Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Good afternoon, everyone. This is going to be just a short video introducing and contextualizing the selections from Plato's Republic that we're reading for this week. And some of next week.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): So that we don't have to spend as much time in class discussing this part and also so that you have a little bit of background while you're completing the readings. So you kind of
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Know where this with the selections that have having you read fit into the more general set of arguments. So this should be not a super long video just get you started, and help you get
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Grounded in the reading. So a little bit about Plato and Socrates Socrates was an Athenian philosopher who lived in the city state of Athens.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Between 470 and 399 DC and he lived during an important time period of Athenian history from the height of its power.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): After the wars against Persia to it's declining and during the Peloponnesian War. He went throughout Athens interrogating the youth and powerful about their beliefs.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): He was basically he called himself a gadfly you can think of him, kind of as an internet troll to some extent.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): He would go around and ask people why do you think this WHY DO YOU ARE YOU SURE. Can you give me another example why he would basically go around doing that to anyone who would he viewed to have
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Intelligent are powerful are wealthy or influential and we don't actually know much about his life in detail. We know that he served in the army at one point.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): But the records that we do have about his life suggests that he was both brilliant and very ugly. He eventually was executed for corrupting the youth and in piety in 399 DC he he was put on trial.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Because his accusers claimed that he was rousing anti Athenian sentiment and the young people especially during a time of war.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): They also contended they disrespected the Gods and many people believe that he was put on trial because he was irritating to the political establishment.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Now, Socrates didn't write anything down he famously did not he disagreed with the idea that you could learn from writing rather than dialogue.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And so most of what we know about Socrates and his thinking come from dialogues are written about him, including those by his student Plato and also by other followers of soccer. He's such as Stefan.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And with Plato, in particular, it's difficult to tell how much of the words that Plato attributes to Socrates or positions that Socrates himself held and how much of these are
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): positions that are Plato's own thinking that he's put into the mouth that is teacher
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): We're not going to resolve that question in this class. So for this class, you can kind of use Plato Socrates as a unity, I will probably interchangeably say Plato says or Socrates says here.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): So they can text realize the Republic, a little bit more in the context of democratic happens during the fifth century BCE at the Athens had a radical participatory democracy.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): All of its citizens and citizens. Here we're free male inhabitants could take part in the rule of the assembly. They were randomly selected.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): It was principal over occasion but members of the Assembly and members of the jury courts were chosen a lottery.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And the head administrative aspects, so that people who would be in what we would now think of as the executive branch of government rotated through the 10 recognized tribes or Dean's the subdivisions of the Athenian population.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): During the Peloponnesian War reforms were put in place to limit the democratic nature and 411 BCE, a council of 400 form an oligarchy that rules for four months before we being replaced by democratic government
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And then again for four BCE, a postcard and oligarchic regime took power before being replaced after a year by democratic government and it's these oligarchies that many critics of Socrates.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Viewed the he was secretly supporting these oligarchy garments because of his ties to some of the men who would then go on to be parts of these oligarchies
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And so if we think about the Republic itself in both its kind of narrative and bibliographic context. It was written as the Republican self is written around three at DC
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): This is after the tumultuous war after the back and forth poll of oligarchy and democracy. After the death of Socrates right Plato is now developing his own philosophy philosophical school. The Academy
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): But the narrative. The, the action of the dialogue occurs in the fifth century, during the life of Socrates before the oligarchy challenges to democratic rule. This is taking place in the middle of much earlier in the fifth century BCE. And so it's coming.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Very at a different time in the work itself. It begins with a discussion of a religious festival that was happening for the first time. So scholars and dated the kind of if you're trying to
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Pin when this conversation took place to the first year of the Peloponnesian War. And so this is kind of. So if we're trying to kind of contextualize that when it's happening. It's early in the Peloponnesian War.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And so we're many up. Furthermore, when many of Plato's dialogues. They take place, towards the end of the life of Socrates, as he prepares for his trial as he defends himself at his trial, and as he willingly goes to his death, rather than
