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[not4eating]

Unfiltered and unedited. Rabid thought produced while thinking about an essay prompt.

should be something of interest to you and something that speaks to your values, ideas, and relationship with your larger social world.

Possible topics for writing project 3

What makes it debatable? What are various directions you could take this topic? Which one are you planning on choosing and why?

God damn, I don’t know. What are the things that are important to me? Fucking fuck this shit. I can’t think about this kind of stuff right now. I’m already stressed enough. My work life balance is so fucking off. As it stands I don’t like any of the stuff that I’m learning about. I’m stressed all the time. I’m working harder than I ever have and I have the worst grades that I have ever received. Wtf. I got a b in my last humanities class and I didn’t even do half of the assigned material. That balance  is incredibly skewed. Like what’s wrong with college. What the fuck is wrong with it. How does something like that happen. Where a student can put in literally no effort one semester and receive straight a’s and then the next semester they try even harder and then can barely pass their class. That actually reminds me. I need to cite socrates for my most recent assignment in Humanities 01. Her class is the one that I’m complaining about here. It’s too difficult. I feel like I’m cracking because of it. I mean. I can lie in that class. If I lied I would probably get a better grade. None of these teachers actually read what you write. They don’t actually care. So if I wanted to I could just bullshit everything. As a matter of fact I think all of school is bullshit. I also think that we should be paid to go to school so we don’t have to fucking work full time just to support ourselves while we have another full time career. Like, at least pay people up until their associates. Ive been going to school for seven years. That’s an insane amount of time to have suffered through academia. I wouldn’t mind if it was only academia that I had to deal with, but the fact of the matter is that academia is the part of my life that I actually enjoy. In order to support myself through college I have to work a job that is mentally draining and I have to do it for fifty hours a week and even then I barely make enough to survive. So what is the solution? Free housing for full time students and a free cafeteria for full time students that serves decent meals that you request the day before. If you don’t request a meal then they don’t make a meal for you. If you want to work while you go to school then you can. But all students must maintain at least a c average in order to remain in the program. If a student falls below a c average one semester then they are put on mandatory academic counseling in order to maintain their access to free housing and food. What happens to students when they lose their access? That’s a good question. Im not sure right now. Punishing them would be counter intuitive. The goal is to create an environment where everyone feels welcome and motivated to succeed.

My whole point is that I don’t have enough time. I can’t find enough time to do all of the things that I need to do. I feel unproductive. But at the same time I need to sleep. I have only been getting about four hours of sleep a night on average. I finish work. I make dinner and clean up and then I get to work on my homework. My whole body shakes all of the time. I get light headed, sometimes I lose hours of my day to nothing. My mind literally blacks out. Would my day be better if slept? Do I still have those multi hour long unproductive spells? Yes I do, want when I sleep. I just lose focus every now and then. Have I tried Adderall? I absolutely have. It helps for certain things. However, at the end of the day, its far less effective than everyone says it is. I’ve worked my way up from 5mg to 40 mg and even then its like “yo, this stuff doesn’t really do what it says its supposed to. Even at sixty mg instant its about as effective as a cup of coffee. The only thing that seems to be able to get me out of my head long enough to be productive is alcohol, which is so bad. I spent all of last semester drunk. I got incredible grades. I had more than enough time on my hands to spend with my spouse, which I can’t say for this semester. The only issue with this is that I was fucking drunk all the time. I gained 40 pounds and spent my work day on the verge of vomiting. I got in a car accident because I was so tired that I could barely keep my eyes open. I am literally killing myself. I am literally killing myself. I am literally killing myself. The structured lifestyle is torture. Day in and day out, the same thing over and over again. I’m worried that when I start estimating its going to be the same thing. Ill be fine for a few months, and then at the eight month mark ill hate my job. I need to be free. I need to be able to write and talk and interact with he people of their world. I need to write, and I need to write about what I want. Is this form of writing any different than writing by hand, I don’t think so? Maybe? Ts fine and all writing on a keyboard. It’s been at least a decade since people have been writing this way almost exclusively. They question is have novels gotta better or have they gotten worse. I can only say that I am almost incapable of reading anything modern. Especially works that may or may not become literary classics. I also can’t read as fast as some people. I wonder how they read all of the books that they read. I think that after I get my bachelors I’m going to focus all of my free time reading new literature. A novel a day would be a good goal. Why should a three hundred page book be difficult to read in a few hours? I recently read a 200page book in a day and had a great time of it. I even took copies nots with is unusual for me. I was ony able to do that because it was a part of the curriculum. If it wasn’t a part of that I wouldn’t have read it and I wouldn’t have been able to even have the time to read it

What really gets me is the academic research paper. Why do we have to do research on random ass Tomic and write papers about it. They always say that you can write about whatever you want to talk about, but when I write about something truly world changing like I did about big data all the back in fucking 2007 when nobody even cared how the teacher tell me that it was in irrelevant topic that was too broad. I mean its not a broad topic alt all. Data collection and the issue that occurs when it is collected. Ie the stealing and unregulated sharing of data is complete bullshit. Nobody cared then, it was n issue that fucking mattered then and it fucking matters now. Big data is so important. What you search, what you read, what you are interested in is your own person. It is who you are. That is what makes it so incredibly valuable. When we live on the internet we think in the internet. Everyone that uses the internet shares there deepest thoughts to google and reddit. Even those that don’t are texting it or keeping it in their notes apps. Its like if someone had access to your diary, your personal conversations, and your alarm clocks, because even alarm clocks are digital now. They have access to this information, and they use it against you. They even know what you watch, and how much you pay attention to what you’re watching because they know when you’re on your phone scrolling through facebook. And this sounds crazy. It would have been crazy 50 years ago. But today it is not crazy. People are watching you all the time. They pay attention to the conversations that you have in front of smart speakers, they watch you on security cameral. They check your GPS data at all times. They read your emails, they look at your nots, they check your interests and disinterests. They know that you slow down when you see s=certain things and they know that you speed up after certain things. It sounds stupid. It sounds ridiculous, but all you have to do is look at the power at your fingertips as you read this very article. Look no further than your damn phone. You fool. If you think anything is private, just know that everything you do is being watched and recorded. Not by people of course. But by computers. Computers who are profiling you. Learning how to manipulate you specifically. What keywords turn you on. What keywords piss you off. All they have to do is out the right thing in front of you and you will either buy what you’re seeing or at the very least recognize it. That’s where this whole thing gets so fucked up. Advertisers, politicians, random Russians, random Chinese people, random anyone with enough resources to make you do a thing. All they have to do is know what catches your attention and then right before or after that they show you the thing that they want you to see because even if you’re only looking at the dog, nike is at the top of the page and even though you're not fucking looking at that shit, you like running, and you like dogs so all they have to do is put that shit in front of you enough times and suddenly the nike swoosh is one of your favorite things in the world. You have familiarized yourself with it. It is now safe says your lizard brain and suddenly it's only of a few dozen things that you like to see. I can guarantee you that if I showed you something that you didn’t understand. Just a random mark. You wouldn’t look twice at it. You might even associate it with something cheap in comparison to nike. This is regardless of the actual range in quality. You would still buy a thing form nike that was produced for half the price but sold to you for double the price than you would the other thing. No matter how smart or how critical you are there are basic human instincts and those instincts can’t be denied.

