Episode 73, Plato’s Phaedo: The Death of Socrates (Part II - Arguments for the Soul’s Immortality)

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Welcome to 'Episode 73 (Part II of IV)', where we'll be unpacking three arguments for the soul’s immortality.

Let me tell you about the day Socrates drank the poison. You must be aware of his trial and apology? The Athenians have not stopped talking about it since Meletus and the others condemned him. Do not worry, he did not die in fear and nor is he truly gone. He argued his case much like he always had. He died the philosopher’s death, having practiced for it his entire life.

What does this mean? Socrates spoke persuasively about matters concerning the immortality of the soul. He said the life of a true philosopher helps the prisoner, chained hand and foot in their body, to escape from the dark cave of ignorance and into the light of wisdom. This, in turn, provides the soul with the perfect means to release itself from the body after death.

When the hour arrived, and Socrates finally took the hemlock, he did not flinch. Those of us who bore witness could not help but shed a tear – we were not as brave as the wise man who lay before us. What? You would like to hear more? Are you not convinced of the immortality that Socrates proposed? Come, take a seat, I will tell you the full story…

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Contents

Part I. The Soul and Body

Part II. Arguments for the Soul’s Immortality

Part III. In Defence of Immortality

Part IV. The Death of Socrates, Further Analysis and Discussion

Attributions

Thank you to the following creators for allowing us to use their work in this episode.

Tri-Tachyon: https://soundcloud.com/tri-tachyon/albums.

PSOVOD: https://freesound.org/people/PSOVOD/sounds/416057.

All other music and sound effects used in Episode 73, Plato’s Phaedo (Parts I-IV) are fully licensed. To request certificates, please contact jack@thepanpsycast.com.

Episode 73, Plato’s Phaedo: The Death of Socrates (Part I - The Soul and Body)

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Welcome to 'Episode 73 (Part I of IV)', where we'll be giving our first reading and analysis of Plato’s Phaedo.

Let me tell you about the day Socrates drank the poison. You must be aware of his trial and apology? The Athenians have not stopped talking about it since Meletus and the others condemned him. Do not worry, he did not die in fear and nor is he truly gone. He argued his case much like he always had. He died the philosopher’s death, having practiced for it his entire life.

What does this mean? Socrates spoke persuasively about matters concerning the immortality of the soul. He said the life of a true philosopher helps the prisoner, chained hand and foot in their body, to escape from the dark cave of ignorance and into the light of wisdom. This, in turn, provides the soul with the perfect means to release itself from the body after death.

When the hour arrived, and Socrates finally took the hemlock, he did not flinch. Those of us who bore witness could not help but shed a tear – we were not as brave as the wise man who lay before us. What? You would like to hear more? Are you not convinced of the immortality that Socrates proposed? Come, take a seat, I will tell you the full story…

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads/prepares for death

Contents

Part I. The Soul and Body

Part II. Arguments for the Soul’s Immortality

Part III. In Defence of Immortality

Part IV. The Death of Socrates, Further Analysis and Discussion

Attributions

Thank you to the following creators for allowing us to use their work in this episode.

Tri-Tachyon: https://soundcloud.com/tri-tachyon/albums.

PSOVOD: https://freesound.org/people/PSOVOD/sounds/416057.

All other music and sound effects used in Episode 73, Plato’s Phaedo (Parts I-IV) are fully licensed. To request certificates, please contact jack@thepanpsycast.com.

Episode 72, Plato’s Crito: Socrates in Prison (Part II - Further Analysis and Discussion)

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Welcome to 'Episode 72 (Part II of II)', where we'll be engaging in some further analysis and discussion.

Have you ever considered the invisible power of the law? How a contract is signed without ever putting pen to paper? Do not underestimate the importance of that which cannot be seen or grasped, since you unknowingly benefit from its presence and would suffer greatly in its absence. Therefore, if the law has kept you safe for all your best years, should you look to criticise it the moment it accuses?

Be careful not to pull too hard at that thread, for the social fabric appears tightly woven but is actually patched over the ages by many inadequate tailors. If you decide that the law doesn’t suit you now, are you not making yourself a special case? Isn’t everyone a special case? Would not everyone be pardoned?

