The Wes Cecil Podcast

Enter Alcibiades - seemingly disrupting the entire structure of Plato’s dialogue, he actually works to underscore the power and truth of Socrates’ argument without ever actually engaging with the claims Socrates has made. We see and hear the quality of Socrates as a person rather than engage with the rationality of his thought. A masterclass in using misdirection and action to make arguments that would be impossible to support or articulate more directly. Sign-up for Wes’s PATREON to get your questions answered by Wes!Plus, gain access to course materials, reading lists, bonus lectures, and Wes’s weekly diaries from France. Only $2 / month.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Confused by today's rapidly changing world? The discussion explores the need for new values to regain peace. Metaphors of primates and sailors illustrate letting go of the past. The impact of historical milestones, like Brown v. Board and the moon landing, is examined. Cultural shifts from Roe v. Wade to the LGBTQ rights movement highlight ongoing social transformations. Delving into personal standards, listeners are urged to judge values from within. Courage and self-acceptance are keys to navigating a world where traditional narratives are crumbling.

Wow, after all the build up, Socrates - through the voice of Diotima - delivers a truly radical conception of the nature of love. That it might lead us to personal divinity is perhaps the single most powerful in this section of the dialogue.Sign-up for Wes’s PATREON to get your questions answered by Wes!Plus, gain access to course materials, reading lists, bonus lectures, and Wes’s weekly diaries from France. Only $2 / month.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thanks for the questions and comments. A quick follow up to techno feudalism exploring some of the ideas in a little more depth and clarity - at least hopefully.Sign-up for Wes’s PATREON to get your questions answered by Wes!Plus, gain access to course materials, reading lists, bonus lectures, and Wes’s weekly diaries from France. Only $2 / month.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Explore the shifting values in our lives as the host encourages us to become our own arbiters of meaning. Discover the powerful metaphor of Langston Hughes tossing books into a harbor as a choice in personal values. Delve into debates on free will and how our childhood experiences shape our perceptions. The discussion contrasts traditional societal narratives with the quest for individual authenticity, urging reflection on what truly inspires us. Learn the importance of quality input in forming internal values and experimenting to find personal measures that resonate.

The final set-up for Socrates’ speech establishes both the importance of one who knows above generally accepted wisdom as well as the complete dismissal of the mythological concepts as presented so far. Plato has Socrates present a stunning refutation of the whole idea that what everyone has said so far can actually be true as a way of beginning his presentation of THE TRUTH.Sign-up for Wes’s PATREON to get your questions answered by Wes!Plus, gain access to course materials, reading lists, bonus lectures, and Wes’s weekly diaries from France. Only $2 / month.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jean-Francois Lyotard, Gilles Deleuze, Foucault, Baudrillard all discussed major aspects of what is today often called Techno-Feudalism. While some of the modern conceptions are certainly apt and insightful, they often overlook the fundamental trick being played on us of extracting value from us while pretending to provide value for us. Further, this is not post-industrial but rather industrialism gone wild in its consumption of capital, mining, manufacturing, building, energy and human capacity. When we think it is both necessary and somehow ‘information’ rather than forced on us and industrial, we miss a lot of what is happening in our world.Sign-up for Wes’s PATREON to get your questions answered by Wes!Plus, gain access to course materials, reading lists, bonus lectures, and Wes’s weekly diaries from France. Only $2 / month.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A further exploration of the ways in which a willingness to open ourselves to the cultural influence of West Africa could potentially really help transform our lives for the better.Sign-up for Wes’s PATREON to get your questions answered by Wes!Plus, gain access to course materials, reading lists, bonus lectures, and Wes’s weekly diaries from France. Only $2 / month.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While these speeches seem very different - and they are on the surface - they actually articulate a similar outlook expressed in very different terms. The idea of love driving us towards a unity with a universal force is key to understanding Plato’s ideas of Love and why and how he has been so influential.Sign-up for Wes’s PATREON to get your questions answered by Wes!Plus, gain access to course materials, reading lists, bonus lectures, and Wes’s weekly diaries from France. Only $2 / month.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Discover how cultural values shape our identity and why questioning them is essential. Explore the contrast between West African communal societies and hierarchical agrarian cultures. Learn about the enduring legacy of African Americans and how their values persist in modern America. Delve into the origins of significant American musical genres rooted in West African traditions. Hear about the impact of the Atlantic and Islamic slave trades on cultural structures and the concept of personal excellence over abstract roles.