Can you even fucking change this thing. Is it established in childhood. I have a cat who is skittish as hell. I love cats, I would never hurt one but still she loves me but is afraid as hell of Perone else. I raised her, I adopted her when she was only thee months old and yet she behaves the way that she doe. Was this behavior bred into her or is she skittish because she had observed me being uneasy in front of strangers and therefore learned this behavior. I don’t fucking know man, but its the exact way that internet marketing, marketing in general really. Its how it works. You are more likely to eat at a McDonalds than you are a regional fast food chain when you’re driving through a town. Your more likely to stay at a marmot than you are a Hilton if you were raised in a town that had a marmot and didn’t have a Hilton. You’re more familiar to marmot because its what you’ve seen. Its what you know. It was the nicest hotel in your town  that has other hotels across the world. Even if you associate it with a shitty crowd, you know that its still a good enough place to sleep for a not unreasonable sum of money. Human instinct. If you know a place is safe you know you can sleep there without being completely uncomfortable. Its the same thing with internet marketing. If it doesn’t apply to you think about cable. Think about the groceries you buy from a person behind a counter. Think about the places you use your bank cars which goes through a computer and knows where you are and what you’re buying. You’re shits not private. It never will be as long as the internet exists and continues to improve. The rise of the machines isn’t brought about by a machine that kills you directly. rough about by a computer that divides us against perfectly fine people until we eventually kill each other via nuclear winter. The more we allow the world to be determined by the people that write algorithms that feed us content and places to go the more likely we are to fall prey to an algorithm built with malicious intent. This is because most people don’t know how to read code and the ones that do most of them can’t read or write code at the level of the one percent of the one percent that decide what happens on the internet. Or rather, that the algorithms that they people write that curate the web for them.

Compton could literally be anywhere. La is the creative capital of creative work because the degrees of separation between you and your friend base and the people who decide what’s produces are like two or three at tops. Compton isn’t special. Eve lived in the area. It’s not the hood, everywhere is the hood, Sacramento is the hood. People that live in fucking Ladera heights can claim that they live in the hood. People from Sacramento are just as cultured as anyone from la. people from Folsom are just as relevant as the millions of people from la. hip hop beats are just chill study beats. These people sit in traffic all day every day. That’s all I have to say about that. La is great, but so is Sacramento. So is every other city in the us. Most towns are just as special people just need the encouragement to create. One in 20 is a genius. When you get 20 people together even for a moment you have a guaranteed stroke of genius. People are genius by nature. There’s nothing special about plato, Picasso, or Okonma, they just found a small group of people to speak to who spread their message far and wide and now they are who they are. God I didn’t realize how much I needed to just yell these things to. The thoughts in my mind that sleep in my unconscious thought. I wish that I could just record all of my thoughts. Maybe I would think the same things less often. Venting in a permanent forum Is so nice.

[not4eating]

Socrates Life, Death and Truth Transcript

00:00:01.256 --> 00:00:06.326  

It is difficult to say anything certain about

Socrates though he is considered the father

 00:00:06.326 --> 00:00:09.656  

of philosophy, Socrates himself

never wrote a thing.

 00:00:09.896 --> 00:00:12.846  

What we know of him comes from

the accounts of his friends

 00:00:12.846 --> 00:00:15.346  

and students writing long after his death.

 00:00:15.846 --> 00:00:19.606  

Despite this limitation, we are

fairly certain about a few things.

 00:00:19.936 --> 00:00:22.606  

We are pretty sure that Socrates

was born in Athens

 00:00:22.606 --> 00:00:28.886  

around 469 B.C. He may well have followed

his father's trade as a stone mason.

 00:00:29.026 --> 00:00:32.346  

He probably served in the Athenian

Army at some point in his life.

 00:00:32.516 --> 00:00:36.806  

In his later life, Socrates apparently

was a man of some importance.

 00:00:37.236 --> 00:00:38.876  

He was a member of Athens' Boule,

 00:00:39.486 --> 00:00:42.636  

a citizen council that voted

on important matters of state.

 00:00:42.636 --> 00:00:47.296  

Sometime along the way Socrates

became interested in philosophy.

 00:00:47.416 --> 00:00:52.216  

Though his ideas earned him many friends

and students among the elite of Athens,

 00:00:52.506 --> 00:00:57.666  

Socrates seems to have also upset a lot of

people with his philosophical inquiries.

 00:00:58.666 --> 00:01:04.126  

Socrates was brought to trial in 399 B.C. under

charges of corrupting the youth of the city.

 00:01:04.966 --> 00:01:09.246  

He was found guilty and sentenced

to death by drinking hemlock poison.

 00:01:09.736 --> 00:01:12.486  

This is what we know about Socrates

 00:01:12.576 --> 00:01:16.646  

but this short account raises

as many questions as it answers.

 00:01:17.596 --> 00:01:19.586  

What was Socrates' philosophy?

 00:01:20.016 --> 00:01:23.956  

Why did the Athenian city state

considered Socrates so dangerous?

 00:01:24.136 --> 00:01:28.236  

And finally why did his successors

consider him so important?

 00:01:28.616 --> 00:01:33.986  

To answer these, we must attempt to draw

reliable information from some obviously biased

 00:01:33.986 --> 00:01:36.606  

and often clearly fictitious sources.

 00:01:36.836 --> 00:01:39.756  

This issue is known as the Socratic problem.

 00:01:39.936 --> 00:01:44.856  

Though several ancient authors mention Socrates,

our primary source is his student, Plato.

 00:01:45.386 --> 00:01:48.776  

We have two good reasons to

distrust Plato's account of Socrates.

 00:01:48.836 --> 00:01:50.246  

The first is obvious.

 00:01:50.816 --> 00:01:55.256  

A Socrates' student, Plato's account is

clearly biased in his master's favor.

 00:01:55.576 --> 00:01:57.296  

The second is more complicated.

 00:01:57.946 --> 00:02:04.046  

After Socrates' death, Plato began writing

a series of dialogues featuring his master.

 00:02:04.526 --> 00:02:06.876  

In these dialogue, Socrates engages

 00:02:06.876 --> 00:02:10.186  

in philosophical debates with

other wise men of his age.

 00:02:10.356 --> 00:02:14.766  

The problem is that it is

difficult to tell which ideas belong

 00:02:14.766 --> 00:02:17.796  

to Socrates and which ideas belong to Plato.

 00:02:17.976 --> 00:02:21.986  

It is generally believed that

Plato's early dialogues are attempts

 00:02:21.986 --> 00:02:23.926  

to preserve his master's message.

 00:02:24.576 --> 00:02:26.576  

While his later work is more original.

 00:02:27.146 --> 00:02:31.256  

When we look at his dialogues, we can see

a rather clear distinction between the two.

 00:02:31.256 --> 00:02:36.186  

In his early dialogues, Plato has

Socrates asks a lot of questions.

 00:02:36.186 --> 00:02:41.156  

In his later dialogues, Plato has

Socrates make a lot of statements.

 00:02:41.806 --> 00:02:45.756  

From this evidence, scholars

believe that Socrates' contribution

 00:02:45.756 --> 00:02:49.086  

to philosophy was a way of asking questions.

 00:02:49.566 --> 00:02:52.846  

Questions which his successors

then tried to answer.

 00:02:53.736 --> 00:02:57.416  

Let us therefore look at those

early dialogues and their questions.

 00:02:57.886 --> 00:03:01.366  

Discussion of the later dialogues

can be found in our lecture on Plato.

 00:03:02.356 --> 00:03:06.716  

Socratic dialogues go something like this.

 00:03:07.166 --> 00:03:08.346  

Hello Fred.

 00:03:08.346 --> 00:03:10.026  

Hello there Socrates.

 00:03:10.326 --> 00:03:12.486  

I'm sure glad I ran into you.

 00:03:12.816 --> 00:03:17.706  

I have a question for you about piety

and I know you'd be a very pious man.

 00:03:17.966 --> 00:03:21.406  

Everyone in town says that

that Fred, he's a pious one.

 00:03:21.496 --> 00:03:22.536  

And I'm so stupid.

 00:03:22.536 --> 00:03:24.876  

I don't know anything about piety.

 00:03:25.126 --> 00:03:30.156  

And I thought that you, the great Fred,

might tell me something about piety.

 00:03:30.726 --> 00:03:33.436  

Very well Socrates.

 00:03:33.786 --> 00:03:36.216  

What is your question?

 00:03:36.216 --> 00:03:37.906  

What is piety?

 00:03:39.066 --> 00:03:41.396  

Piety is what I'm doing now.

