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Leontius was passing by the corpses of executed Athenians and tried not to look. But eventually, giving in, he ran over and leaned in to stare. "Have your fill!" he shouted at his own eyes. Socrates tells this story in Book IV of Plato's Republic, in part to illustrate his theory of the tripartite soul: the desiring, the rational, and the spirited faculty. It is this "spiritedness," the θυμός (transliterated thymos or thumos), that seems so close to desire but also seems to oppose desire. Ian Dagg joins Ryan and Jonathan to discuss Leontius and the rest of Book IV, including the parts of the soul as they relate to the parts of the city, the impiety of Socrates, and the proper eye color for a statue.

Plato's Republic (trans. Allan Bloom): https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780465094080

Ian Dagg's Regime and Education: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9783031373824

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New Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/

Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.

Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

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Patrick Downey, professor of philosophy at St. Mary's College of California, returns to New Humanists to discuss Book Three of Plato's Republic. Why does Socrates permit lies in his city? And why does he kick Homer out? Downey gives answers to these questions, as well as raising others about Plato's attempt to transcend comedy and tragedy in the form of dialogic philosophical drama. We also discuss the ideal location in which to conduct philosophical inquiry (California, obviously), good and bad music, and how to keep your kids young and innocent at heart.

Previous New Humanists episode with Patrick Downey: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ren%C3%A9-girard-myth-and-the-bible-feat-dr-patrick-downey/id1570296135?i=1000543650312

Plato's Republic (trans. Allan Bloom): https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780465094080

John Steinbeck's East of Eden: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780140186390

Patrick Downey's Serious Comedy: https://amzn.to/4ypQhGK

Patrick Downey's Desperately Wicked: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780830828944

Two ways to support the show and unlock bonus episodes:

Download and subscribe to Ekho: ancientlanguage.com/ekho/

Subscribe to New Humanists+ for bonus episodes: buzzsprout.com/1791279/subscribe

New Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/

Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.

Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

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Glaucon restarts the conversation about justice at the beginning of Book Two of Plato's Republic with this stipulation: Socrates must prove that justice is good in itself, not just good for the reputation it buys. Socrates says - perhaps to the reader's surprise, and even doubt - that he can show justice is the best possible thing to have.
Pavlos Papadopoulos, professor at Wyoming Catholic College, returns to the podcast to walk through Book Two of Plato's Republic including Glaucon's restatement of Thrasymachus' case for injustice, Socrates' vegan city of pigs, Glaucon's lust for relishes, the "crucifixion" of the perfectly just man, the guardian class, and the strange and easily overlooked details of the tale of the Ring of Gyges. 

New Humanists episode on Republic Book One: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-not-to-define-justice-feat-colin-redemer-episode-cxv/id1570296135?i=1000775037863
Plato's Republic (trans. Allan Bloom): https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780465094080
Thucydides' The Peloponnesian War (Landmark): https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780684827902
Thucydides' The Peloponnesian War (Hobbes): https://amzn.to/4vesx75
Herodotus' Histories: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9781400031146
Aristophanes' Clouds: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780856682100
Aristotle's Politics: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780226921846
Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780141395098
Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges' The Ancient City: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780648690542

Two ways to support the show and unlock bonus episodes:
Download and subscribe to Ekho: ancientlanguage.com/ekho/
Subscribe to New Humanists+ for bonus episodes: buzzsprout.com/1791279/subscribe
New Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/
Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.
Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
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When you first pick up the world's most famous work of philosophy, Plato's Republic, you might be surprised to find that it starts with Socrates describing a day trip he took with his friend Glaucon to check out a festival happening just outside Athens. Where are the syllogisms? Where is the metaphysics? It does not seem very grand, at least at first.

Colin Redemer joins the podcast to kick off part 1 of a 10-episode series on Plato's Republic, to give some suggestions for how to read Plato, and to walk through the various definitions of justice we encounter in Book 1 of The Republic. In Book 1, we encounter a large cast engaged in discussion with Socrates about this very question. Is justice returning to others what you owe them? Benefitting friends and harming enemies? The advantage of the stronger? 

H.I. Marrou's A History of Education in Antiquity: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780299088149

Plato's Republic (trans. Allan Bloom): https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780465094080

Davenant Press's Reforming Classical Education: https://davenantinstitute.org/davenant-press/reforming-classical-education/

Austin Hoffman's review of Reforming Classical Education: https://www.frontporchrepublic.com/2023/02/awkward-family-dinner-a-review-of-reforming-classical-education/

Colin Redemer's response to Austin Hoffman: https://adfontesjournal.com/web-exclusives/revisiting-platonic-education-the-ever-sharable-feast/

James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780679744726

Two ways to support the show and unlock bonus episodes:

Download and subscribe to Ekho: ancientlanguage.com/ekho/

Subscribe to New Humanists+ for bonus episodes: buzzsprout.com/1791279/subscribe

New Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/

Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.

Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

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Charlotte Mason argues that all education is ultimately self-education. Unless a student makes the choice to assimilate knowledge into himself, he will not learn anything. If this is so, what role is there for a teacher? Can a student actually be educated into virtue or wisdom?

In this episode, Jonathan and Ryan read and discuss the opening chapters of Charlotte Mason's book A Philosophy of Education.

Charlotte Mason's A Philosophy of Education: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9781922348050

Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780060935467

Ambleside Online: https://www.amblesideonline.org/

Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9781402782831

John Senior's The Thousand Good Books: https://seascs.net/documents/2017/10/John%20Senior%20The%20Thousand%20Good%20Books%20List.pdf

Two ways to support the show and unlock bonus episodes:

Download and subscribe to Ekho: ancientlanguage.com/ekho/

Subscribe to New Humanists+ for bonus episodes: buzzsprout.com/1791279/subscribe

New Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/

Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.

Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Support the show