So, what will it be: accept the law and therefore your fate, or set a precedent that demonstrates the contract is in fact as real as it is visible?

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Contents

Part I. The Dialogue

Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion

Episode 72, Plato’s Crito: Socrates in Prison (Part I - The Dialogue)

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Welcome to 'Episode 72 (Part I of II)', where we'll be reading Plato’s Crito.

Have you ever considered the invisible power of the law? How a contract is signed without ever putting pen to paper? Do not underestimate the importance of that which cannot be seen or grasped, since you unknowingly benefit from its presence and would suffer greatly in its absence. Therefore, if the law has kept you safe for all your best years, should you look to criticise it the moment it accuses?

Be careful not to pull too hard at that thread, for the social fabric appears tightly woven but is actually patched over the ages by many inadequate tailors. If you decide that the law doesn’t suit you now, are you not making yourself a special case? Isn’t everyone a special case? Would not everyone be pardoned?

So, what will it be: accept the law and therefore your fate, or set a precedent that demonstrates the contract is in fact as real as it is visible?

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads/watches you sleep

Contents

Part I. The Dialogue

Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion

Episode 71, Plato’s Apology: Socrates on Trial (Part II - Further Analysis and Discussion)

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Welcome to 'Episode 71 (Part II of II)', where we'll be engaging in some further analysis and discussion.

Gentleman of our most prestigious Court of Athens, may I praise your patience and diligence in the presentation of the prosecution. I, Meletus stand before you unequivocally convinced that the criminal is guilty as charged. The hideous, snub-nosed Socrates is charged with corrupting the young men of Athens with his rhetoric and poisonous oratory skill, an undeniable fact. Socrates also stands before you charged with denying the gods their authority and challenging the beliefs of every genuine Athenian.

He insults our great city with his relentless irritating presence, a fly in great need of a spider. He shows no signs of remorse for his conduct or apology for his crimes, a true reflection of his guilt. I beg you loyal judicators of Athens, listen to his words, hear him twist them for his own malevolent purpose. Look into his eyes, see his lack of contrition. He says he knows nothing! I know at least one thing, the evidence presented by the prosecution proves Socrates is guilty, and he should accept the judgement of the Athenian Court.

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Contents

Part I. The Dialogue

Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion

Episode 71, Plato’s Apology: Socrates on Trial (Part I - The Dialogue)

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Welcome to 'Episode 71 (Part I of II)', where we'll be reading Plato’s Apology.

Gentleman of our most prestigious Court of Athens, may I praise your patience and diligence in the presentation of the prosecution. I, Meletus stand before you unequivocally convinced that the criminal is guilty as charged. The hideous, snub-nosed Socrates is charged with corrupting the young men of Athens with his rhetoric and poisonous oratory skill, an undeniable fact. Socrates also stands before you charged with denying the gods their authority and challenging the beliefs of every genuine Athenian.

He insults our great city with his relentless irritating presence, a fly in great need of a spider. He shows no signs of remorse for his conduct or apology for his crimes, a true reflection of his guilt. I beg you loyal judicators of Athens, listen to his words, hear him twist them for his own malevolent purpose. Look into his eyes, see his lack of contrition. He says he knows nothing! I know at least one thing, the evidence presented by the prosecution proves Socrates is guilty, and he should accept the judgement of the Athenian Court.

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads/defends itself against Meletus

Contents

Part I. The Dialogue

Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion

Episode 70, Plato's Euthyphro: Socrates Accused (Part II - Further Analysis and Discussion)

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Welcome to 'Episode 70 (Part II of II)', where we'll be engaging in some further analysis and discussion.

Did you hear the news of Socrates? He’s finally to answer for his sophistry! At last, the great lampooning, moral gadfly is to stand before the Court of Athens and answer for his crimes. To think, one could have the audacity to trade in talentless talk and lies, to lead our youth astray, and deny our gods, only to play the fool once more, and plead ignorance when his number is called.

Oh, magnificent Socrates, ‘the great rhetorician’ - his followers are deluded. A more fitting label? ‘Socrates, the great casuist clown!’ Lacking all reason and logic, he makes a mockery of our institutions. Like the fool who claims others cannot see, because he himself is blind, Socrates has only ever opened his mouth to appease his own lack of wisdom. Justly, he now finds himself in a tricky dilemma; may the gods have mercy on his impious soul.