 00:03:41.616 --> 00:03:44.126  

I'm on my way to the temple to worship Zeus.

 00:03:44.556 --> 00:03:47.336  

Well that's just an example of an pious action.

 00:03:47.596 --> 00:03:49.466  

What is piety?

 00:03:50.216 --> 00:03:55.096  

Piety is doing what pleases the gods.

 00:03:55.226 --> 00:03:57.076  

That's much better.

 00:03:57.726 --> 00:04:03.886  

A good general statement but

don't the gods sometimes disagree?

 00:04:03.886 --> 00:04:11.426  

Like you know, things are that pleasing to

Artemis might not be so pleasing to Aphrodite.

 00:04:11.426 --> 00:04:12.726  

[Inaudible] cross purposes you say.

 00:04:12.726 --> 00:04:18.606  

Well yes, yes but there are things

that they all find pleasing.

 00:04:18.806 --> 00:04:24.666  

Doing those things is pious and there

are things that they all find displeasing

 00:04:24.866 --> 00:04:27.116  

and doing those things is impious.

 00:04:27.116 --> 00:04:29.936  

So let me get this straight.

 00:04:30.756 --> 00:04:34.226  

Are the gods pleased by actions

because they are pious

 00:04:34.596 --> 00:04:38.546  

or are actions pious because

they please the gods?

 00:04:39.436 --> 00:04:41.746  

Well, no, I mean yes.

 00:04:42.026 --> 00:04:44.056  

I mean what?

 00:04:45.076 --> 00:04:49.516  

Well -- if all the gods agreed that

say eating babies pleased them,

 00:04:49.766 --> 00:04:51.976  

would that make eating babies pious?

 00:04:52.176 --> 00:04:53.556  

Certainly not.

 00:04:54.326 --> 00:04:58.426  

But you just said that piety is

what all the gods agree as pleasing.

 00:04:58.686 --> 00:05:04.516  

Yes but but.

 00:05:05.186 --> 00:05:07.246  

Guess I'll never know what piety is.

 00:05:08.336 --> 00:05:13.156  

Well Socrates may have learned nothing from

this exchange, we can learn a great deal.

 00:05:13.936 --> 00:05:17.346  

First we can see why Socrates was

considered something of a nuisance

 00:05:17.346 --> 00:05:19.176  

by the important people of Athens.

 00:05:19.176 --> 00:05:21.786  

Even if he didn't make their heads explode,

 00:05:22.106 --> 00:05:25.096  

he certainly raised some

serious doubts about their ideas.

 00:05:25.476 --> 00:05:29.596  

The fact that he did so in a public

place only made it more embarrassing.

 00:05:29.686 --> 00:05:34.026  

Second, Socrates rarely offers his own ideas.

 00:05:34.406 --> 00:05:38.556  

Instead he looks for flaws or

inconsistencies in the ideas of others.

 00:05:38.556 --> 00:05:42.206  

This is the heart of Socrates' philosophy.

 00:05:43.516 --> 00:05:49.936  

Socrates knows that he knows nothing where as

everyone else is under the mistaken impression

 00:05:49.936 --> 00:05:54.926  

that they know something but Socrates

is doing more than popping egos here.

 00:05:55.606 --> 00:05:59.816  

What Socrates is doing is establishing

a higher standard for truth.

 00:06:00.596 --> 00:06:04.046  

Truth must be logically consistent.

 00:06:04.166 --> 00:06:06.726  

That is it should not contradict itself.

 00:06:06.936 --> 00:06:09.916  

That is Socrates' dangerous idea.

 00:06:10.306 --> 00:06:14.236  

Rather than be satisfied with

whatever answer sounds good,

 00:06:14.606 --> 00:06:17.126  

we should look more closely

at the things we call true.

 00:06:17.126 --> 00:06:25.216  

This is complicated by the fact that big

ideas like piety are not easily defined.

 00:06:25.556 --> 00:06:30.696  

Socrates also raises the point that the truth

may not be readily apparent to our senses.

 00:06:31.266 --> 00:06:34.796  

Just because something seems

true doesn't mean it is true.

 00:06:36.076 --> 00:06:41.566  

For evidence, Socrates notes that many learned

people believe things that are not true.

 00:06:42.666 --> 00:06:44.326  

In pointing out these problems,

 00:06:44.506 --> 00:06:48.486  

Socrates established a distinction

between knowledge and belief.

 00:06:49.446 --> 00:06:56.146  

Knowledge is always true while belief is

only true for some people some of the time.

 00:06:56.266 --> 00:06:58.596  

This distinction seems natural to us today.

 00:06:59.446 --> 00:07:02.256  

It was not so warmly received in ancient Athens.

 00:07:03.346 --> 00:07:07.646  

For though we share much in common with

the Athenians like democracy and voting,

 00:07:08.046 --> 00:07:10.866  

we often fail to recognize the differences.

 00:07:11.386 --> 00:07:14.736  

For us, things like voting

are matters of patriotism.

 00:07:14.986 --> 00:07:18.046  

For Athenians, these were

deeply religious matters.

 00:07:18.536 --> 00:07:23.666  

Everything important in Athenian society drew

its authority from some religious ground.

 00:07:24.126 --> 00:07:26.646  

Every tradition had an accompanying myth.

 00:07:26.736 --> 00:07:29.496  

Every public post was a sacred office

 00:07:29.956 --> 00:07:35.636  

and now here comes this annoying old man asking

all sorts of questions that no one can answer.

 00:07:35.636 --> 00:07:40.476  

What made Socrates so threatening

was the fact that matters

 00:07:40.476 --> 00:07:44.366  

of faith fail his standard of truth.

 00:07:44.366 --> 00:07:47.136  

Every religion in the world

is full of contradictions.

 00:07:47.486 --> 00:07:53.416  

By questioning religion, Socrates is essentially

undermining the foundation of his society.

 00:07:53.796 --> 00:07:57.996  

No one knows how people will behave

without the constant fear of being smitten

 00:07:57.996 --> 00:08:01.386  

by some god to keep them in line.

 00:08:01.466 --> 00:08:04.326  

So the Athenians made the worst

decision they could have made.

 00:08:04.426 --> 00:08:07.926  

They took an annoying old man

and turned him into a martyr.

 00:08:08.116 --> 00:08:10.726  

This got all of his friends upset.

 00:08:11.166 --> 00:08:14.566  

Plato got mad enough to write

dozens of books about him to ensure

 00:08:14.566 --> 00:08:16.716  

that those dangerous ideas lived on.

 00:08:17.306 --> 00:08:20.576  

In the meantime, he created the

foundations of Western philosophy.

 00:08:20.576 --> 00:08:25.746  

And when Plato's student, Aristotle, parted

ways with his master, it was on the grounds

 00:08:25.746 --> 00:08:29.456  

that Plato too had failed to

meet Socrates' standard of truth.

 00:08:30.366 --> 00:08:34.316  

Indeed all of Western philosophy

can be interpreted as answers

 00:08:34.316 --> 00:08:39.376  

to the puzzling questions asked by

Socrates from Plato to Rene Descartes.

 00:08:39.846 --> 00:08:43.526  

At the end of this lecture series,

we will see how Francis Bacon,

 00:08:43.686 --> 00:08:48.546  

the father of the scientific method,

was really in essence inventing a way

 00:08:48.716 --> 00:08:52.766  

to finally meet Socrates'

lofty standards for truth.

[not4eating]

Philosophy Plato Transcript

00:00:09.366 --> 00:00:11.786  

Athens, 2,400 years ago.

 00:00:12.226 --> 00:00:13.466  

It's a compact place.

 00:00:13.776 --> 00:00:15.996  

Only about a quarter of a

million people live here.

 00:00:16.326 --> 00:00:18.896  

There are fine bars,

theaters, temples, shopping,

 00:00:18.896 --> 00:00:20.256  

arcades and gymnasiums.

