh and provocative explorations of ancient political theorists, lending new insights about democracy's foundations and principles. These insights are more relevant than ever in a moment when the viability of democratic regimes is under scrutiny. Saxonhouse provides an in-depth discussion of the modern mythmakers (Hobbes, Paine, Hamilton, Mill, and Arendt, among others) who, in praising or excoriating Athenian democracy, have in fact distorted it to support their own assessments of democracy. She then offers detailed reinterpretations of the writings on democracy of four ancient theorists who had directly experienced life in the first democratic regime: Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato, and Aristotle. Saxonhouse argues that the mythmaking that often attends our views of Athenian democracy—whether as a flawed, slaveholding regime that fostered factions and oppressed women or as an ideal regime of egalitarian and participatory democracy—blinds us to the deeper understanding of democracies that these ancient theorists can offer. Arlene W. Saxonhouse is the Caroline Robbins Collegiate Professor of Political Science, Emerita, at the University of Michigan. She is the author of numerous books and articles dealing with ancient Greek political thought, including Free Speech and Democracy in Ancient Athens and Fear of Diversity: The Birth of Political Science in Ancient Greek Thought. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science
Athenian Democracy provides innovative readings of ancient theorists to reveal both the complexity of democracy's achievements and its limits. In Athenian Democracy: Modern Mythmakers and Ancient Theorists (U Notre Dame Press, 2026), noted political scientist Arlene W. Saxonhouse offers fresh and provocative explorations of ancient political theorists, lending new insights about democracy's foundations and principles. These insights are more relevant than ever in a moment when the viability of democratic regimes is under scrutiny. Saxonhouse provides an in-depth discussion of the modern mythmakers (Hobbes, Paine, Hamilton, Mill, and Arendt, among others) who, in praising or excoriating Athenian democracy, have in fact distorted it to support their own assessments of democracy. She then offers detailed reinterpretations of the writings on democracy of four ancient theorists who had directly experienced life in the first democratic regime: Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato, and Aristotle. Saxonhouse argues that the mythmaking that often attends our views of Athenian democracy—whether as a flawed, slaveholding regime that fostered factions and oppressed women or as an ideal regime of egalitarian and participatory democracy—blinds us to the deeper understanding of democracies that these ancient theorists can offer. Arlene W. Saxonhouse is the Caroline Robbins Collegiate Professor of Political Science, Emerita, at the University of Michigan. She is the author of numerous books and articles dealing with ancient Greek political thought, including Free Speech and Democracy in Ancient Athens and Fear of Diversity: The Birth of Political Science in Ancient Greek Thought. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory
John Dewey is among history's most celebrated thinkers on democracy and education, yet he has often been underappreciated and misunderstood as a philosopher. This book paints a fresh portrait of Dewey as not only a reformer of schooling but also a profound theorist of human development, whose vision of the centrality of education to democracy, philosophy, and flourishing can still inspire us today. What can we learn from this great thinker as we face challenges such as widespread drudgery and disaffection, estrangement among individuals and groups, and a crisis of democracy? This book supplies the answers, offering a bold new account of Dewey as an educational theorist who is essential for our troubled times. Revealing the true scope of Dewey's educational vision, this book provides a new perspective on a neglected aspect of the philosophical tradition. Natalia Rogach Alexander's Growing People: The Enduring Legacy of John Dewey (Columbia University Press, 2025) presents an alternative canon—running from Plato to Rousseau to Du Bois—that recasts philosophy in terms of education and, in so doing, opens new pathways for social critique and the liberation of human potential. Natalia Rogach Alexander is a lecturer in philosophy at Columbia University. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory
John Dewey is among history's most celebrated thinkers on democracy and education, yet he has often been underappreciated and misunderstood as a philosopher. This book paints a fresh portrait of Dewey as not only a reformer of schooling but also a profound theorist of human development, whose vision of the centrality of education to democracy, philosophy, and flourishing can still inspire us today. What can we learn from this great thinker as we face challenges such as widespread drudgery and disaffection, estrangement among individuals and groups, and a crisis of democracy? This book supplies the answers, offering a bold new account of Dewey as an educational theorist who is essential for our troubled times. Revealing the true scope of Dewey's educational vision, this book provides a new perspective on a neglected aspect of the philosophical tradition. Natalia Rogach Alexander's Growing People: The Enduring Legacy of John Dewey (Columbia University Press, 2025) presents an alternative canon—running from Plato to Rousseau to Du Bois—that recasts philosophy in terms of education and, in so doing, opens new pathways for social critique and the liberation of human potential. Natalia Rogach Alexander is a lecturer in philosophy at Columbia University. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography
Athenian Democracy provides innovative readings of ancient theorists to reveal both the complexity of democracy's achievements and its limits. In Athenian Democracy: Modern Mythmakers and Ancient Theorists (U Notre Dame Press, 2026), noted political scientist Arlene W. Saxonhouse offers fresh and provocative explorations of ancient political theorists, lending new insights about democracy's foundations and principles. These insights are more relevant than ever in a moment when the viability of democratic regimes is under scrutiny. Saxonhouse provides an in-depth discussion of the modern mythmakers (Hobbes, Paine, Hamilton, Mill, and Arendt, among others) who, in praising or excoriating Athenian democracy, have in fact distorted it to support their own assessments of democracy. She then offers detailed reinterpretations of the writings on democracy of four ancient theorists who had directly experienced life in the first democratic regime: Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato, and Aristotle. Saxonhouse argues that the mythmaking that often attends our views of Athenian democracy—whether as a flawed, slaveholding regime that fostered factions and oppressed women or as an ideal regime of egalitarian and participatory democracy—blinds us to the deeper understanding of democracies that these ancient theorists can offer. Arlene W. Saxonhouse is the Caroline Robbins Collegiate Professor of Political Science, Emerita, at the University of Michigan. She is the author of numerous books and articles dealing with ancient Greek political thought, including Free Speech and Democracy in Ancient Athens and Fear of Diversity: The Birth of Political Science in Ancient Greek Thought. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history
John Dewey is among history's most celebrated thinkers on democracy and education, yet he has often been underappreciated and misunderstood as a philosopher. This book paints a fresh portrait of Dewey as not only a reformer of schooling but also a profound theorist of human development, whose vision of the centrality of education to democracy, philosophy, and flourishing can still inspire us today. What can we learn from this great thinker as we face challenges such as widespread drudgery and disaffection, estrangement among individuals and groups, and a crisis of democracy? This book supplies the answers, offering a bold new account of Dewey as an educational theorist who is essential for our troubled times. Revealing the true scope of Dewey's educational vision, this book provides a new perspective on a neglected aspect of the philosophical tradition. Natalia Rogach Alexander's Growing People: The Enduring Legacy of John Dewey (Columbia University Press, 2025) presents an alternative canon—running from Plato to Rousseau to Du Bois—that recasts philosophy in terms of education and, in so doing, opens new pathways for social critique and the liberation of human potential. Natalia Rogach Alexander is a lecturer in philosophy at Columbia University. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history
Escucha el podcast del programa El Plato del Día a través de CDN Radio, en Santo Domingo, República Dominicana correspondiente al miércoles 10-junio-2026.