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads/finds out what true 'downloading' really means

Contents

Part I. The Dialogue

Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion

Episode 70, Plato's Euthyphro: Socrates Accused (Part I - The Dialogue)

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Welcome to 'Episode 70 (Part I of II)', where we'll be reading Plato’s Euthyphro.

Did you hear the news of Socrates? He’s finally to answer for his sophistry! At last, the great lampooning, moral gadfly is to stand before the Court of Athens and answer for his crimes. To think, one could have the audacity to trade in talentless talk and lies, to lead our youth astray, and deny our gods, only to play the fool once more, and plead ignorance when his number is called.

Oh, magnificent Socrates, ‘the great rhetorician’ - his followers are deluded. A more fitting label? ‘Socrates, the great casuist clown!’ Lacking all reason and logic, he makes a mockery of our institutions. Like the fool who claims others cannot see, because he himself is blind, Socrates has only ever opened his mouth to appease his own lack of wisdom. Justly, he now finds himself in a tricky dilemma; may the gods have mercy on his impious soul.

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads/finds out what true 'downloading' really means

Contents

Part I. The Dialogue

Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion

Episode 62, Epictetus: A Guide to Stoicism (Part V. Further Analysis and Discussion)

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Welcome to 'Episode 62 (Part V of V)', where we'll be engaging in some further analysis and discussion.

Imagine you are in an open field which stretches in every direction, further than your eyes can see. Since there is nothing of interest in your immediate surroundings, you set your sights on the horizon. You begin to walk with purpose; long strides eventually break into a run until you are sprinting as fast as you can. After a while, you begin to slow down. Not just because of a lack of breath, but because something doesn’t quite feel right.

Your steps relax to a strolling pace as you turn back to glance at where you started — but it isn’t clear how far you’ve come. You continue walking; at first for hours, then days, and then weeks. Eventually, although the anxiety set in days ago, you come to a stop. No matter how many steps you had taken, the horizon never came any closer. The goal was never realised, regardless of your efforts.

This short passage might tell you something about your own life, or at least a way of thinking which has occupied your mind at one time or another. The horizon in the story is an analogy for instrumental goods. Instrumental goods are those things in life that you want because you believe them to be necessary for your well-being or happiness. A new job or a trip that you’ve always wanted to take, for example.

We think that once we meet these goals, we will somehow achieve happiness as if it was some state which could be reached and maintained forever. But these ideas are sorely misguided. We cannot find and maintain happiness by seeking it in instrumental goods. You see, permanent, unchanging happiness is like the horizon in the story. No matter how hard you work for it, no matter how many promotions you achieve, how many new trips you take, you simply cannot find happiness in this way.

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads/desires nothing out of its control

Contents

Part I. The Context and Life of Epictetus.

Part II. The Discourses and The Enchiridion.

Part III. Modern Stoicism.

Part IV. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Part V. Further Analysis and Discussion.

Episode 62, Epictetus: A Guide to Stoicism (Part IV. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy)

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Welcome to 'Episode 62 (Part IV of V)', where we'll be discussing the links between Stoicism and CBT.

Imagine you are in an open field which stretches in every direction, further than your eyes can see. Since there is nothing of interest in your immediate surroundings, you set your sights on the horizon. You begin to walk with purpose; long strides eventually break into a run until you are sprinting as fast as you can. After a while, you begin to slow down. Not just because of a lack of breath, but because something doesn’t quite feel right.

Your steps relax to a strolling pace as you turn back to glance at where you started — but it isn’t clear how far you’ve come. You continue walking; at first for hours, then days, and then weeks. Eventually, although the anxiety set in days ago, you come to a stop. No matter how many steps you had taken, the horizon never came any closer. The goal was never realised, regardless of your efforts.

This short passage might tell you something about your own life, or at least a way of thinking which has occupied your mind at one time or another. The horizon in the story is an analogy for instrumental goods. Instrumental goods are those things in life that you want because you believe them to be necessary for your well-being or happiness. A new job or a trip that you’ve always wanted to take, for example.