 00:00:20.516 --> 00:00:22.196  

It's warm for more

than half the year.

 00:00:22.906 --> 00:00:25.446  

This is also home to

the world's first true

 00:00:25.446 --> 00:00:28.366  

and probably greatest

philosopher, Plato.

 00:00:29.046 --> 00:00:31.616  

Born into a prominent and

wealthy family in the city,

 00:00:31.936 --> 00:00:35.126  

Plato devoted his life to

one goal, helping people

 00:00:35.126 --> 00:00:38.216  

to reach a state of what

he termed eudaimonia,

 00:00:38.586 --> 00:00:39.806  

or fulfillment.

 00:00:40.316 --> 00:00:42.666  

Plato is often confused

with Socrates.

 00:00:42.976 --> 00:00:45.586  

Socrates was an older friend

who taught Plato a lot,

 00:00:45.586 --> 00:00:46.926  

but didn't write any books.

 00:00:47.286 --> 00:00:50.056  

Plato wrote lots of

them, 36, all dialogues,

 00:00:50.306 --> 00:00:52.966  

beautifully crafted scripts

of imaginary discussions

 00:00:53.216 --> 00:00:55.946  

in which Socrates is always

allotted a starring role.

 00:00:56.246 --> 00:00:58.676  

Among them, The Republic,

the Symposium, the Laws,

 00:00:58.676 --> 00:00:59.906  

the Meno and the Apology.

 00:01:00.576 --> 00:01:04.076  

Plato had four big ideas for

making life more fulfilled.

 00:01:04.886 --> 00:01:07.016  

First big idea, think more.

 00:01:07.646 --> 00:01:10.566  

We rarely give ourselves time

to think carefully and logically

 00:01:10.566 --> 00:01:12.446  

about our lives and

how to lead them.

 00:01:12.996 --> 00:01:14.216  

Sometimes we just go along

 00:01:14.216 --> 00:01:17.556  

with what the Greeks called

doxa, or popular opinions.

 00:01:18.036 --> 00:01:21.176  

In the 36 books he wrote,

Plato showed this common sense

 00:01:21.176 --> 00:01:23.916  

to be riddled with errors,

prejudice and superstitious.

 00:01:24.246 --> 00:01:26.276  

Fame is great, follow

your heart,

 00:01:26.306 --> 00:01:28.036  

money is the key to a good life.

 00:01:28.396 --> 00:01:32.506  

The problem is, popular opinions

edges towards the wrong values,

 00:01:32.626 --> 00:01:34.036  

careers and relationships.

 00:01:34.526 --> 00:01:37.356  

Plato's answer is know yourself.

 00:01:37.956 --> 00:01:41.466  

It means doing a special

kind of therapy, philosophy,

 00:01:41.916 --> 00:01:44.696  

subjecting your ideas

to examination rather

 00:01:44.696 --> 00:01:46.346  

than acting on impulse.

 00:01:46.696 --> 00:01:48.916  

If you strengthen yourself

knowledge, you don't get

 00:01:48.916 --> 00:01:50.656  

so pulled around by feelings.

 00:01:51.086 --> 00:01:53.036  

Plato compared the

role of our feelings

 00:01:53.186 --> 00:01:56.876  

to being dragged dangerously

along by a group of wild horses.

 00:01:57.336 --> 00:01:59.816  

In honor of his mentor

and friend Socrates,

 00:02:00.176 --> 00:02:03.476  

this kind of examination is

called a Socratic discussion.

 00:02:04.046 --> 00:02:07.026  

You can have it with yourself,

or ideally, with another person

 00:02:07.166 --> 00:02:08.646  

who isn't trying

to catch you out,

 00:02:08.646 --> 00:02:11.756  

but wants to help you

clarify your own ideas.

 00:02:12.346 --> 00:02:15.556  

Second big idea, let

your lover change you.

 00:02:15.866 --> 00:02:19.206  

That sounds weird if you think

that love means finding someone

 00:02:19.206 --> 00:02:21.266  

who wants you just

the way you are.

 00:02:22.106 --> 00:02:24.936  

In a symposium, Plato's

play about a dinner party

 00:02:25.066 --> 00:02:27.496  

where a group of friends

drink too much and get talking

 00:02:27.496 --> 00:02:29.326  

about love, sex and

relationships.

 00:02:29.706 --> 00:02:32.756  

Plato says, true

love is admiration.

 00:02:33.116 --> 00:02:35.526  

In other words, the person

you need to get together

 00:02:35.526 --> 00:02:37.486  

with should have

very good qualities,

 00:02:37.786 --> 00:02:39.116  

which you yourself lack.

 00:02:39.946 --> 00:02:42.016  

Let's say they should

be really brave

 00:02:42.016 --> 00:02:44.706  

or organized or warm

and sincere.

 00:02:45.496 --> 00:02:46.996  

By getting close to this person,

 00:02:47.196 --> 00:02:49.186  

you can become a

little like they are.

 00:02:49.646 --> 00:02:52.966  

The right person for us helps

us grow to our full potential.

 00:02:53.666 --> 00:02:55.426  

For Plato, in a good

relationship,

 00:02:55.426 --> 00:02:57.736  

a couple shouldn't

love each other exactly

 00:02:57.736 --> 00:02:58.996  

as they are right now.

 00:02:59.326 --> 00:03:01.566  

They should be committed

to educating each other

 00:03:01.706 --> 00:03:04.436  

and to enduring the

stormy passages this

 00:03:04.436 --> 00:03:05.776  

inevitably involves.

 00:03:06.306 --> 00:03:08.376  

Each person should want

to seduce the other

 00:03:08.666 --> 00:03:11.196  

into becoming a better

version of themselves.

 00:03:11.626 --> 00:03:14.116  

Three, decode the

message of beauty.

 00:03:14.676 --> 00:03:17.086  

Everyone pretty much

likes beautiful things.

 00:03:17.416 --> 00:03:19.956  

But Plato was the first to

ask, why do we like them?

 00:03:20.286 --> 00:03:21.746  

He found a fascinating reason.

 00:03:22.196 --> 00:03:24.876  

Beautiful objects are

whispering important truths

 00:03:24.876 --> 00:03:26.346  

to us about the good life.

 00:03:26.996 --> 00:03:29.776  

We find things beautiful

when we unconsciously sense

 00:03:29.776 --> 00:03:33.226  

in them qualities we need,

but are missing in our lives.

 00:03:33.806 --> 00:03:37.916  

Gentleness, harmony,

balance, peace, strength.

 00:03:38.656 --> 00:03:40.046  

Beautiful objects, therefore,

 00:03:40.156 --> 00:03:41.636  

have a really important

function.

 00:03:42.056 --> 00:03:44.076  

They help to educate our souls.

 00:03:44.636 --> 00:03:46.446  

Ugliness is a serious

matter too.

 00:03:46.746 --> 00:03:50.336  

It parades dangerous and damaged

characteristics in front of us.

 00:03:50.716 --> 00:03:53.456  

It makes it harder to

be wise, kind and calm.

 00:03:54.306 --> 00:03:56.456  

Plato sees art as therapeutic.

 00:03:56.696 --> 00:03:59.896  

It's the duty of poets and

painters and nowadays novelists,

 00:03:59.896 --> 00:04:03.486  

TV producers and designers,

to help us to live good lives.

 00:04:03.876 --> 00:04:06.106  

Four, reform society.

 00:04:06.836 --> 00:04:09.196  

Plato spent a lot of time

thinking how the government

 00:04:09.196 --> 00:04:11.296  

and society should ideally be.

 00:04:11.756 --> 00:04:14.076  

He was the world's

first Utopian thinker.

 00:04:14.966 --> 00:04:18.226  

In this, he was inspired by

Athens' great rival, Sparta.

 00:04:18.666 --> 00:04:22.356  

This was a city-sized machine

for turning out great soldiers.

