In the Euthyphro we might take Socrates’s great delight in meeting Euthyphro at the courthouse with a grain of salt. Euthyphro is a professed expert in piety who came to the court house to prosecute his father for murder - an... Continue Reading →
In Plato’s Alcibiades Socrates implies that knowledge of the good and the true depends on knowing yourself, Knowledge of yourself, however, depend on the friendship of another. We only know ourselves, Plato suggests, by knowing and understanding those who we love and... Continue Reading →
At the beginning of the Republic, Socrates piques the interest of the group of young men he is speaking with, suggesting that to know justice is to know the only way of living that is worthwhile. However, as he begins... Continue Reading →
At the beginning of Plato’s Republic, Socrates encounters Thrasymachus, a sophist or wise guy, who argues that “justice” is whatever the person or people with the most power want, and they always want what is to their advantage. Plato heightens... Continue Reading →
Imagine a friend you have had since childhood has been tried, convicted, and now will be executed for a crime he did not commit. Now imagine that you have the means for him to escape and can provide a safe... Continue Reading →
In the middle of Plato's dialogue the Symposium, Aristophanes follows several others, all of whom have been tasked with giving speeches on love or eros. Aristophanes prefaces his speech, once his hiccups have subsided, by saying that he will speak in... Continue Reading →
Homer's Iliad, which tells the story of the Trojan war, reveals in clarity the devastation of a world at war. Having come to Troy to avenge the abduction or seduction of the Menelaus's wife, Helen, and to reassert the principles... Continue Reading →
Left to my own devices at lunch time, I set a spoon on fire while making soup. Rather than panicking, I efficiently dunked the spoon in the soup and stirred. And now I have a master chef tip for improving... Continue Reading →
