In this inaugural episode of our walk through Plato's Republic, Dr. Gary Gregg introduces listeners to the importance of "The Republic" and lays out a few key concepts of Platonic thought that will help inform the modern reader's understanding as they work through the text. He then walks through the various definitions of Justice presented throughout the dialogue and discusses the implications of each for both leadership and politics(20:00). The question of what is necessary to compel good people to rule is considered (36:15), followed by The "Ring of Gyges" story(46:00). He then recounts Adeimantus's assertion that society, culture and family influence our actions and shows how this contributes to the nature v. nurture argument (53:19). Dr. Gregg ends with an overview of what will be covered in Target 2 (55:47).

Target 1 Reading: Book I and Book II through 367e, pp. 3-44 of "The Republic of Plato", 2nd edition, translated by Allan Bloom (Basic Books, 1968 and 1991).

Download Dr. Gregg’s Guide to The Republic here

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Please share any thoughts, questions, comments, or concerns with us via email at connor.tracy@louisville.edu

This podcast is a production of the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. For more information, including upcoming events, please visit us online at mcconnellcenter.org or on social media at:

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Intro: Bridget Kim

Host: Dr. Gary L. Gregg II

Editor: Connor Tracy

Music: Selected from http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Damiano_Baldoni/

In the second episode of this season of Vital Remnants, Dr. Gary Gregg begins by comparing Plato’s philosophical assumptions about the origin of communities with those that have shaped the modern understanding, including the views of Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau (5:11). Gregg then dives into the creation of Plato’s city and discusses the origins of war (13:20), the need for guardians, and the question of who will guard against them. Plato’s metaphor of the “noble puppies” is examined along with the education of the guardian class (17:57). Other key topics include censorship (24:22), “The Noble Lie” (32:37), culture and corruption (34:28), music (44:01), and the very important relationship between politics and culture (47:40). Dr. Gregg ends with highlights of what will be covered in Target 3 (53:19).

Target 2 Reading: Books II, III, & IV pp. 40-103 of "The Republic of Plato", 2nd edition, translated by Allan Bloom (Basic Books, 1968 and 1991).

Download Dr. Gregg’s Guide to The Republic here

Subscribe to our newsletter and receive McConnell Center updates directly in your mailbox

Please share any thoughts, questions, comments, or concerns with us via email at connor.tracy@louisville.edu

This podcast is a production of the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. For more information, including upcoming events, please visit us online at mcconnellcenter.org or on social media at:

Facebook: @mcconnellcenter
Instagram: @ulmcenter
Twitter: @ULmCenter

Intro: Bridget Kim
Host: Dr. Gary L. Gregg II
Editor: Connor Tracy
Music: Selected from http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Damiano_Baldoni/

In this episode of Vital Remnants, Dr. Gary Gregg discusses Plato’s call for the combination of political power and philosophy within our leaders (1:34), the three parts of society (5:00), Plato’s tests for leadership (7:31), and the “Myth of the Metals” (15:41). He then revisits education (22:28), the four parts of virtue (26:07), Plato’s definition of justice (32:05) and the burden of leadership (36:31). Dr. Gregg concludes by examining the relationship between the virtues and the parts of society (38:03), how the parts of society correlate to parts of the individual soul (39:13), the tripartite soul (42:40), C.S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man (50:57), and what all of this means for leadership today (54:35).

Target 3 Reading: Books III, IV, & V, pp. 91-152 of "The Republic of Plato", 2nd edition, translated by Allan Bloom (Basic Books, 1968 and 1991).

Download Dr. Gregg’s Guide to The Republic here

Subscribe to our newsletter and receive McConnell Center updates directly in your mailbox

Please share any thoughts, questions, comments, or concerns with us via email at connor.tracy@louisville.edu

This podcast is a production of the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. For more information, including upcoming events, please visit us online at mcconnellcenter.org or on social media at:

Facebook: @mcconnellcenter
Instagram: @ulmcenter
Twitter: @ULmCenter

Intro: Bridget Kim
Host: Dr. Gary L. Gregg II
Editor: Connor Tracy
Music: Selected from http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Damiano_Baldoni/

In this episode, Dr. Gary Gregg outlines Plato’s views on political leadership and uses this framework to consider today’s institutions and public figures. He walks us through the Allegory of the Ship and the famous Allegory of the Cave. Lastly, Connor Tracy joins Dr. Gregg to discuss Plato’s concept of the “Divided Line.”

Target 4 Reading: Books V, VI & VII, pp. 153-220 of "The Republic of Plato", 2nd edition, translated by Allan Bloom (Basic Books, 1968 and 1991).

Download Dr. Gregg’s Guide to The Republic here

Subscribe to our newsletter and receive McConnell Center updates directly in your mailbox

Please share any thoughts, questions, comments, or concerns with us via email at connor.tracy@louisville.edu

This podcast is a production of the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. For more information, including upcoming events, please visit us online at mcconnellcenter.org or on social media at:

Facebook: @mcconnellcenter 
Instagram: @ulmcenter 
Twitter: @ULmCenter

Intro: Bridget Kim 
Host: Dr. Gary L. Gregg II 
Guest & Editor: Connor Tracy
Music: Selected from freemusicarchive.org/music/Damiano_Baldoni/

Having now arrived at one of the most important sections of The Republic, Dr. Gary Gregg discusses Plato’s types of governments and how they decline from the best to the worst. Spoiler alert–democracy is certainly not the best in his view. Listeners are encouraged to consider Plato’s strong indictment of democracy and to take a hard look at our American system through this lens to see how closely we compare. Remember too that government is “man writ-large,” and therefore he is talking not only about the types of political regimes, but also–and quite possibly more importantly–the types of individual souls.