 00:04:22.676 --> 00:04:25.406  

Everything the Spartans did,

how they raised their children,

 00:04:25.486 --> 00:04:27.766  

how their economy was

organized, whom they admired,

 00:04:27.906 --> 00:04:31.576  

how they had sex, what they ate

was tailored to that one goal.

 00:04:31.756 --> 00:04:35.806  

And Sparta was hugely successful

from a military point of view.

 00:04:36.006 --> 00:04:38.036  

But that wasn't Plato's concern.

 00:04:38.436 --> 00:04:40.986  

He wanted to know, how

could a society get better

 00:04:40.986 --> 00:04:44.956  

at producing not military

power, but fulfilled power?

 00:04:45.116 --> 00:04:47.886  

In this book, The Republic,

Plato identifies a number

 00:04:47.886 --> 00:04:49.256  

of changes that should be made.

 00:04:49.856 --> 00:04:52.646  

Athenian society was

very focused on the rich,

 00:04:52.646 --> 00:04:54.756  

like the louche aristocrat

Alcibiades,

 00:04:54.756 --> 00:04:57.826  

and sports celebrities, like

the boxer Milo of Croton.

 00:04:58.456 --> 00:04:59.726  

Plato wasn't impressed.

 00:05:00.006 --> 00:05:01.646  

It really matters who we admire,

 00:05:02.046 --> 00:05:05.706  

because celebrities influence

our outlook, ideas and conduct.

 00:05:05.776 --> 00:05:09.496  

And bad heroes give glamour

to flaws of character.

 00:05:10.136 --> 00:05:13.176  

Plato, therefore, wanted to

give Athens new celebrities,

 00:05:13.436 --> 00:05:16.136  

replacing the current

crop with ideally wise

 00:05:16.136 --> 00:05:18.176  

and good people he

called Guardians,

 00:05:18.426 --> 00:05:20.496  

models for everyone's

good development.

 00:05:21.016 --> 00:05:23.056  

These people would be

distinguished by their record

 00:05:23.056 --> 00:05:26.516  

of public service, their modesty

and simple habits, their dislike

 00:05:26.516 --> 00:05:29.486  

of the limelight and their

wide and deep experience.

 00:05:29.786 --> 00:05:32.586  

They would be the most honored

and admired people in society.

 00:05:33.076 --> 00:05:35.776  

He also wanted to end

democracy in Athens.

 00:05:36.006 --> 00:05:36.826  

He wasn't crazy.

 00:05:37.166 --> 00:05:40.336  

He just observed how few people

think properly before they vote.

 00:05:40.656 --> 00:05:43.476  

And therefore, we get

very substandard rulers.

 00:05:43.866 --> 00:05:45.586  

He didn't want to

replace democracy

 00:05:45.586 --> 00:05:46.826  

with a horrid dictatorship.

 00:05:46.826 --> 00:05:49.136  

But he wanted to prevent

people from voting

 00:05:49.236 --> 00:05:51.666  

until they did started

to think rationally.

 00:05:51.716 --> 00:05:54.636  

That is, until they'd

become philosophers.

 00:05:54.846 --> 00:05:57.716  

Otherwise, government was

just be a kind of mob rule.

 00:05:57.876 --> 00:06:01.306  

To help the process, Plato

started a school, The Academy,

 00:06:01.376 --> 00:06:04.096  

in Athens, which

lasted a good 300 years.

 00:06:04.386 --> 00:06:06.986  

There, people learned not

just math and spelling,

 00:06:06.986 --> 00:06:09.006  

but also how to be

good and kind.

 00:06:09.596 --> 00:06:10.856  

His ultimate goal was

 00:06:10.856 --> 00:06:12.746  

that politicians should

become philosophers.

 00:06:13.076 --> 00:06:14.616  

"The world will not

be right," he said,

 00:06:14.906 --> 00:06:18.156  

"until kings become philosophers

or philosophers kings."

[not4eating]