Pull up a chair and pour yourself a drink! For the third installment in our occasional series on important conservative books, or important books written by or embraced by conservatives, we take up Leo Strauss's Natural Right and History, based on his 1949 Walgreen Lectures at the University of Chicago (where he taught for two decades) and published in 1953. To help us, we called on our friend Matt Dinan, a political theorist who's associate professor in the Great Books Program at St. Thomas University in New Brunswick, Canada. If you've listened to previous episodes and wanted us to go deeper on Leo Strauss, the German-Jewish political philosopher who came to the United States after fleeing Nazism, "Straussianism," and what they might have to do with American conservatism and our present political moment, here you go. After offering some background on Strauss and the context of Natural Right and History's publication, we discuss Strauss's patriotic appeal to Americans in the book's introduction, walk listeners through the chapters that follow (explaining what "natural right" is and why it's paired with "history" in the title along the way), and close out by exploring Strauss's ambiguous relationship to American conservatism—and more! Sources: Leo Strauss, Natural Right and History (1953) — On Tyranny (1963) — Spinoza's Critique of Religion (1965) Harry V. Jaffa, Thomism and Aristotelianism: A Study of the Commentary by Thomas Aquinas on the Nicomachean Ethics (1952) James W. Ceaser, "The American Context of Leo Strauss's Natural Right and History," Perspectives on Political Science, Spring 2008 Richard Velkley, Heidegger, Strauss, and the Premises of Philosophy: On Original Forgetting (2011) — "On the Roots of Rationalism: Strauss's 'Natural Right and History' as Response to Heidegger," The Review of Politics, Spring 2008 ...and don't forget to subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon for access to all of our bonus episodes!
Charlie was always hopeful that the rising generation of American young people would be the one to reverse America's decline. In his speech at the 2023 CLS, Charlie shares this hope with Turning Point's grassroots leaders, telling them to remain committed to truth, purpose, and wisdom. Drawing on the teachings of Aristotle and Plato, Charlie encourages young people to pursue depth over distraction, build strong character, and become the leaders America needs. Watch every episode ad-free on members.charliekirk.com! Get new merch at charliekirkstore.com!Support the show: http://www.charliekirk.com/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Charlie was always hopeful that the rising generation of American young people would be the one to reverse America's decline. In his speech at the 2023 CLS, Charlie shares this hope with Turning Point's grassroots leaders, telling them to remain committed to truth, purpose, and wisdom. Drawing on the teachings of Aristotle and Plato, Charlie encourages young people to pursue depth over distraction, build strong character, and become the leaders America needs. Watch every episode ad-free on members.charliekirk.com! Get new merch at charliekirkstore.com!Support the show: http://www.charliekirk.com/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jonah Goldberg, like Plato's cave-man philosopher, has briefly returned from the land of book writing and enlightenment to ruminate before us poor, shadow-watching mortals. Jonah considers the origin of the term slush fund, waxes poetic on military etymology, and reflects on the Lewinsky scandal, all before getting stuck in on feminism, John Bolton, the republican spirit, Graham Platner, party self-sabotage, and the cult of authenticity. Show Notes: —The Dispatch at the 92nd Street Y —Robert Nisbet - Prejudices: A Philosophical Dictionary —Jonah's underrated second book —Jonah's mom on TV —Friday's DisPod —Wednesday G-File —NYT Graham Platner piece —The Argument —Cult of authenticity G-File —Suicide of the West The Remnant is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a nonpartisan perspective. To access all of The Dispatch's offerings—including the Saturday Ruminant, audio versions of all our articles and newsletters, and Jonah's twice-weekly G-File—click here. Instructions on how to set up your members-only feed can be found here, and if you'd like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this week's On The Other Side Of Things question answering show, Jonny and Richard tackle cars for going banger racing with Jason Plato in 2029, car name mispronunciations, a dilemma with a Freelander 1, and Britain's best service station. For early, ad-free episodes and extra content go to patreon.com/smithandsniff To buy merch and tickets to live shows go to smithandsniff.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Randall Carlson, who is an architectural designer, geometrician, geo-mythologist, and geological explorer, joins us today in the tent for a fascinating conversation on the Younger Dryas, evidence of massive ancient flows, evidence of catastrophic floods in the Hudson Valley, and other interesting topics... WELCOME TO CAMP!