Good Day Everyone!
Smart Center is having its next Reading Club Event on Saturday April 15th.
This time we will be reading a slightly shorter text but one that is still deep in thought and imagery.
We’ll be discussing an excerpt from Plato’s Republic called “The Allegory of the Cave”.
Plato has been one of the most influential thinkers from Ancient Greece, helping to mold and shape the fundamentals of western democracy which permeate today throughout various societies and cultures.
Plato was a close follower of Socrates. Deliberations from the Ancient Greek tradition on virtues, ethics and knowledge have echoed through centuries. These thinkers of antiquity gave us the dialectic and associated thought (knowledge) discourse which is seen in academics, business, politics, economics, law and numerous other faculties.
Overall, their quest for knowledge and understanding of the world around them almost always had the objective of attaining Eudaimonia (human flourishing).
Plato’s intent from “The Allegory of the Cave” entails challenging your perception of reality and seeking truth in the world around you. Furthermore, being able to hold the torch of knowledge and pass it on in a eudaimonistic way. Most importantly to manifest eudaimonia daily through one’s actions and role in society.
We’ll be discussing all of these things as well as imagery from antiquity and why the ancients were influenced by their natural environment; their perceptions of the gods and the underworld as well alegends, myths and beasts.
We’ll look at “Eudaimonia” in depth and how we can currently use this process to improve our own personal lives and general human condition.
As usual you’ll be challenged to deliberate deeply on your opinions, thoughts and drawn conclusions. Moreover, to present them in a way that is academically and logically concrete and coherent, the sort of thought process fundamental to proper university education.
So please join us again on April 15 as we delve into a world of imaginary thought and academic fantasy.
We hope to see you soon ?.
“One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.” – Plato
Cheers,
Alex Loughead
Smart Center Professor of English and German
