Books of Titans Podcast

• #266 - Statesman by Plato

  The goal of this dialogue is the definition of a statesman. Can Plato show us the essence or nature of the statesman? This dialogue is a sequel to Sophist. In each dialogue, an attempt at a definition is sought through the method of division. For example, Statesman begins with Knowledge, which is divided into practical and theoretical knowledge. The statesman would be on the theoretical side.This division occurs until the discussion partners Visitor from Elea and Socrates the Younger describe the statesman as a shepherd or herder of humans. That doesn’t work, and so a Deus Ex Machina of sorts jumps in through the telling of a myth. In the myth, the ages of Cronus and Zeus are contrasted and the dialog is set on a different path. That path leads to a definition or essence of the statesman as more of a weaver of disparate parts.The dialogue then gets into different types of governments and the role of law within each set. It posits the best form of government (rule by statesman through special, expert knowledge) but admits that such a person is unlikely. The next best thing is the rule by imitator (Sophist?) who rules by the existing set of laws, despite the likelihood of injustice.I loved this dialogue. The surprise appearance of the myth was so delightful and the discussion about law, types of government, courage, and governance utterly fascinating. In this episode, In this episode, I give an overview of the arguments and take a look at the myth and it’s relation to the definition of the statesman.Show Notes:* Want to discuss White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky? Simply become a paid subscriber here on the Books of Titans Substack and you’ll receive details about our November 12th Zoom call to discuss this short novel. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

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• #265 - Man's Search for Meaning (Revisited)

  I finished reading Man’s Search for Meaning as the fireworks announced the start of 2018. I was closing out my first year of this reading project with my final book of the year and was trying to finish it before the clock struck 12. I didn’t make it, but I was close.That book ended up being my favorite for many years. Here was a man claiming that it was possible to develop a spiritual life amidst hell on earth. Amidst hunger, torture, unbearable loss, and despair. There was a flicker of hope.Last week, I led a reading group through Man’s Search for Meaning. It was my first time re-reading it since late 2017. It was startling to see how I’ve changed in that time, both personally and in my reading life. I mark up my books and use different color pens on re-reads, so it was clear what stuck out the first time and what stuck out these 8 years later.I’ve also read a number of books I hadn’t read before my first Frankl reading. Those books have impacted me, have deepened my convictions, and have perhaps provided another angle on Frankl. One of those books, The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, was life-altering. I read that one late 2019. In re-reading Man’s Search for Meaning, I see a number of similarities between these two books.In this podcast episode, I share some things that stuck out to 2025 Erik that didn’t stick out as much to 2017 Erik. I also share some important similarities between Man’s Search for Meaning and The Gulag Archipelago.If you’d like to listen to the original podcast episode after the 2017 reading of the book, you can do so here: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

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• #264 - Theaetetus by Plato

  How do we know what we know? That’s the question Socrates presents to Theaetetus in this dialogue by Plato. I was actually intrigued with the some of the side discussions about learning and memory and how that connects to knowledge. In this podcast episode, I share the general outline of the arguments and highlight the parts about memory that might help us in our reading lives. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

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• #263 - Cratylus by Plato

  So far, this is my favorite dialogue by Plato. I’ve only read 5 of them, so I have a ways to go, but this one covers the origin of language and the correctness of names. It answers this question - is there a reason behind the name of a thing or is it just by chance?Cratylus believes there is a correct name for each thing, one that belongs to it by nature. Hermogenes believes that names are agreed upon by the community. Socrates leads the discussion to determine if “names are given in accord with nature.”I found this dialogue so interesting and delightful because Socrates spends most of the time guessing at the origin of words of gods, concepts, and names.In this episode, I share some of my favorite word descriptions and ideas from Cratylus. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

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• #262 - Phaedo by Plato

  Were you there?It’s the opening question of this dialogue. Echecrates is asking Phaedo if he was there when Socrates drank the hemlock and died in prison. He was there. This is Phaedo’s account of the final day of Socrates.I wonder what I would do knowing I had a few hours to live. Would I be frantic? Would I conduct a dialogue about the soul as Socrates does here? Would I calmly drink my death sentence that 500 of my peers had bestowed upon me? I doubt it. Socrates was calm. He died as he had lived.There are some incredible parts to this dialogue. With a few hours left to go, we find Socrates “versifying” the Fables of Aesop. He’s setting prose to poetry. He’s not creating anew. He’s improvising on what already exists. It’s an incredible thing to consider. Socrates didn’t leave any writings, but he did apparently leave some poetry.The bulk of this work considers a questions that would be on the forefront of anyone’s mind about to exit this world. What’s next? Socrates argues that we have a soul that will continue into an afterlife. In fact, he argues that that soul pre-existed embodiment and that our learning was simply a recollection of Forms or Ideas encountered in that state. Socrates was being completely rational then in his calm willingness to die. This was simply a continuation of how he had lived his life, a betterment of the eternal part of him. His life as a philosopher was preparation for death.In this episode, I cover the main arguments, talk about three things that stuck out to me, ask 6 questions that I hope to get answered in other Plato dialogues, and close out with the One Thing I always hope to remember from Phaedo by Plato.Book Versions Read or Consulted:* Plato Complete Works - edited by John M. Cooper - translated by G.M.A. Grube* Phaedo - translated by David Gallop - Oxford World’s Classics* The Last Days of Socrates - translated by Hugh Tredennick and Harold Tarrant (intro) - Penguin Classics (just read the intro in this one) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

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