One, Many and Infinite “All the things which are ever said to exist are sprung from one and many and have inherent in them the finite and the infinite. This being the way in which these things are arranged, we must always assume that there is in every case one idea of everything and must look for it—for we shall find that it is there—and if we get a grasp […]
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“Euthydemus” by Plato
The Nature of Intermediates (Compromises) “For all persons or things, which are intermediate between two other things, and participate in both of them–if one of these two things is good and the other evil, are better than the one and worse than the other; but if they are in a mean between two good things which do not tend to the same end, they fall short of either of their […]
Read more“Charmides” by Plato
Wisdom vs. Relation to Self The wise man “will know himself, and be able to examine what he knows or does not know, and to see what others know and think that they know and do really know; and what they do not know, and fancy that they know, when they do not. No other person will be able to do this. And this is wisdom and temperance and self-knowledge–for […]
Read more“Laches” by Plato
Conversation with Socrates “Any one who has an intellectual affinity to Socrates and enters into conversation with him is liable to be drawn into an argument; and whatever subject he may start, he will be continually carried round and round by him, until at last he finds that he has to give an account both of his present and past life ; and when he is once entangled, Socrates will not […]
Read more“Sophist” by Plato
A sophist states, to the effect that, falsehood is that which is not, and because that which is not does not exist, falsehood doesn’t exist. Socrates refutes that argument in this fascinating exercise in ontology, a discourse on the definition of being, not being, same, other, rest, motion, truth and falsehood. What it highlights for me is the circularity or futility, for lack of a better word, of using language […]
Read more“Gorgias” by Plato
In this dialogue, Socrates argues that, just as the aim of a good man should not be to gratify his desires but to improve himself and strive toward goodness, so the prime object of the truly good statesman should not consist in gratifying the desires of the citizens, but in “transforming those desires and not allowing them to have their way, and using the powers which they had, whether of persuasion […]
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“Consolation of Philosophy” by Boethius
[Original Latin Title: Consolatio Philosophiae] Boethius was a Christian philosopher of ancient Rome, but “Consolation of Philosophy” is not a treatise on Christianity. For it doesn’t address the question of sacrifice and remission of sins, let alone the love of God. But instead, like Plato’s Republic, it attempts to reshape the readers’ understanding of the nature of evil and justice, by way of answering the question, “Why do good people […]
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