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): following through with a plan that many of his friends, but together to help them escape from jail.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): This dialogue doesn't have a clear place within the life of Socrates, other than this kind of like, well, it's early in the Peloponnesian War.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And it's considered in the context of Plato's writings to be what's known as a middle dialogue and that is it takes place after his early writings that more or less.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Were recounts have conversations with Socrates have as he was developing this dialogic form of writing.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): But he still. And at this point, he is see many scholars view that Plato starting to develop his own philosophical theory.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And then later and what they're known as the later dialogues Plato basically abandoned is using Socrates as a character and just and that's other characters that he puts his theories in the mat. So this is kind of a transitional period between
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Plato exploring philosophical themes that is teacher Socrates explored and Plato developing his own philosophical theory.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And so one thing to think about what you're reading is reading this text is think about how much of this do you think is a serious utopian blueprint.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): How much should we take this as Plato recommending what an ideal world would be and how much should we take this as Plato trying to critique the existing systems of power and depth inner critic Athens.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): So,
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Socrates is famously called by the Delphic Oracle of Apollo as the wisest man in all the world. And Socrates himself in Plato's Apology says he doesn't understand why.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): The Oracle of Apollo said this, because he maintains that he doesn't know anything
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And soccer. He says that he finally realized that what the Oracle meant was that Socrates was the wisest person in the world.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Not because he knows a lot of things, but because he knows nothing but at least he admits that he knows nothing.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): He's not diluted about his knowledge doesn't think that he knows more than he does, he's able to accurately assess the limitations to his own knowledge.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And so, Socrates, his philosophy is less about developing a theory and demonstrating its validity than in questioning the people about their opinions about things like justice things about bravery piety virtue truth knowledge.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): He's trying to figure out whether or not the beliefs that people hold about these different values and concepts.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): accurately describe these virtues and concepts that objects themselves. So, that is what the people call just really the nature of justice are the common beliefs about what piety is what truthfulness, is what virtue is what bravery is
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): What knowledge is what philosophy is what politics is are those accurate definitions or are they just like blind ideological opinions of the masses.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And so what he does throughout these dialogues that are recorded by Plato and others. And we see this in the Republic, he basically goes around asking people what he thinks or what they think something is and then subjects them to a series of questions.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And so often, these are involve Socrates saying like, Well, what about this case, what about this counter example.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Or, oh, if you believe X. What if we push this belief that you have to its logical conclusion. Are you willing to still defend it, and what he's showing through these questions.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Is that most people don't actually reflect on their beliefs and they often hold contradictory or inconsistent beliefs or when you push people on them they can't defend their beliefs or they are actually realized that they don't actually believe what they think they believe
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): But what this does is more than just expose that people don't actually know things that they claim to know
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): But what Socrates his goal, at least in Plato's hands is that by kind of eliminating all of the inconsistent and contradictory and on
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): On parts of our knowledge that we can kind of pare down all these false beliefs that we have and I will eventually get to a true knowledge of something that if we kind of subject something to constant criticism.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): That we if we if we suggest something to constant kind of interrogation or eventually clean. It's like, it's like polishing a diamond. Right, well actually clean up all the imperfections and we'll get that true kernel of belief is true.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): That that part of our knowledge that can withstand all this critical scrutiny that can be question, but ultimately defend it, and must be something true
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And so
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Our interests are, we can think of this as lesson about the specific answers that Socrates and his friends good if we're trying to reflect on the value of this philosophy and more broadly.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): But on this importance of moral, ethical and political reflection only by subjecting our own beliefs and our popular opinions about justice to critical scrutiny. Can we actually figure out what justice is what it what we know what we don't know.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): So in this dialogue. We're jumping in partway through book too. So I wanted to give you a little bit of a summary of what's happening before the sections that I'm having you read
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): It's the dialogue starts with Socrates and his friends at a dinner party at the home of capitalist after attending a religious festival for and they start having a discussion about the nature of justice and capitalist says that the justice is paying one's debts and telling the truth.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): But and Socrates kind of subjects this to a series of criticisms like would you really return a sword to someone who has