Birth of Consciousness in Early Greek Thought Transcript

00:00:24.286 --> 00:00:27.496 A:middle >> Well first, it's really nice to be able to talk to you 00:00:27.646 --> 00:00:36.276 A:middle about this course, which begins my tenure with the university 00:00:36.276 --> 00:00:42.326 A:middle and represents I hope a way for me 00:00:42.326 --> 00:00:48.006 A:middle to introduce myself to these students. 00:00:48.876 --> 00:00:51.546 A:middle >> You call this course The Birth of Consciousness 00:00:51.546 --> 00:00:52.726 A:middle in Early Greek Thought. 00:00:53.336 --> 00:00:56.246 A:middle Wasn't there a sense of consciousness earlier than this? 00:00:57.096 --> 00:00:58.726 A:middle >> Well, what that -- 00:00:58.726 --> 00:01:03.966 A:middle it's a good question because I had a bit 00:01:03.966 --> 00:01:08.846 A:middle of a challenge figuring out how to find a title for the course. 00:01:08.846 --> 00:01:12.326 A:middle First of all, I didn't want to call it the Birth of Philosophy 00:01:12.326 --> 00:01:15.766 A:middle in Early Greek Thought, because that's all been done 00:01:16.086 --> 00:01:20.536 A:middle and it's basically an academic experience for most people. 00:01:21.196 --> 00:01:26.506 A:middle I didn't want to call it the Birth of a Philosophy 00:01:26.506 --> 00:01:29.796 A:middle of Consciousness, because it was simply too long, 00:01:30.076 --> 00:01:31.546 A:middle but that's really what it is. 00:01:32.086 --> 00:01:41.406 A:middle We're really talking about a sudden birth of a way of talking 00:01:41.406 --> 00:01:44.276 A:middle about a new sense of consciousness 00:01:44.796 --> 00:01:51.336 A:middle in a very fascinating period of early Greek thought. 00:01:51.556 --> 00:01:56.006 A:middle >> You know, I always assumed that Greek philosophy began 00:01:56.006 --> 00:01:59.986 A:middle with Plato and so, why are you going back to the pre-Socratics? 00:02:01.866 --> 00:02:06.856 A:middle >> Again, the philosophy does in fact begin with Plato 00:02:06.856 --> 00:02:10.456 A:middle because of the extraordinary volume of his work. 00:02:10.456 --> 00:02:17.436 A:middle The body of his dialogues is so extraordinary. 00:02:17.436 --> 00:02:21.936 A:middle It's amazing we haven't lost more of it, in fact. 00:02:22.516 --> 00:02:24.636 A:middle So, philosophy as Whitehead said, 00:02:24.636 --> 00:02:28.376 A:middle all of philosophy is a footnote to Plato and yet, 00:02:30.076 --> 00:02:35.526 A:middle 120 to 130 years before, basically four generations 00:02:35.526 --> 00:02:40.926 A:middle or three or four, is where it all begins and it begins 00:02:40.926 --> 00:02:45.326 A:middle in Asia Minor with the Greek city states along the 00:02:45.326 --> 00:02:46.456 A:middle Mediterranean coast. 00:02:46.786 --> 00:02:52.586 A:middle Ephesus, Meletus, and it begins with Phales and Anaximander 00:02:52.586 --> 00:02:59.016 A:middle and Heraclitus and then on the Italian boot, 00:02:59.016 --> 00:03:01.106 A:middle Pythagorus and Parmenides. 00:03:01.516 --> 00:03:07.226 A:middle So, it's in the outskirts basically of Greece, 00:03:07.506 --> 00:03:12.076 A:middle not in the center, not in Athens where philosophy really begins 00:03:12.076 --> 00:03:17.736 A:middle and it begins as a way of talking about the cosmos 00:03:17.956 --> 00:03:22.116 A:middle and nature without reference to the Gods, 00:03:22.116 --> 00:03:24.276 A:middle without reference to the Olympians. 00:03:24.936 --> 00:03:27.696 A:middle In other words, the previous period, 00:03:29.096 --> 00:03:33.346 A:middle that is in the 6th Century BC, what we call the archaic period, 00:03:33.936 --> 00:03:43.756 A:middle really explained the world and the cosmos by virtue of saying 00:03:43.756 --> 00:03:47.646 A:middle that well Zeus is the thunder and the lightning 00:03:47.646 --> 00:03:50.626 A:middle and Poseidon rules the sea and so on 00:03:51.226 --> 00:03:54.416 A:middle and obviously this became less and less satisfactory 00:03:54.936 --> 00:03:59.566 A:middle and a few very, very bright individuals began 00:03:59.566 --> 00:04:02.366 A:middle to question this whole process. 00:04:03.066 --> 00:04:11.686 A:middle And, the amazing part of this is that around 500 BC 00:04:11.686 --> 00:04:13.636 A:middle and a little before that, 00:04:14.196 --> 00:04:20.916 A:middle suddenly there were a dozen great teachers who had emerged 00:04:21.326 --> 00:04:31.056 A:middle in China, India, and Greece and in Egypt and in Jerusalem 00:04:32.476 --> 00:04:37.386 A:middle and began to teach a new way of talking about the world. 00:04:38.186 --> 00:04:43.666 A:middle And, the Karl Jaspers, the great German philosopher, 00:04:43.666 --> 00:04:46.296 A:middle referred to this as the axio [phonetic] period, 00:04:46.956 --> 00:04:51.656 A:middle the period in which everything tilted from the archaic 00:04:51.656 --> 00:04:55.916 A:middle to the modern or classical view of reality. 00:04:55.916 --> 00:05:05.586 A:middle And, it was Eric Voegelin who passed away in 1985, 00:05:06.026 --> 00:05:08.796 A:middle great philosopher who referred to this 00:05:08.796 --> 00:05:10.626 A:middle as the great leap of being. 00:05:12.076 --> 00:05:14.316 A:middle >> What do you mean by the great leap of being? 00:05:15.956 --> 00:05:19.526 A:middle >> Well, I've always liked the term rather than the axio period 00:05:19.596 --> 00:05:21.756 A:middle because the great leap of being meant 00:05:22.146 --> 00:05:27.476 A:middle that suddenly human beings began to have a sense 00:05:27.476 --> 00:05:30.856 A:middle of their relationship to the cosmos. 00:05:31.326 --> 00:05:37.566 A:middle And, in effect, the idea of being filtered 00:05:37.566 --> 00:05:45.126 A:middle down into the sole and interior life of human beings in a way 00:05:45.126 --> 00:05:48.286 A:middle that had never been before. 00:05:48.386 --> 00:05:52.296 A:middle Prior to this, there was a sense at least 00:05:52.866 --> 00:05:55.246 A:middle in the Mediterranean basin, there was a sense 00:05:55.626 --> 00:05:59.566 A:middle of the Gods being other and the world being brought forth 00:05:59.726 --> 00:06:04.796 A:middle by chaos and the Gods were basically running the show, 00:06:05.066 --> 00:06:06.066 A:middle pulling the strings. 00:06:06.746 --> 00:06:10.976 A:middle And, whenever anything happened, it was the Gods doing 00:06:10.976 --> 00:06:15.356 A:middle and what human beings had to do was to somehow placate the Gods 00:06:15.826 --> 00:06:20.086 A:middle and to hope that somehow you didn't make them angry. 00:06:21.086 --> 00:06:27.306 A:middle And, for example, in India, the Siddhartha, the Buddha, 00:06:27.816 --> 00:06:31.816 A:middle began talking about Dukkha which was his term, 00:06:32.196 --> 00:06:35.206 A:middle which is usually translated as suffering, 00:06:35.556 --> 00:06:41.356 A:middle but really meant a kind of angst or a kind of existential despair 00:06:41.856 --> 00:06:44.496 A:middle in looking at existence. 00:06:44.756 --> 00:06:48.226 A:middle And, it was his effort in the great noble truths 00:06:48.636 --> 00:06:52.906 A:middle to answer the question as to what one can do faced 00:06:52.906 --> 00:06:56.756 A:middle with that inner feeling of darkness and despair. 00:06:58.866 --> 00:07:04.126 A:middle Now, along the Mediterranean coast, Heraclitus in particular 00:07:04.546 --> 00:07:06.726 A:middle who is for me the most important 00:07:07.116 --> 00:07:11.336 A:middle of the pre-Socratics wrote a book called On Nature, 00:07:11.946 --> 00:07:15.006 A:middle which in fact all 00:07:15.006 --> 00:07:18.106 A:middle of the prescribed philosophers wrote a book called On Nature. 00:07:18.596 --> 00:07:23.546 A:middle They each had their answers to what were the main elements 00:07:23.546 --> 00:07:25.716 A:middle that created the world. 00:07:25.986 --> 00:07:28.466 A:middle So, he had earth, air, fire, and water. 00:07:29.156 --> 00:07:32.816 A:middle Heraclitus said was fire that ran everything. 00:07:33.456 --> 00:07:38.796 A:middle And, to a certain extent, this has modern application 00:07:38.796 --> 00:07:43.396 A:middle because fire suggests energy and we now know in terms 00:07:44.406 --> 00:07:49.246 A:middle of the big bang and E equals mc2 00:07:49.246 --> 00:07:52.056 A:middle that in fact energy is what we're all about. 