What is a well-ordered society, and where does this idea come from? (Pt. 1)
Mon, Sep 11
Guest Speaker: Dr. Dave O'Connor
Dr. O’Connor is a faculty member in the departments of philosophy and of classics at the University of Notre Dame. His teaching and writing focus on ancient philosophy, aesthetics, ethics and politics, and philosophy of religion. Dr. O’Connor is an acclaimed teacher and lecturer. His online lectures on love and sexuality have reached a wide international audience and are the basis of his two recent books, Love is Barefoot Philosophy (in Chinese translation, 2014) and Plato’s Bedroom: Ancient Wisdom and Modern Love (2015). He has also published extensively on the relation between philosophy, art, and literature, in both the ancient and the modern world.
Today, Dr. O'Connor will bring to bear his profound knowledge of Plato's Republic in order to think through the question of the nature of a well-ordered society--as well as the question of the nature of a well-ordered soul.
Read This:
Unless otherwise noted, access readings on the course's Perusall page via Canvas.
- Read about the ring of Gyges in Plato's Republic (c. 375 BCE); the translation is Allan Bloom's.