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The Protagoras: How To See What Isn’t Said
Read superficially, the Protagoras doesn’t appear to tell us much of any use that isn’t told better elsewhere – unlike the Meno, which has some more memorable features – so if you’re teaching (or learning) an introductory course on Plato, you might be inclined to skip this one altogether. That would be a shame, because it’s another excellent example of Plato’s ‘writing with layered intentions’; and if you can uncover the meaning in the Protagoras, you will be well-equipped to discover more meaning in the other Platonic dialogues. […]
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The Problem of Morally-Impossible Evil
Philosophers will say that there is no essential inconsistency in the so-called ‘inconsistent triad’ of the problem of evil: God is good, God is powerful, evil exists. Perhaps they are right, if we are talking about physical or metaphysical necessity. But if we are talking about moral necessity, I think they are wrong. […]
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Sketch of Sceptical Theism
This is a sketch of sceptical theism. It is only a sketch: you will have to go and consult the literature to find this view fully and better expressed in all its glorious technical detail. We are asking why a good God allows bad things to happen. If we’re not going to answer with a theodicy, another answer is available: we don’t know. But we shouldn’t be surprised that we don’t know. […]
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Sketch of a Theodicy
This is a sketch of a theodicy: an attempt to solve the problem of evil by offering a justification of God’s permission of evil. It is only a sketch: you will have to go and consult the literature to find these theodicies fully and better expressed in all their glorious technical detail. We are asking why a good God allows bad things to happen. There are classically two answers to this question: a) It’s good for us, and/or b) it’s our fault. […]
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What is the Problem of Evil?
The problem of evil is the problem of reconciling belief in a good and powerful God with a sincere recognition of the evil and suffering that exists in our world. This problem is often expressed as an ‘inconsistent triad’: God is good; God is powerful; evil exists. It seems, at least at first glance, that if either two of these propositions are true then the third must be false. If God is good and powerful, then why would God let bad things happen to good people or otherwise innocent creatures? […]
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The Product of Philosophy
The function or task or proper work (ergon) of philosophy is only to think well. But in thinking well, you realise that our purpose or goal or aim (telos) as human beings is to live well; by which we mean to live in a way that is ethically excellent, among other things. And so the product of philosophical activity becomes just that: to live well by thinking well.
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A Philosopher’s Verse
Is this the purpose of philosophy / Just to know, and not to be? / Just a show so not to see / Your own lived inconsistency? […]
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The Meno: How to See What Isn’t Said
The Meno is one of the most complicated yet clear examples of Plato’s way of ‘showing one thing whilst saying something else’. Elsewhere I’ve described this as writing with layered intentions: on the surface there are some philosophical arguments with which you may or may not agree; beneath that there is a show of doing philosophy in a certain way; and beneath that there is a provocation to do it yourself. What’s on the surface isn’t really what the dialogue is about. […]
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How To Read Plato
Academic philosophy ought to be teaching this but unfortunately it has become shallow and stupid. Or perhaps it thinks that students have become shallow and stupid and are only capable of understanding superficial arguments. Either way, it neglects what really matters, and too much is lost in that. When reading any of Plato’s dialogues, to understand them properly you need to remember these three things […]
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Harvest Festival
How philosophers are treated: The people, when their bellies are full, turn to the farmers and say: ‘You have grown us food, and we are grateful, but now we are full and have no need of you.’ They will think differently when the next harvest is needed.
An experiment with philosophy as a way of life
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