Johannes A. Niederhauser

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics is usually read as the foundational text of so-called Virtue Ethics. That is fair enough. However, the text itself also harbours deeper layers that have been with us in the European trajectory, the main one being the distinction between theoria and praxis, which I address here and in my course on the Nicomachean Ethics. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit halkyon.substack.com/subscribe

One hour freestyle lecture on the most important philosophy book of the past two centuries. If you have never heard of the Science of Logic — you are an in for a wild ride. Nietzsche is an altar boy compared to what Hegel here does with NOTHINGNESS. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit halkyon.substack.com/subscribe

Spoiler: No, it won’t. Beauty will destroy the world, if anything. The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. Even better than the real thing? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit halkyon.substack.com/subscribe

Thomas was recently asked by one of his students at his Plato course why read Plato at all. It’s a fair question. Why read an old thinker if his “theories” are already obvious and known to everyone anyways. Well, precisely because in reading we engage in the hermeneutic exercise of disclosing the world, of establishing a relationship with the past which may open up the future for us differently. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit halkyon.substack.com/subscribe

What is the main difference between legacy institutions of higher learning and the newly emerging online first digital schools? In this dialogue Thomas Jockin and Johannes Niederhauser try and show how the so-called planetary university is increasingly a stifling environment and, evoking Plato and Aristotle, they try to provide possible ways of truly enriching education that ultimately aims at the full formation of the soul. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit halkyon.substack.com/subscribe

We tend to think of beauty today as primarily if not exclusively aesthetic. In fact, we consider beauty as subjective, as a matter of personal taste, in the eye of the beholder. But for Plato beauty is ontological and integral to his entire philosophy. Without beauty we cannot see the Idea of the Good — and vice versa. Thus, for Plato beauty is also intimately related to virtue and the Good Life. We invite you to deepen your understanding of beauty, to remember in the sense of anamnesis what beauty in a primal sense means so as to learn how to find beauty in your life. Thomas hat put together a wonderful course for us on beauty. Enrol in our Plato on Beauty course here. Seminars begin July 27th, 2024. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit halkyon.substack.com/subscribe

In this wide-ranging conversation Thomas Jockin and yours truly converse around the importance of beauty in Plato’s philosophy. We bring in Aristotle’s nous and potentiality to make us see that yes it is possible to see the forms, to see the ideas in the medium of the Beautiful. We also emphasise that studying the Beautiful in Plato is one of the best ways to be introduced to Plato and thus philosophy more broadly. So we hope to see you at our upcoming course on Plato on Beauty and Virtue. Here is the link to enrol. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit halkyon.substack.com/subscribe

Our new Plato course is now officially open for enrolment! Join our summer school today and rethink what you thought you knew about beauty. We tend to think of beauty today as primarily if not exclusively aesthetic.In fact, we consider beauty as subjective, as a matter of personal taste, in the eye of the beholder. But for Plato beauty is ontological and integral to his entire philosophy. Without beauty we cannot see the Idea of the Good — and vice versa. Thus, for Plato beauty is also intimately related to virtue and the Good Life.We invite you to deepen your understanding of beauty, to remember in the sense of anamnesis what beauty in a primal sense means so as to learn how to find beauty in your life. Thomas hat put together a wonderful course for us on beauty. This is the link to enrol. We have seen a lot of interest in this course so we hope that you can enrol soon to make sure you get a spot in  the seminars. A careful reading of Plato’s work reveals that beauty plays a crucial role in Plato's metaphysics, ontology, epistemology, and ethics. In this lecture series we will read six Platonic dialogues oriented around the topic of The Beautiful. So together we will read sections from Greater Hippias, Symposium, Phaedrus, Meno, Cratylus, and Parmenides.There will be a selection of short readings for each session. (And a selection of longer readings for those who have the time).  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit halkyon.substack.com/subscribe

We tend to think of beauty today as primarily if not exclusively aesthetic. In fact, we consider beauty as subjective, as a matter of personal taste, in the eye of the beholder. But for Plato beauty is ontological and integral to his entire philosophy. Without beauty we cannot see the Idea of the Good — and vice versa. Thus, for Plato beauty is also intimately related to virtue and the Good Life. We invite you to deepen your understanding of beauty, to remember in the sense of anamnesis what beauty in a primal sense means so as to learn how to find beauty in your life. Thomas hat put together a wonderful course for us on beauty. More on that here. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit halkyon.substack.com/subscribe

In this conversation we discuss the lasting essence of power that remains in check from Plato to 21st century technocracy. This conversation is part of our series on power which introduces Sean McFadden’s new course on the topic. You may now enrol in our new course via this link. Seminars begin this Sunday, on the 9th of June. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit halkyon.substack.com/subscribe