Target 5 Reading: Book VIII, pp. 221-249 of "The Republic of Plato", 2nd edition, translated by Allan Bloom (Basic Books, 1968 and 1991).

Download Dr. Gregg’s Guide to The Republic here

Subscribe to our newsletter and receive McConnell Center updates directly in your mailbox

Please share any thoughts, questions, comments, or concerns with us via email at connor.tracy@louisville.edu

This podcast is a production of the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. For more information, including upcoming events, please visit us online at mcconnellcenter.org or on social media at:

Facebook: @mcconnellcenter 

Instagram: @ulmcenter 

Twitter: @ULmCenter

Intro: Bridget Kim 
Host: Dr. Gary L. Gregg II 
Editor: Connor Tracy
Music: Selected from freemusicarchive.org/music/Damiano_Baldoni/

After considering the other types of governments and individuals in last month’s installment, Dr. Gary Gregg takes a deeper dive into Plato’s outline of the mind and government of the tyrant. He then discusses a new image Plato provides of the human soul in book IX, and concludes by considering the idea of the proper cultivation of one’s soul.  

Target 6 Reading: Book IX, pp. 251-275 of "The Republic of Plato", 2nd edition, translated by Allan Bloom (Basic Books, 1968 and 1991).

Download Dr. Gregg’s Guide to The Republic here

Subscribe to our newsletter and receive McConnell Center updates directly in your mailbox

Please share any thoughts, questions, comments, or concerns with us via email at connor.tracy@louisville.edu

This podcast is a production of the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. For more information, including upcoming events, please visit us online at mcconnellcenter.org or on social media at:

Facebook: @mcconnellcenter 

Instagram: @ulmcenter 

Twitter: @ULmCenter

Intro: Bridget Kim 
Host: Dr. Gary L. Gregg II 
Editor: Connor Tracy
Music: Selected from freemusicarchive.org/music/Damiano_Baldoni/

In this episode of Vital Remnants, Dr. Gary Gregg guides listeners through the final book of The Republic. He first discusses the opening of Book X, in which Plato presents the conflict between poetry and philosophy and spends a significant amount of time criticizing the poets–Homer in particular. Once again we are reminded of the tripartite soul and are challenged to consider how the types of entertainment we consume can corrupt the order of one’s soul over time. Dr. Gregg then examines the “Myth of Er,” Plato’s imaginative story of one man’s travels through the afterlife, and concludes with his thoughts on why Plato chose to end The Republicwith this imaginative tale and what it may mean for us today.  

Target 7 Reading: Book X, pp. 277-303 of "The Republic of Plato", 2nd edition, translated by Allan Bloom (Basic Books, 1968 and 1991).

Download Dr. Gregg’s Guide to The Republic here

Subscribe to our newsletter and receive McConnell Center updates directly in your mailbox

Please share any thoughts, questions, comments, or concerns with us via email at connor.tracy@louisville.edu

This podcast is a production of the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. For more information, including upcoming events, please visit us online at mcconnellcenter.org or on social media at:

Facebook: @mcconnellcenter 

Instagram: @ulmcenter 

Twitter: @ULmCenter

Intro: Bridget Kim 
Host: Dr. Gary L. Gregg II 
Editor: Connor Tracy
Music: Selected from freemusicarchive.org/music/Damiano_Baldoni/

Target 8 Reading Recommendation: Arthur Herman, The Cave and the Light: Plato Versus Aristotle, and the Struggle for the Soul of Western Civilization (Random House, 2013)

In this bonus episode, Dr. Gary Gregg recommends a variety of books and authors for listeners to read after finishing up The Republic. Dr. Gregg focuses mainly on Arthur Herman’s book, The Cave and the Light: Plato Versus Aristotle, and the Struggle for the Soul of Western Civilization (Random House, 2013), and shares how this work identifies Plato and Aristotle as the two great fountainheads of Western Civilization and traces their influence on future generations, including our own.

We hope you have enjoyed reading The Republic and will stick with us as we move on to one of the most popular treatises on political leadership, Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince. 

Download Dr. Gregg’s Guide to The Republic here

Download Dr. Gregg's Guide to The Prince here

Subscribe to our newsletter and receive McConnell Center updates directly in your mailbox

Please share any thoughts, questions, comments, or concerns with us via email at connor.tracy@louisville.edu

This podcast is a production of the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. For more information, including upcoming events, please visit us online at mcconnellcenter.org or on social media at:

Facebook: @mcconnellcenter 

Instagram: @ulmcenter 

Twitter: @ULmCenter

Intro: Bridget Kim

Host: Dr. Gary L. Gregg II 

Editor: Connor Tracy

Music: Selected from freemusicarchive.org/music/Damiano_Baldoni/