We think that once we meet these goals, we will somehow achieve happiness as if it was some state which could be reached and maintained forever. But these ideas are sorely misguided. We cannot find and maintain happiness by seeking it in instrumental goods. You see, permanent, unchanging happiness is like the horizon in the story. No matter how hard you work for it, no matter how many promotions you achieve, how many new trips you take, you simply cannot find happiness in this way.

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads/desires nothing out of its control

Contents

Part I. The Context and Life of Epictetus.

Part II. The Discourses and The Enchiridion.

Part III. Modern Stoicism.

Part IV. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Part V. Further Analysis and Discussion.

Episode 62, Epictetus: A Guide to Stoicism (Part III. Modern Stoicism)

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Welcome to 'Episode 62 (Part III of V)', where we'll be discussing modern approaches to Stoicism.

Imagine you are in an open field which stretches in every direction, further than your eyes can see. Since there is nothing of interest in your immediate surroundings, you set your sights on the horizon. You begin to walk with purpose; long strides eventually break into a run until you are sprinting as fast as you can. After a while, you begin to slow down. Not just because of a lack of breath, but because something doesn’t quite feel right.

Your steps relax to a strolling pace as you turn back to glance at where you started — but it isn’t clear how far you’ve come. You continue walking; at first for hours, then days, and then weeks. Eventually, although the anxiety set in days ago, you come to a stop. No matter how many steps you had taken, the horizon never came any closer. The goal was never realised, regardless of your efforts.

This short passage might tell you something about your own life, or at least a way of thinking which has occupied your mind at one time or another. The horizon in the story is an analogy for instrumental goods. Instrumental goods are those things in life that you want because you believe them to be necessary for your well-being or happiness. A new job or a trip that you’ve always wanted to take, for example.

We think that once we meet these goals, we will somehow achieve happiness as if it was some state which could be reached and maintained forever. But these ideas are sorely misguided. We cannot find and maintain happiness by seeking it in instrumental goods. You see, permanent, unchanging happiness is like the horizon in the story. No matter how hard you work for it, no matter how many promotions you achieve, how many new trips you take, you simply cannot find happiness in this way.

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads/desires nothing out of its control

Contents

Part I. The Context and Life of Epictetus.

Part II. The Discourses and The Enchiridion.

Part III. Modern Stoicism.

Part IV. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Part V. Further Analysis and Discussion.

Episode 62, Epictetus: A Guide to Stoicism (Part II. The Discourses and The Enchiridion)

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Welcome to 'Episode 62 (Part II of V)', where we'll be discussing The Discourses and The Enchiridion.

Imagine you are in an open field which stretches in every direction, further than your eyes can see. Since there is nothing of interest in your immediate surroundings, you set your sights on the horizon. You begin to walk with purpose; long strides eventually break into a run until you are sprinting as fast as you can. After a while, you begin to slow down. Not just because of a lack of breath, but because something doesn’t quite feel right.

Your steps relax to a strolling pace as you turn back to glance at where you started — but it isn’t clear how far you’ve come. You continue walking; at first for hours, then days, and then weeks. Eventually, although the anxiety set in days ago, you come to a stop. No matter how many steps you had taken, the horizon never came any closer. The goal was never realised, regardless of your efforts.

This short passage might tell you something about your own life, or at least a way of thinking which has occupied your mind at one time or another. The horizon in the story is an analogy for instrumental goods. Instrumental goods are those things in life that you want because you believe them to be necessary for your well-being or happiness. A new job or a trip that you’ve always wanted to take, for example.

We think that once we meet these goals, we will somehow achieve happiness as if it was some state which could be reached and maintained forever. But these ideas are sorely misguided. We cannot find and maintain happiness by seeking it in instrumental goods. You see, permanent, unchanging happiness is like the horizon in the story. No matter how hard you work for it, no matter how many promotions you achieve, how many new trips you take, you simply cannot find happiness in this way.

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads/desires nothing out of its control

Contents

Part I. The Context and Life of Epictetus.

Part II. The Discourses and The Enchiridion.

Part III. Modern Stoicism.

Part IV. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Part V. Further Analysis and Discussion.

