Public Affairs Conference “The Ethical Citizen” – April 14-17, 2015 A The DYT Production.

Public Affairs Conference “The Ethical Citizen” – April 14-17, 2015

A The DYT Production


The Republic of Plato• Ten-volume dialogue on to rule a just city• Fraught with ETHICAL LEADERSHIP• Insanely influential from the very time its writing• Dialogue of Socrates and two of Plato’s brothers• No detail is omitted:• What is justice? What is the best city? • What is the best form of constitution?• What qualifies leaders to be leaders?• What is reality?• Why should people want to be just?• Why all these questions?

So


Kατέβην χθὲς εἰς Πειραιᾶ

I went down to the Piraeus yesterday with Glaukon, son of Ariston, to make my prayers to the Goddess and wanting to see how they would

hold her feast, this being the first time it was held.


Piraeus in 5th Century BC


Socrates and Plato


Socrates (470-399 BC) • Father, Sophroniscus, was a sculptor• Mother, Phaenarete, was a midwife• Intermittently employed stone mason• ENGAGED CITIZENSHIP: fought in army• ENGAGED CITIZENSHIP: served in assembly• Applied the elenchos or “Socratic Method”• More eristic than constructive• Annoyed Athenians of all sides• Aristophanes wrote “The Clouds” about him• Tried for atheism and corrupting youth, 399 BC• Drank hemlock and died


Socratic Method, The• Almost like midwifery – working out the TRVTH• Mother, Phaenarete, was a midwife• Ask simple questions of self-appointed experts• Make the experts look like monkeys• Supposedly, TRVTH is the result.• Supposedly, Socrates was wisest man in Greece• Only because he knew he knew nothing• Most dialogues really didn’t solve much• The “solutions” are mostly Plato’s addition• Not so in the Republic, however


Plato (428-347 BC)• Born Aristocles (or Ariston), son of Ariston• Parents were both from aristocratic families• Later wrote down the dialogues of Socrates• Never a character in the dialogues himself• Operated “the Academy” to teach philosophy• In later life, was a political consultant in Sicily• Highly regarded, but disastrously unsuccessful• Wrote several political dialogues• Laws, Statesman, Meno, and Republic


Allegory• Metaphor = uses a image, an object, or a story to

represent a complex or obscure idea• “Life is like a box of chocolates.” – F. Gump• Allegory is an extended metaphor, usually a

story, in which characters can stand for complex or obscure ideas.

• Can also be associated with the “parable”• Parable of the Good Shepherd (Luke15.3-7)

explains God’s love for all creation• Plato’s Allegory of the Cave (Republic 7)• O Brother, Where Art Thou?


Allegory of the Cave


Music Break


Plato, Republic 10: Grand Finale• Boot out the poets! Even Homer!• The poetic education is the worst education• It focuses on the “interesting” and the

“spectacular”• It’s as bad as that stuff on the back wall of the

Cave• The emotions caused by poetry are dangerous• Citizens might feel that life is like poetry• (or like in the movies, or books, or reality shows)• The ideal city is not a bunch of KARDASHIANS• Citizens need to learn about life as it really is• Therefore, citizens need philosophical education• Citizens also need motivation to lead moral lives.


The Katabasis of Er• Er is a soldier who dies in battle• Bodies of dead are collected for burning after

10 days• Er’s body has not decomposed!!!!• Two days later, Er comes back to life and tells

his story• Learns of the afterlife and of reincarnation• Visits the USED CAR LOT OF SOULS• Acquires Celestial Cultural Competence• Comes back to life to report on his visions• Practices Cosmic Community Engagement


Judgement Process• At death, the body perishes in the usual fashion• Souls come to a place between heaven and earth• They are judged on their life’s deeds and

misdeeds• Held strictly accountable for individual actions• Good souls go to heaven for 1000 years• Bad souls go beneath earth for 1000 years• Much more complex than the Homeric version• Homeric version: body greater than soul• Platonic version: soul greater than body• Er also sees souls returning from their 1000 years• Heaven dwellers happy, earth dwellers beaten up


Schematically Speaking


THE USED CAR LOT O’SOULS• The body is mortal and the soul is immortal• Souls are judged on their life’s deeds and

misdeeds• Souls are rewarded or punished for 1000 years• Supposedly this gives time for reflection• Newly returned souls must select next lives• Souls select from physical appearances of bodies• Souls can choose human or animal lives• Once a life has been selected, that’s it• The soul must live its selected life as best it can• The soul bears FULL responsibility for its actions• No griping, no whining: deal with it


Hooptius Maximus


THE USED CAR LOT O’SOULS• The returned souls see a wide range of lives• But they can only judge upon the bodies they see• What have they learned over the last 1000 years?• First chooser picks a TYRANT: bad career move• Fun to be a living tyrant: a dead one, not so much• Orpheus picks a swan (didn’t like women)• Agamemnon chooses to be an eegull• Odysseus chooses to be just a regular dude• After choosing, the souls proceed to river Lethe• Then they get reborn… good luck!


Cosmic Cultural Competence• As ever, evil is punished and justice rewarded• People are bad because they choose to be bad• People are ____ because they choose to be ____• Only philosophy can teach people to live ethically• Obviously, an immortal soul should live ethically• Get it right for enough lives and maybe win the

jackpot• Not spelled out at all• Still a major eschatological breakthrough• Body = transitory, soul = immortal• Bound to have consequences for philosophy• Bound to have consequences for religion

Public Affairs Conference “The Ethical Citizen” – April 14-17, 2015 A The DYT Production.

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Transcript of Public Affairs Conference “The Ethical Citizen” – April 14-17, 2015 A The DYT Production.