The Life of Plato (Episode 195)

Philosophy meets biography in this deep dive into Robin Waterfield's new book on Plato. Michael and Caleb explore how the philosopher's life shaped his ideas, from witnessing tyranny and democracy's failures in his youth to his later failed attempt to reform a Sicilian tyrant.

Plato was an aristocrat who saw his relatives join the brutal Thirty Tyrants, watched democracy execute his mentor Socrates, and spent decades running a research academy that encouraged debate over dogma. His life and philosophy are worth understanding.

(00:05:50) Plato's aristocratic background in Athens

(00:06:30) The Thirty Tyrants and family connections

(00:08:20) Socrates' execution and its impact

(00:10:40) Key philosophical insights from political unrest

(00:13:00) The Sophists reconsidered

(00:19:20) Establishing the academy as research institution

(00:21:00) Early, middle, and later period writings

(00:27:20) Plato's caution about passive consumption

(00:30:20) Criticism of poetry as ancient television

(00:35:40) The religious dimension of Platonic philosophy

(00:39:50) Return to Syracuse and the philosopher king project

(00:47:40) Philosophy's ambitions beyond ivory tower

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Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations: https://ancientlyre.com/

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