…my nose in a bookFood, research, yoga and music. . . is there anything else?

A continuation of my reading on Plato’s Republic (a few more thoughts):

Within Plato’s “just” city, he is set in believing this utopia can be achieved through specific educational curriculum and societal laws.  I am skeptical this could be accomplished, yet when considering many research studies within modern psychology, I feel that his belief of an ideal city could potentially be warranted.

Plato’s ideal city will have educated its’ citizens from childhood, to conform and believe in their harmonious society.  A majority of the citizens will be kept in the dark about the actual truth of the world (the allegory of the cave), as according to Plato’s educational regimen, only the best of the best will be able to go forward into learning the truth.    At times, it seems reminiscent of many isolationist cults or even the systematic censorship within the former USSR.  One of the issues the Soviet Union suffered from was not taking into account the concept of self-serving human nature and the abuse of power.  The guardians may be taught and bred to believe that dying for the greater good would be noble, yet human psychology dictates that self-preservation is an innate factor.

I propose an interesting question: if Plato designed this complex and almost life long educational curriculum, to shape and mold the guardians of this ideal society, how can Plato consider himself competent enough to develop this curriculum and how would he deal with the unpredictability of the human condition?

Cheers,

Deanna

I have been reading Plato’s The Republic, and have had a few different thoughts bouncing around in my head.  In the world of education, Platonic thinking seems to arise when you least expect it, and the more I read, the more I feel like I do not know enough.  Five million questions came to mind when reading Plato, like whether or not he truly believed a perfect City could be achieved, or whether it was simply an idealistic fantasy. Either way, I know I have only started to brush off the surface of understanding what Plato was trying to say.

Nonetheless, here are the three main thoughts that arose from my reading Plato’s The Republic – Books 1 – 4:

Learning:

Persuasion is only possible when the other person is listening, as noted in the statement “But can you persuade, if we refuse to listen?” in book One.  In the context of education and the shaping of impressionable minds, I find this statement to be noteworthy.  If a student is not open to the concept of listening, and the possibility of growing their knowledge base, their opposition hinders the learning process.

The Ideal City and Music:

The education of the members of the ideal city focuses on following the rules, and a strictly censored learning and content.  I found Plato’s stance on music education to be fascinating, as his belief that certain harmonies evoke certain emotions, virtue and a “good” soul, while “bad” harmonies or music can corrupt and “latch onto” the soul.  Now in today’s society, and as a musician/composer myself, I find it difficult to wrap my mind around having my Art censored.  Upon consideration within the “Ideal Just City”, I can completely understand why there would be specific restrictions on the types of music that will be a part of education, as creativity and thinking “outside-the-box” could be catastrophic to the organized structure of the just society.

An Interesting Side Note on “Bad Music”:

Throughout history, certain types of music have been banned for their potential to evoke emotions that were incongruent with the ideals of that time.  The augmented fourth interval, also known as a tritone, has been used consistently as an example of a “bad” interval, with a historical connotation of being dissonant and “evil” (even used today in horror films to evoke “evil”).

As there are different overtones that occur from different intervals, it could be quite possible that certain harmonic scales could be particularly disturbing to someone who associates the tritone with “evil”, due to their societal music education.  Overtones are the natural resonance of an instrument, as instruments emit harmonic frequencies in addition to their fundamental pitch.

There were so many themes and ideas that came out of my readings, yet I felt that these three topics were my favourites. Any thoughts?

Ciao

Deanna

Going back to school after being away for a couple years is a daunting thing. You worry about if you will be able to keep up with the rest of your class. You worry about if your writing skills are up to snuff. Most of all, you worry if you are going to be able to keep up with the excessive reading that is expected of you.

I started my Ph.D. this week, and was extremely excited to go to my first class.  It is only one class per week, which with my migraines, vertigo and stomach problems, I figured would be up to my speed.  I have seven other colleagues in my class, and of course all older than me, which I always find intellectually invigorating (since they typically have more life and work experience to rely on – instead of people who have never had a real job in their life).

I have taken a variety of courses over the past decade, and haven’t been what you might call overly enthused about the reading lists and discussions I have had. . . Until now!

My first task is to read Plato’s “The Republic”.  It is not an easy read by any stretch of the imagination, nor is it a boring book.  It is known as one of the most influential works of philosophical and political theory.   I am reading the book as a part of an educational history course, that is looking at The Republic in the context of being an influential part of the evolution of education.  Interesting, yes. . . The fact that I have to read this book in depth in under a week. . . ? Well, I am wondering how that is going to be realistically done. Baffled actually.

Over the years I have read numerous texts from the Academy, and have always been fascinated with the ingenuity and complexities of the Greek philosophers.  I am only a few pages into The Republic, and I think I have either been out of academia a little too long, or that this book is quite a dense read that needs tender love and thought (not to mention, I think it is more a text that I could write my dissertation about, rather than read it in a week).  Has anyone else read Plato’s “The Republic”? If so, what are your thoughts? (Please!)

I have been worried that maybe I am just behind on my reading, and that I am not reading at the same level I used to.  It is funny how one can second guess themselves.  Though when I consider it, I think I am just not in the same mindset I used to be.  The material is interesting, I can relate it to my research, yet I can think of numerous other texts that would be more beneficial to my line of study than this book.  I’m not sure.  I think I am going to go back to reading and reconsider my opinion of this text in the context of academia, once I have gotten through the first book.

I will keep you all posted on my progress through my academic pursuits, since it is always nice to know that even someone who has been in school for a decade, still wonders if they can read fast enough.

Ciao,

~Deanna