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Philosophy is a Fruiting Tree
Whenever I consider introducing philosophy to people, it always seems like it’s the wrong time: too late for the old, because they don’t have time or inclination to change themselves, and too soon for the young, because they don’t understand why it could be needed. Only the young person who has suffered knows why you […]
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The Call of Callicles
‘Is he serious or is he joking?’, asks Callicles, having heard Socrates philosophise. Socrates says he is serious. But for Callicles it’s all too absurd to take seriously. To prefer to live miserably under a tyrant than happily as a tyrant? To prefer to suffer wrong than to do it? To prioritise wisdom and ethical […]
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It is better to be better than feel better
Anyone who has lived with depression or anxiety will be very accustomed to getting a lot of advice. People want you to feel better, so they will talk to you about what makes them feel better. They don’t understand that you live in different worlds. It is the ‘let them eat cake’ of mental health: talk that advertises ignorance. And yet there is a paradox, because what they say is both ignorant and true: they will say that these things will improve your mood, and they are right, because cake is nice.
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It’s not about the gods: The Euthyphro
Socrates talks to a lot of different people about a lot of different things. In each case, Socrates meets people where they are, on their terms, and tries to move them one step closer to a better understanding. Mostly this movement is towards a better understanding of goodness and ethical excellence, regardless of the subject […]
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The Lighthouse Keeper Simile
There is an old philosophical simile that says: we are in this life like a sentry at their post. The underlying thought is that we have a moral duty not to commit suicide. I have always found it to be a provocative and challenging thought. We have a personal duty to hold the line against […]
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The Plan of Life: The Timaeus
Everything makes more sense when you look at the plans. Like assembling flat-packed furniture. Open the box and it looks, at least to the untrained eye, like chaos that makes no sense. You study the parts and see no meaning in them. But study the plans and now you can see that this particular shape […]
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The Ship
Imagine you are a ship. The hull, mast, and sails are your ‘body’; your feelings, thoughts, ambitions and aversions, wants and fears, everything that makes up your ‘soul’, are the crew. The ship needs to sail, but in order to do so the crew needs to be organised. You need to hoist the sails, plot […]
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Relationship Advice from Socrates: The Phaedrus
The Phaedrus is an outstanding example of a Platonic dialogue. It is really a dialogue about the dangers of trying to achieve philosophical understanding through listening to (or giving) grand rhetorical speeches or writing extended philosophical theses in essays or books. Socrates is predictably sceptical about these methods. They are far removed from the ideals […]
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How to Die Well: The Phaedo
What is the Phaedo? Most summaries will say that it is a dialogue about the immortality of the soul. In it you will find some arguments for and against this claim (mainly for). Whilst dying, Socrates argues that he is not dying but only being separated from his body. His body is dying, for sure, […]
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Ask the Right Question: The Laches
Socrates is always asking questions. But not just any questions: he wants to ask the right questions. Understanding which, of all the questions, is the right question, and how to ask that question in the right way, is one of the most important things you can learn from philosophy. If you ask the wrong question you will always get the wrong answer.
An experiment with philosophy as a way of life
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