Episode 62, Epictetus: A Guide to Stoicism (Part I. The Context and Life of Epictetus)

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Welcome to 'Episode 62 (Part I of V)', where we'll be discussing the context and life of Epictetus.

Imagine you are in an open field which stretches in every direction, further than your eyes can see. Since there is nothing of interest in your immediate surroundings, you set your sights on the horizon. You begin to walk with purpose; long strides eventually break into a run until you are sprinting as fast as you can. After a while, you begin to slow down. Not just because of a lack of breath, but because something doesn’t quite feel right.

Your steps relax to a strolling pace as you turn back to glance at where you started — but it isn’t clear how far you’ve come. You continue walking; at first for hours, then days, and then weeks. Eventually, although the anxiety set in days ago, you come to a stop. No matter how many steps you had taken, the horizon never came any closer. The goal was never realised, regardless of your efforts.

This short passage might tell you something about your own life, or at least a way of thinking which has occupied your mind at one time or another. The horizon in the story is an analogy for instrumental goods. Instrumental goods are those things in life that you want because you believe them to be necessary for your well-being or happiness. A new job or a trip that you’ve always wanted to take, for example.

We think that once we meet these goals, we will somehow achieve happiness as if it was some state which could be reached and maintained forever. But these ideas are sorely misguided. We cannot find and maintain happiness by seeking it in instrumental goods. You see, permanent, unchanging happiness is like the horizon in the story. No matter how hard you work for it, no matter how many promotions you achieve, how many new trips you take, you simply cannot find happiness in this way.

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads/desires nothing out of its control

Contents

Part I. The Context and Life of Epictetus.

Part II. The Discourses and The Enchiridion.

Part III. Modern Stoicism.

Part IV. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Part V. Further Analysis and Discussion.

Episode 46, Peter Adamson and the History of Women in Philosophy (Part II)

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Welcome to 'Episode 46, Peter Adamson and the History of Women in Philosophy (Part II)', where we'll be engaging in some further analysis, discussion and getting at 'the man behind the podcast'.

Peter Adamson is Professor of Late Ancient and Arabic philosophy at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and the host of the History of Philosophy without any gaps podcast. Peter’s main publications focus on Classical Philosophy, Philosophy in the Hellenistic and Roman Worlds, and Philosophy in the Islamic World, but the range of Peter’s expertise is phenomenal. The depth and breadth of his podcast History of Philosophy without any gaps is simply unrivalled, and the success of Peter’s projects has led him to publish a range of books in the aforementioned areas.

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Contents

Part I. The History of Women in Philosophy.

Part II. Further Analysis, Discussion and 'The Man Behind the Podcast'.

Episode 46, Peter Adamson and the History of Women in Philosophy (Part I)

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Welcome to 'Episode 46, Peter Adamson and the History of Women in Philosophy (Part I)', where we'll be talking to Peter Adamson about 'philosophy', his podcast The History of Philosophy without any gaps and the history of women in philosophy.

Peter Adamson is Professor of Late Ancient and Arabic philosophy at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and the host of the History of Philosophy without any gaps podcast. Peter’s main publications focus on Classical Philosophy, Philosophy in the Hellenistic and Roman Worlds, and Philosophy in the Islamic World, but the range of Peter’s expertise is phenomenal. The depth and breadth of his podcast History of Philosophy without any gaps is simply unrivalled, and the success of Peter’s projects has led him to publish a range of books in the aforementioned areas.

So, in Part I, we’ll be speaking to Peter Adamson about the history of women in philosophy, and in Part II, we’ll be engaging in some further analysis and discussion, asking some listener questions, and getting at ‘the man behind the podcast’.

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads/leaves lots of gaps

Contents

Part I. The History of Women in Philosophy.

Part II. Further Analysis, Discussion and 'The Man Behind the Podcast'.

Episode 28, Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (Part IV)

Welcome to Episode 28 (Part IV) on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics.

The Nicomachean Ethics is Aristotle’s (384 – 322 BC) best-known work on ethics. The work consists of ten books and is understood to be based on Aristotle’s lecture notes. These notes were never intended for publication. Sometimes his notes are merely cues to talk more generally about a subject, other times they are more representative of what Aristotle would have actually said to his students.