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Who is a green out of his mind and go in is planning to harm someone else or himself like, Well, no. That wouldn't be just and so adding a mantis his son couple of songs, but no, no.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Justice is helping ones friends at harming one's enemies.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And Socrates says like, well, we don't always know who our friends and our enemies are many people who we think our friends are actually our enemies. And so we're helping and harming the wrong person.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): On and eventually it's actually shows like all these kind of common beliefs about justice are inconsistent, but eventually someone at the party or civicus gets upset, he says, No, you are all being wrong you funneling Mendeley Miss understood the nature of justice.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): that justice is nothing more than what is a bed advantageous to the stronger and by this he means that justice is what ever
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Ever the most powerful person says it is the acting justly always benefits the most powerful because there is no such thing as justice. It's just justice is nothing more than power. It's if you're just
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): If you're following the laws, you're being a good moral person. All you're doing is benefiting the most powerful people because the most powerful people don't care about justice. They do whatever they want.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): They are strong enough to get to be unjust and get away with it. So if you are, if you are worried about being a just person that's assigned that you're actually week
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And so there is a case eventually argues that well, if this were true.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Know cities would have any sort of harmony or peace because injustice this constant fear that someone is trying to take advantage of you.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): eventually leads to conflict and disagreement and strife while justice produces a harmony and eventually kind of bullies for syndicates and to giving up this argument.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Book to begins with glaucoma. Another one member of the of the Athenian elite in that present at this dinner party.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And add the mantis.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Again capitalist his son.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): They aren't convinced fully in Socrates his argument and they argue that Socrates cheated his way out of the argument with their syndicates
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And God tells the story of the ring of guy. Geez, in which a man finds like much like and tokens have it right finds an earring that makes an invisible and he uses this power of and visibility to kill the king of his city, town.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): City marry the queen install himself is king. And he's able to get away with all of this because he does all the unjust deeds, while he's invisible.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Anglican tells a story to pose the challenge that that Socrates if he really wants to prove that it's best to be just, it's better to be just an unjust.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): that justice is really something valuable that he has to prove that it's better to be just even if everyone, including the gods thinks that you are an unjust person.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): That it's better to that justice is something valuable not only instrumental the for the benefits that brings you a good reputation or wealth or happiness.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): But that justice is in and of itself a valuable virtue to have even if everyone, even if you have the purse. Everyone thinks that you're an unjust person.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And so, Socrates, take basically then tense. The rest of this dialogue. This 10 book this the first 10 chapters or 10 books in this dialogue.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): Trying to figure out what is it satisfactory account of justice and then proving that even if everyone thinks that you are unjust. It's still better for you to be just
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): But we're our or our expert picks up it's right after somebody says, like, look, it's really hard to figure out what justice is in a singular person. And because we're looking at a virtue of their soul and a soul is really small.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): So it's going to be much easier to figure out what Justice isn't something larger that we can use this analogy here.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): That like just that if we can see something in a bigger model, then we can kind of apply it to the soul and that bigger model that they want to use is a city.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And this is the same thing that we would do, like in you know any sort of side anytime any sort of theoretical exercise. Right. You want to develop a model that can help you figure out a particular case.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And so they turn to describing justice in the city. And they, they, be they engage in this conversation about, like, well, if we can build a perfectly just city.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And when we describe all the institutions, then we'll be able to figure out what justice is with this example of a perfectly just city.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And so they begin this conversation imagining themselves as the founders of a new city is going to be different than all the other cities that we currently have. And they're going to build it perfectly. Just a political community and
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): In the course of that they're going to discover what justice is. And so in our reading for this week we pick up with this kind of origins of the see what Socrates and his interlocutors believe is the nature how a city comes into being.
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): And we will kind of pick up through out the Plato's Republic here how they describe this perfectly just city so hopefully this gives you a little bit of background that will help you kind of approach this reading. I know it's it's can be a bit dense and complex and hard to jump into
Prof. Sardo (he/him/his): But hopefully this will give you a little bit more grounding in context as we work through this and I look forward to our discussion on Wednesday. Take care.
