John Koethe, “Book X” – Rethink. →

This short comment is on another comment about Plato’s Republic. I think it’ll be helpful in terms of thinking about the structure of the book as a whole. Thanks to http://arexandriuhrae.tumblr.com/ for mentioning Plato & Socrates.

"In a way, how “we think” traces back to an “I;” political phenomena are traceable, in some strange way, to self-knowledge. This linkage is almost useless for practical purposes and highly suspect theoretically. Consider the “big letters” vs. “small letters” metaphor of the Republic, that if one looks at the city carefully, one sees the written law as an indication of the soul. That would mean if the Torah is written on one’s heart, it should be visible in the larger community. The Bible and Augustine and a million others are rightly cynical about the whole of a civilization reflecting the truth of an individual. Socrates joins that skepticism and is also not clear whether a thorough examination of one soul can tell us anything about politics, about humanity. And yet, something about this link between “we” and “I” is indispensable."

Leo Strauss, “Memorial Remarks for Jason Aronson” – Rethink.

(Editing this, adding some neat stuff, hoping people have the patience to work through it carefully).

"Wittgenstein was not the first to compare the philosopher to one, nor the most famous. That award goes to Socrates, who claimed that the role of the philosopher was to act as a gadfly to the state. This is a very different metaphor. Leaving the world as it is isn’t what gadflies do. They bite."

Wittgenstein and Philosophy - NYTimes.com

Year in Review: What I Wrote in January

I write a lot. Some of what I write is terrible; I really need to go back and edit a ton. Still, going over what I wrote this past year, I’m stunned by how much I’ve covered and in what depth. What is below is a sampling from my main blog - http://www.ashokkarra.com - in January. It isn’t close to everything covered that month.

January 2012

In January of 2012 I was preparing to go to a conference and talk about academic things. I felt like I hadn’t read enough Greek tragedy, so I read Euripides’ “Bacchae” and tried to make sense of it. I think I concluded tentatively that the god of wine has to be seen as the god of drama to make any sense of the play.

I also started looking more closely at haiku, the one form of poetry I feel comfortable writing. I’m very happy with the comment on Basho’s “Winter Solitude.”

The remarks on Plato’s “Minos” turned out really well. I can’t say I understand the dialogue without speculating. Tim probably agrees with me that the original goal - to understand Strauss’ essay on the dialogue better - might take us a bit longer than we hoped. Still, I remember sitting focused, trying to think how to introduce the dialogue without saying something technical. I wanted to say something about how the problem of justice and law hits us deeply and more often than we think.

I was trying to read - still am trying to read - more Polish poetry in translation. Świetlicki had my attention that month.

At the time, I was trying to write really short blog entries every so often for readers who did not have much time. Yehuda Amichai’s “What I will never see again I must love forever” was something I came across while reading about God and rationality.

pinkpanthress asked: Would you tell us 3 books that you enjoyed this Year? :) (whether new or old)

Again, thank you so much for the question - hope you are rewarded with tons of likes and reblogs.

This is tricky. I read Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” and Plato’s “Meno” very closely, line-by-line with friends. I also read a ton of graphic novels. I don’t think I read a single novel or completed a book of poetry or philosophy, for that matter.

“Twelfth Night” was incredible. The one conclusion I was reaching was that Malvolio was the thesis that virtue can be learned. It sounds crazy: he’s not particularly bright and he’s extremely mean. But he is trying to learn how to be a gentleman - he’s always reading books that teach him class - and it is precisely that he isn’t bright and is mean that makes him a perfect test case for whether he can learn to be better.

The “Meno” reread - I think I must have read that dialogue 10 times or something now - that also went well. Spent a lot of time talking about the drama of the dialogue, how the epistemological questions stem from the task of Socratic moderation. Still not entirely sure what to make of “true opinion,” the rough conclusion of the dialogue about the truth of moral propositions (I think).

Oh, and Ghost World is something everyone should read.

"It may seem strange to us that democracy and populism so quickly grasp for insider status and privilege. But no one said equality necessarily accompanied any perception of a majority’s right."

A Reputation for Justice: Plutarch, “Life of Aristides”

"Plato did want a philosophical drama of sorts to displace some of the most thoughtful and interesting work to come from Athens (Aristophanes in particular)."

John Koethe, “Book X”

"Plato put over the entrance to his Academy the words: Ageometretos medeis eisito! “Let no one who has not grasped the mathematical enter here!"

Heidegger

"Socrates in the Republic distinguishes between wisdom and learning. The latter seems to consist of the conventions that keep society afloat. The former is far more radical and cannot be controlled."

Exclusive Interview: Ashok Karra

If you like the interview, consider visiting my lil’ ol’ blog and giving it a like on Facebook.

"This is actually a super-interesting idea that Plato has, about music being a sort of pre-rational “education of the inner being” which conditions the mind to seek out and recognize the Good in a way that he seems to think is superior to or at least quite distinct from reason. Of course in Hellenic culture music, math, and astronomy went hand-in-hand; but I think he has something beyond that in mind—the idea, which also pops up in Phaedrus and other places, that the goals of rationality can be furthered or achieved by irrational means."

the leading tone:

This is one of those things that falls under my specialty (ancient thought, specifically Plato & Xenophon) where I still have to look up things because I forget (or, worse, things differ from text to text). I think your observations are generally right and I’m only introducing a few more details and complications to flesh out the issue.

• “Mousike” - from which we get “music” - I usually treat as a complete liberal arts education. This comes from the Greeks having people like rhapsodes around (cf. Plato, “Ion”). They go up and recite the epic poems in a musical way to move the audience. A lot of commentary online talks about “mousike” has roots in the word for “Muse.” So already, given the “Republic,” we have an issue: exactly how pre-rational is music? [It certainly isn’t logos. But no one said logos (speech/reason) was necessarily nous (mind).]
• The guardian class in the “Republic” is created by music. Are they really about finding the Good? Or are they more like a class of super-soldiers?
• The Idea of the Good occurs pretty much in the “Republic.” Is it rationality? If so, can we deduce every other dialogue from it? Do note whom the “Republic” is addressed to: Glaucon, who wants a speech saying that what is just is always good. (See my discussion about statues in the Republic).
• Every time I try reading the “Phaedrus,” I read it without knowing whether or not the text is upside down. So let’s just skip to the interplay of rationality or irrationality. Yes, rationality has something to do with irrationality. If you have an opinion, and it has a chance of being right, truth might be further down the road…
• It looks like I’m answering another question. I’m actually not. There’s something peculiar about saying “goals of rationality” and “irrational means.”