As part of my yearly reading of something philosophical, I decided it was time to finish Plato’s _The Republic_, which I had started for a Philosophies of Education course at Teachers College.
I enjoyed reading the thoughts of Plato through Socrates and comparing the philosophies of society now with the ideas of then. Times have not really changed much, surprisingly, over the years. For example, consider Socrates’ argument about the separation of men and women. He states that only humans deem females as the weaker sex with the men trying to make themselves better as a gender. Other animals have females as the hunters or protectors (like the lions); or the men are prettier and in need of attracting the female (as in the birds). So, why do we as humans, supposedly the superior race, feel the need to separate the genders opposite to what is considered “natural” to other species? It’s just a rhetorical question and something to consider – no need for responses! π
Though I do not always follow Socrates’ if a=b and b=c then a=c logic, because I do not always believe this to be true; it’s interesting to consider his arguments in this manner. I often wondered if he believed these arguments himself or was simply playing devil’s advocate and trying to get a rise out of the men who are the “Great Thinkers” and “Wise” of the society. It seems that Socrates’ nature would agree with my musings….
It’s no wonder that this is a foundational read for philosophy and I know I’ll have to revisit it to remind myself of the challenging societal questions that were argued so many years ago and yet continue to be without answers.
More to come…
-T
