Books of Titans Podcast #297 - Alcibiades by Plato
Aug 7, 2026
A lively dive into Plato's Alcibiades and its sequel, centered on the Delphic call to know thyself. Conversations about virtue, the soul, beauty versus wisdom, and whether fear enslaves. Socratic questioning pushes self-cultivation over ambition and recommends praying for what truly benefits the soul.
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Seeing Beauty Versus Seeing Wisdom
- Vision skews us toward beauty because sight most clearly presents forms, so wisdom would inspire similar love if it were as visible.
- Erik Rostad links Plato's Phaedrus claim to the soul's pre-bodily vision of true forms and recurring glimpses on earth.
A High School Memory That Made Wisdom Visible
- Erik Rostad recalls a high school friend's description of her father as 'wise' to show how wisdom can be visible in a person.
- He ties that memory to Proverbs and Ezekiel, imagining wisdom entering the heart like a living presence.
Fear Is Slavery
- Plato's line 'fear is slavery' ties fear of man to loss of power and paralysis in action.
- Erik connects this to Proverbs: fear of man is a snare while fearing God contrasts as a liberating orientation.