00:07:52.656 --> 00:07:54.706 A:middle We are in fact packets of energy. 00:07:55.036 --> 00:08:00.726 A:middle So, Heraclitus was more correct we shall say than those 00:08:00.726 --> 00:08:02.826 A:middle that suggested water was the base 00:08:02.826 --> 00:08:05.966 A:middle and earth was the base and so on. 00:08:06.586 --> 00:08:17.416 A:middle So, the great leap of being is a surprising sort of revelation 00:08:17.596 --> 00:08:20.536 A:middle because most people think because of our calendar 00:08:20.536 --> 00:08:23.076 A:middle and everything else that it was the birth of Christ 00:08:23.476 --> 00:08:27.716 A:middle that was the axial period, the great moment of change. 00:08:28.616 --> 00:08:31.626 A:middle And, Hegel thought that for example and referred to it. 00:08:32.916 --> 00:08:37.966 A:middle But in fact, the great leap of being is 500 years before that. 00:08:38.976 --> 00:08:42.346 A:middle And, then it's only three 00:08:42.346 --> 00:08:45.636 A:middle or four generations from there to Plato. 00:08:46.356 --> 00:08:51.286 A:middle And, that Heraclitus who never went to Athens, 00:08:51.966 --> 00:08:54.776 A:middle but he was extremely influential. 00:08:54.776 --> 00:08:59.026 A:middle There's a wonderful story about that because Euripides picked 00:08:59.026 --> 00:09:04.566 A:middle up a copy of Heraclitus's book on nature and was fascinated 00:09:04.566 --> 00:09:10.866 A:middle by it and met Socrates in the agora one day and said I'd 00:09:10.866 --> 00:09:13.066 A:middle like you to read this book and tell me what you think of it. 00:09:14.406 --> 00:09:16.056 A:middle And, Socrates said okay. 00:09:16.826 --> 00:09:21.846 A:middle Came back a few days later, they met, Euripides said well 00:09:22.936 --> 00:09:25.676 A:middle and Socrates said well what I understood 00:09:25.676 --> 00:09:30.016 A:middle of it I liked very much, but it would take a dillion diver 00:09:30.806 --> 00:09:36.476 A:middle to understand the rest, which is a reference to the pearl divers 00:09:36.476 --> 00:09:40.236 A:middle of the island of Delos who went down great depths to pull 00:09:40.236 --> 00:09:43.496 A:middle up "pearls of wisdom", you know. 00:09:43.816 --> 00:09:50.036 A:middle And so, Heraclitus had a strong influence among the inteligencia 00:09:50.036 --> 00:09:57.386 A:middle in Athens, but their influence was minimal in Athens 00:09:57.386 --> 00:10:03.226 A:middle because of the strength of the religious hierarchy in Athens 00:10:03.226 --> 00:10:07.946 A:middle that would not allow the Gods to be threatened or questioned. 00:10:09.566 --> 00:10:13.556 A:middle So, it was outside in the periphery where people began 00:10:13.556 --> 00:10:16.896 A:middle to say well, maybe Zeus isn't. 00:10:17.546 --> 00:10:25.116 A:middle And, then Parmenides came along and said that's possible, 00:10:25.546 --> 00:10:30.886 A:middle of course, and Xenophanes who was an early teacher 00:10:30.886 --> 00:10:36.476 A:middle of Parmenides, basically said look, if horses had Gods, 00:10:36.556 --> 00:10:40.016 A:middle they would all look like horses and if dogs had, etc., etc., 00:10:40.016 --> 00:10:42.226 A:middle etc. So, it's nonsense 00:10:42.226 --> 00:10:47.006 A:middle that we're carving images of us as Gods. 00:10:47.006 --> 00:10:48.416 A:middle It makes no sense. 00:10:49.186 --> 00:10:53.016 A:middle But, then Parmenides said but being is. 00:10:54.116 --> 00:10:59.086 A:middle Being is and not being can't be, cannot be. 00:10:59.926 --> 00:11:09.506 A:middle So, his theory was that being has always been and it began 00:11:10.156 --> 00:11:14.026 A:middle and it's the cosmos is therefore eternal 00:11:14.686 --> 00:11:17.556 A:middle and being is the source of it. 00:11:17.926 --> 00:11:21.506 A:middle >> What is the influence of all that on Plato's thinking? 00:11:23.636 --> 00:11:30.906 A:middle >> It's direct actually, because Plato was taught by Socrates. 00:11:30.976 --> 00:11:35.346 A:middle Socrates was influenced by Archelaus 00:11:35.346 --> 00:11:38.796 A:middle who was taught by Anaxagoras. 00:11:39.176 --> 00:11:44.526 A:middle And, Anaxagoras who was known as the mind or just mind, 00:11:44.916 --> 00:11:49.856 A:middle nous in the Greek, because of his theory of universal mind. 00:11:50.966 --> 00:11:58.726 A:middle And, Anaxagoras taught basically that mind created the universe 00:11:59.106 --> 00:12:03.666 A:middle and he separated mind from being, so it wasn't a God, 00:12:04.376 --> 00:12:07.116 A:middle but there was this pervasive consciousness, 00:12:07.116 --> 00:12:09.986 A:middle which some people have called union, 00:12:10.586 --> 00:12:13.576 A:middle a sense of there being a consciousness 00:12:13.576 --> 00:12:15.316 A:middle in which we partake. 00:12:16.326 --> 00:12:25.796 A:middle So, to use a wonderful lime from Emerson, Emerson said as far 00:12:25.796 --> 00:12:29.416 A:middle as consciousness was concerned, is that we are in it. 00:12:30.056 --> 00:12:31.596 A:middle It is not in us. 00:12:33.096 --> 00:12:37.936 A:middle So, there is this pervasiveness of consciousness out there 00:12:37.936 --> 00:12:43.726 A:middle and the interesting thing is that the great physicists 00:12:43.726 --> 00:12:48.336 A:middle around Einstein were fascinated the pre-Socratics and Anaxagoras 00:12:48.336 --> 00:12:53.696 A:middle because they realized that consciousness had a great deal 00:12:53.726 --> 00:12:58.376 A:middle to do with the interplay of particles, 00:12:58.916 --> 00:13:01.106 A:middle that the observer was very important. 00:13:02.016 --> 00:13:06.976 A:middle And, modern physicists have actually said 00:13:08.226 --> 00:13:12.226 A:middle that somehow consciousness has got to be present 00:13:12.226 --> 00:13:17.006 A:middle in the universe or else the universe wouldn't exist. 00:13:17.906 --> 00:13:22.496 A:middle So, there is this direct line from the pre-Socratics 00:13:23.336 --> 00:13:30.826 A:middle through Socrates to Plato so that when Socrates died in 399, 00:13:32.206 --> 00:13:36.726 A:middle Plato was in his late 20s at that point. 00:13:36.726 --> 00:13:42.076 A:middle The climate was such Socrates having been blamed 00:13:42.076 --> 00:13:45.256 A:middle for corrupting the youth of Athens 00:13:45.886 --> 00:13:49.126 A:middle which three years before had lost the war, 00:13:49.126 --> 00:13:51.306 A:middle the Peloponnesian War, to Sparta. 00:13:52.476 --> 00:13:56.596 A:middle Plato left town and he was part of one of the ruling families. 00:13:57.936 --> 00:14:01.926 A:middle He traveled widely and we assume he went to Egypt 00:14:02.706 --> 00:14:05.006 A:middle and we also assume that he was initiated 00:14:05.736 --> 00:14:12.716 A:middle into the mysteries there in the king's chamber 00:14:12.716 --> 00:14:22.396 A:middle of the Great Pyramid and that he returned in about 386, some 10 00:14:22.396 --> 00:14:26.076 A:middle or 12 years after the death of Socrates to open the academy. 00:14:26.076 --> 00:14:30.476 A:middle And, he was very smart because he also knew 00:14:30.476 --> 00:14:34.836 A:middle that there were people watching him and that the priests 00:14:34.836 --> 00:14:42.516 A:middle that ran Athens and controlled Athens basically were suspicious 00:14:43.056 --> 00:14:49.156 A:middle of somebody returning from some esoteric teaching out there. 00:14:49.866 --> 00:14:54.906 A:middle And so, he went a mile outside of the gates of Athens 00:14:54.906 --> 00:14:59.696 A:middle up toward Colonus to found the academy. 00:15:00.696 --> 00:15:05.296 A:middle And, he invited students of their own free will to come 00:15:06.166 --> 00:15:10.646 A:middle into the academy grounds, which was essentially a grove 00:15:10.646 --> 00:15:13.536 A:middle of olive trees to study. 00:15:14.426 --> 00:15:17.396 A:middle And, he also was clever in having a sign 00:15:17.506 --> 00:15:23.866 A:middle over the entrance saying a degree in geometry is required. 