Online Seminar Series: The Laws by Plato
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**Events may have been canceled or postponed. Please contact the venue to confirm the event.
Date & Time
Sun, Jun 02 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Address (map)
Zoom
Venue (website)
Online/Virtual/Zoom
Online Seminar Series
The Laws by Plato
Sunday, June 2, 2024
“…there is simple ignorance, which is the source of lighter offenses, and double ignorance, which is accompanied by a conceit of wisdom; and he who is under the influence of the latter fancies that he knows all about matters of which he knows nothing.”
The Laws (Greek: Νόμοι, Nómoi; Latin: De Legibus) is Plato’s last and longest dialogue. The conversation depicted in the work’s twelve books begins with the question of who is given the credit for establishing a civilization’s laws. Its musings on the ethics of government and law have established it as a classic of political philosophy alongside Plato’s more widely read Republic. Scholars agree that Plato wrote this dialogue as an older person, having failed in his effort to guide the rule of the tyrant Dionysius I of Syracuse, instead having been thrown in prison. These events are alluded to in the Seventh Letter. The text is noteworthy as Plato’s only undisputed dialogue not to feature Socrates. We invite you to join us as we read this often overlooked text, one section at a time, in monthly online events.
June 2 Reading:
The Laws by Plato
Book 4 – Sections 6-7: Magnesia and Its People
and The Correct Way to Legislate
(pages 112-140, 704a-723d)
Penguin Classics (June 2005)
ASIN B01FIXK9JK
ISBN 9780140449846
Schedule:
12:00-2:00PM PDT
Tutor:
David Appleby
Location:
Online. Register to receive the link.