The Nicomachean Ethics is amongst the most discussed texts in history and philosophers continue to debate its contents and intended purposes today.  One cannot deny, however, that Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics is concerned with key political and ethical questions – Questions like, How can we do what is best for citizens? and What is the good life and how do we achieve it?

This week in Part IV, we'll be engaging in some further analysis and discussion.

Share your thoughts and feedback @thepanpsycast.

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads virtuously
Part I. Aristotle’s Approach and Fundamental Arguments. (start of Part I)
Part II. Virtue as Excellence. (start of Part II)
Part III. Book X and Application. (start of Part III)
Part IV.  Further Analysis and Discussion. (start of Part IV)

Episode 28, Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (Part III)

Welcome to Episode 28 (Part III) on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics.

The Nicomachean Ethics is Aristotle’s (384 – 322 BC) best-known work on ethics. The work consists of ten books and is understood to be based on Aristotle’s lecture notes. These notes were never intended for publication. Sometimes his notes are merely cues to talk more generally about a subject, other times they are more representative of what Aristotle would have actually said to his students.

The Nicomachean Ethics is amongst the most discussed texts in history and philosophers continue to debate its contents and intended purposes today.  One cannot deny, however, that Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics is concerned with key political and ethical questions – Questions like, How can we do what is best for citizens? and What is the good life and how do we achieve it?

This week in Part III, we'll be applying virtue ethics and looking at Book X of the Nicomachean Ethics.

Share your thoughts and feedback @thepanpsycast.

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads virtuously
Part I. Aristotle’s Approach and Fundamental Arguments. (start of Part I)
Part II. Virtue as Excellence. (start of Part II)
Part III. Book X and Application. (start of Part III)
Part IV.  Further Analysis and Discussion. (start of Part IV)

Episode 28, Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (Part II)

Welcome to Episode 28 (Part II) on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics.

The Nicomachean Ethics is Aristotle’s (384 – 322 BC) best-known work on ethics. The work consists of ten books and is understood to be based on Aristotle’s lecture notes. These notes were never intended for publication. Sometimes his notes are merely cues to talk more generally about a subject, other times they are more representative of what Aristotle would have actually said to his students. 

The Nicomachean Ethics is amongst the most discussed texts in history and philosophers continue to debate its contents and intended purposes today.  One cannot deny, however, that Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics is concerned with key political and ethical questions – Questions like, How can we do what is best for citizens? and What is the good life and how do we achieve it?

This week in Part II, we'll be looking at what Aristotle meant by 'virtue'.

Share your thoughts and feedback @thepanpsycast.

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads virtuously
Part I. Aristotle’s Approach and Fundamental Arguments. (start of Part I)
Part II. Virtue as Excellence. (start of Part II)
Part III. Book X and Application. (start of Part III)
Part IV.  Further Analysis and Discussion. (start of Part IV)

Episode 28, Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (Part I)

Welcome to Episode 28 (Part I) on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics.

The Nicomachean Ethics is Aristotle’s (384 – 322 BC) best-known work on ethics. The work consists of ten books and is understood to be based on Aristotle’s lecture notes. These notes were never intended for publication. Sometimes his notes are merely cues to talk more generally about a subject, other times they are more representative of what Aristotle would have actually said to his students. 

The Nicomachean Ethics is amongst the most discussed texts in history and philosophers continue to debate its contents and intended purposes today.  One cannot deny, however, that Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics is concerned with key political and ethical questions – Questions like, How can we do what is best for citizens? and What is the good life and how do we achieve it?

This week in Part I, we'll be looking at Aristotle’s approach and fundamental arguments in the Nicomachean Ethics.

Share your thoughts and feedback @thepanpsycast.

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Part I. Socratic Dialogues in Gorgias and The Republic (08:15)

Part II. The Republic (31:35)

Part III. Real World Application (00:10 - in Part II)

Part IV. Further Analysis and Discussion (22:40 - in Part II)

Note: In this episode, on a couple of occasions, Jack mistakenly mixes up the names Gorgias and Glaucon. Although this has no philosophical importance, heckling is nevertheless encouraged.