00:15:23.966 --> 00:15:27.676 A:middle In other words, you had to be knowledgeable 00:15:28.666 --> 00:15:30.126 A:middle in the fundamental mathematics 00:15:30.596 --> 00:15:34.416 A:middle of the universe to begin study here. 00:15:35.326 --> 00:15:38.786 A:middle And, so a long way of answering your question, 00:15:39.226 --> 00:15:43.786 A:middle Plato was strongly influenced by Pythagorus whose views 00:15:44.686 --> 00:15:49.126 A:middle of mathematics and geometry were central to his point of view. 00:15:49.426 --> 00:15:54.646 A:middle >> So, you mentioned the mysteries and I'm curious 00:15:54.646 --> 00:15:57.336 A:middle of why you're bringing it into the course. 00:15:57.516 --> 00:15:58.186 A:middle Can you tell me why? 00:15:59.456 --> 00:16:00.416 A:middle >> I think so. 00:16:00.756 --> 00:16:07.336 A:middle I think it's primarily because of that influence 00:16:07.336 --> 00:16:12.626 A:middle and because the fact that even though the Eleusinian mysteries, 00:16:12.626 --> 00:16:15.516 A:middle which are the major ones that I talk 00:16:15.516 --> 00:16:21.716 A:middle about which took place every year and initiated four 00:16:21.716 --> 00:16:24.886 A:middle to five thousand people a year into this mysteries. 00:16:27.106 --> 00:16:34.746 A:middle And, those mysteries had been around probably since 1500 BC, 00:16:34.746 --> 00:16:39.316 A:middle a thousand years before Plato's academy. 00:16:40.546 --> 00:16:45.146 A:middle And, yet Plato obviously respected these mysteries 00:16:45.676 --> 00:16:50.226 A:middle and they began as agricultural mysteries 00:16:50.226 --> 00:16:52.276 A:middle and seasonal explanations. 00:16:52.926 --> 00:16:57.676 A:middle In other words, Persephone disappeared into the underworld 00:16:57.676 --> 00:17:03.146 A:middle and Demeter the Goddess looked around and said 00:17:03.216 --> 00:17:04.576 A:middle where is she, where is she. 00:17:04.576 --> 00:17:08.876 A:middle Finally, Zeus said to Hades, you've got to return Persephone. 00:17:08.876 --> 00:17:14.516 A:middle They made a deal that saying that well there would be winter 00:17:14.566 --> 00:17:17.426 A:middle for four months and then agriculture and so on. 00:17:17.686 --> 00:17:20.456 A:middle So, it began as a kind of an agricultural myth 00:17:23.616 --> 00:17:27.246 A:middle and an explanation of the seasons, 00:17:27.346 --> 00:17:33.466 A:middle but later through this period, they became more sophisticated 00:17:33.466 --> 00:17:39.956 A:middle and they became focused on a journey of the soul. 00:17:41.216 --> 00:17:50.476 A:middle And, an affirmation of the souls in mortality and of a sense 00:17:50.476 --> 00:17:56.816 A:middle of also of awakening into a reality 00:17:56.906 --> 00:18:01.396 A:middle which was beneath the surface or somewhat esoteric. 00:18:02.616 --> 00:18:09.656 A:middle And, what took place in Eleusinian mysteries 00:18:09.656 --> 00:18:16.676 A:middle at the telesterion up in Eleusis was an affirmation 00:18:17.336 --> 00:18:18.236 A:middle and an awakening. 00:18:19.146 --> 00:18:22.946 A:middle And, of course, it was Socrates who said 00:18:23.366 --> 00:18:25.946 A:middle that the unexamined life was not worth having. 00:18:27.176 --> 00:18:28.606 A:middle And, so the question then 00:18:28.756 --> 00:18:32.756 A:middle in Plato's mind well what is the examined life exactly. 00:18:33.956 --> 00:18:38.036 A:middle And, if the Buddha who was asked at one point who he was, 00:18:38.516 --> 00:18:40.176 A:middle was he a saint, was he a God. 00:18:40.176 --> 00:18:41.886 A:middle He said I am awake. 00:18:42.806 --> 00:18:51.386 A:middle So, philosophically that's what a philosophy 00:18:51.386 --> 00:18:53.166 A:middle of consciousness became. 00:18:53.886 --> 00:18:56.526 A:middle And so, the birth of consciousness 00:18:56.526 --> 00:18:59.406 A:middle in ancient Greek thought is a process 00:18:59.466 --> 00:19:08.306 A:middle of awakening the sleeping sole so that people can begin to live 00:19:08.366 --> 00:19:14.546 A:middle in a world in which they were no longer ignorant of who they were 00:19:14.546 --> 00:19:18.416 A:middle and what was taking place within. 00:19:18.816 --> 00:19:20.686 A:middle >> So, how did that come down to us? 00:19:21.176 --> 00:19:23.166 A:middle How did that knowledge come down to us? 00:19:24.386 --> 00:19:30.116 A:middle >> It's miraculous in many ways that it did 00:19:30.116 --> 00:19:35.566 A:middle because there was obviously a great period of the dark ages 00:19:35.836 --> 00:19:38.126 A:middle in which all of this material was lost. 00:19:39.026 --> 00:19:43.646 A:middle But, I guess part of the answer 00:19:43.646 --> 00:19:47.306 A:middle to that involves the library in Alexandria. 00:19:48.576 --> 00:19:52.306 A:middle And, it was the Ptolemies, Ptolemy II in particular 00:19:52.436 --> 00:19:57.796 A:middle who founded the great library at Alexandria 00:19:58.266 --> 00:20:04.016 A:middle and literally collected every scroll he could find. 00:20:04.016 --> 00:20:06.596 A:middle And, in fact, he would send sailors and boats 00:20:06.596 --> 00:20:09.856 A:middle out into the Mediterranean and take scrolls 00:20:10.356 --> 00:20:11.946 A:middle as people were sailing around. 00:20:12.936 --> 00:20:18.496 A:middle And, probably somewhere between 500,000 00:20:18.496 --> 00:20:20.456 A:middle and a million scrolls were gathered 00:20:20.456 --> 00:20:22.636 A:middle in the great library at Alexandria. 00:20:23.656 --> 00:20:35.356 A:middle Unfortunately, when Caesar was invading Egypt in 48 BC, 00:20:35.356 --> 00:20:38.836 A:middle a fire started and burned the library down 00:20:39.496 --> 00:20:46.216 A:middle and we lost probably three quarters of the material there. 00:20:47.006 --> 00:20:52.276 A:middle For example, Sophocles wrote 1250 plays. 00:20:52.276 --> 00:20:53.076 A:middle We have seven. 00:20:54.506 --> 00:20:58.576 A:middle And, the same is true of [inaudible] and Euripides, 00:20:58.576 --> 00:20:59.556 A:middle although we have more Euripides. 00:21:00.866 --> 00:21:04.186 A:middle But, all of these plays, all of this was collected along 00:21:04.186 --> 00:21:08.126 A:middle with the books by Heraclitus and Parmenides and so on. 00:21:08.616 --> 00:21:10.406 A:middle And, who knows, even the writings 00:21:10.406 --> 00:21:12.216 A:middle of Pythagorus might have been there. 00:21:13.406 --> 00:21:18.936 A:middle And, it was the center of learning for a long, long time. 00:21:19.196 --> 00:21:23.816 A:middle And, then Christianity came along and when Constantine 00:21:23.816 --> 00:21:30.406 A:middle in the 3rd Century AD declared Christianity the official 00:21:30.406 --> 00:21:37.756 A:middle religion of Rome, the Christians in Alexandria felt empowered 00:21:38.476 --> 00:21:42.386 A:middle to eliminate the pagan religion, 00:21:43.156 --> 00:21:46.796 A:middle which basically meant eliminating all 00:21:46.796 --> 00:21:50.926 A:middle of this great accumulated material. 00:21:51.886 --> 00:21:54.586 A:middle And, fortunately, even -- 00:21:54.926 --> 00:21:57.126 A:middle and then the library was destroyed again. 00:21:57.746 --> 00:22:08.666 A:middle And, the great female philosopher Hypatia was the last 00:22:08.796 --> 00:22:13.746 A:middle basic pagan, great pagan philosopher and she was hauled 00:22:13.746 --> 00:22:19.106 A:middle out of her chariot in 415 BC, stripped and torn apart 00:22:19.846 --> 00:22:24.886 A:middle by Christian mobs and that was the end of pagan -- 00:22:25.456 --> 00:22:28.676 A:middle of what we call the great intellectual tradition 00:22:28.676 --> 00:22:29.596 A:middle of the ancient world. 00:22:30.656 --> 00:22:37.766 A:middle And, Christianity took over philosophy and throughout all 00:22:37.766 --> 00:22:45.316 A:middle that didn't coincide with the testament after that 00:22:46.486 --> 00:22:51.066 A:middle and fortunately, there were monks in monasteries all 00:22:51.066 --> 00:22:54.436 A:middle over the ancient world and throughout Europe 00:22:55.656 --> 00:22:59.256 A:middle who were copying these documents. 00:23:00.196 --> 00:23:06.276 A:middle And, then the Cosimo de Medici began 00:23:06.456 --> 00:23:11.076 A:middle to say let's empty the monasteries. 00:23:11.076 --> 00:23:13.886 A:middle I want to see this, you know, all this material. 00:23:14.606 --> 00:23:16.936 A:middle And, hence the renaissance. 00:23:17.506 --> 00:23:23.816 A:middle So, that's where the ancient world was rediscovered 00:23:24.736 --> 00:23:28.026 A:middle and why we have it now. 00:23:28.496 --> 00:23:28.563 A:middle >> Wow.