Send us Fan Mail

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

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

Send us Fan Mail

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

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

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

Support the show