Behavioral Psychology and Economics September 2008 – audio recording
Here’s the audio recording for Behavioral Psychology and Economics September 2008 call. Listen online ordownload the mp3 file and listen to it as a podcast on your ipod.
Susan Neiman call – audio recording
Here’s the audio recording for special Susan Neiman call in early September. Listen online or download the mp3 file and listen to it as a podcast on your ipod.
Books 8 and 9 Landmark Herodotus – audio recording
Here’s the audio recording for Herodotus Books 8 and 9. Listen online ordownload the mp3 file and listen to it as a podcast on your ipod.
Thanks again!
Hi Everyone,
What a great experience it was to read and discuss Herodotus with all of you! Though I’m a little sad our book group has come to an end, I love the feeling of having lived for so many months with one of the greatest works of western civilization.
Thanks again, Andre, for your excellent work as moderator, and thanks to all fellow group members who put so much effort into reading the book, emailing around commentary, and having great discussions on the calls.
I hope to meet you all in person at some point at one of Phil’s get togethers, and I’m looking forward to reading Aristotle (hopefully with some of you) in January.
Best,
Mark
Happy Monday – parts of the soul?
Hey folks,
How are you doing this Monday. Hope you had a good weekend.
There’s some really good stuff in Republic IV – so keep your reading going and look forward to it.
At one point, Plato gets back to “justice in an individual.” (section 435)
He applies the framework of justice in the city to justice in an individual. At first, it seems a little strange but as I read along I found Plato’s description made some sense.
He divides the soul into three parts (like there are three classes in the ideal city):
– irrational
– rational
– spirt
The “spirt” either helps the rational part rule the whole or eggs on the irrational part. He notes that the irrational part is the largest part and the most insatiable.
At the same time as I’m reading Plato, I’m also running a course on behavioral economics (or why people are so irrational). I have no doubt that the irrational part is bigger and potentially stronger than the rational part in all us human beings.
Plato points out this fact. Behavioral economics and good psychology help us figure out *what* to do.
Good day,
Phil
have heart, read on to some wonderful stuff in plato
folks,
if you are at all discouraged by some of socrates’ rules for the republic (like the suppression of innovations in music), then have heart. read on.
on page 1057 (section 425), Socrates takes an interesting turn when he states that beyond education, there should be no attempt to legislate popular culture.
why?
– foolish
it’s foolish to legislate about such things [as care of parents, hair styles, clothes, etc.]
– if you get the basics right, then you don’t have to worry
the start of someone’s education determines what follows…just focus on education and then let them figure it out because “It isn’t apropriate to dictate to men who are fine and good.”
several interesting concepts are embedded in that last point:
– starting points matter
2,500 years before chaos theory, plato got this key insight
– just a few basic rules to worry about and then let them figure it out from there
– if you don’t get the basics right, then no amount of law-setting will matter
“they’ll spend their lives enacting laws and then amending them, believing that in this way they’ll attain the best…not realizing that they’re really just cutting off a Hydra’s head.”
i was excited to read these points in plato, especially the last two because i had never seen such a clear example of my own (not very well articulated) philosophy of the importance of getting a few simple things right. in my business, i’m always being asked for the 100 rules of customer experience or good business design. and many “gurus” publish such lists (of various kinds and lengths). i really have no answer for that question. i’m not interesting in prescribing rules to that level of detail. i find there are only a few basic things businesses need to do well and often – and from that practice everything else follows.
happy reading.
Phil
p.s. has anyone started reading just 5 pages a day? how’s it going?
Socrates bans new music…threatens the whole system
Folks,
Page 1056 of our edition (section 424)
“Above all, they must guard as carefully as they can against any innovation in music and poetry….the guardians must beware of changing to a new form of music, since it threatens the whole system.”
I’ve done my five pages today.
Those of you who are attempting the five-page-a-day method, let me know how it’s going.
Phil
p.s. great call with Susan Neiman yesterday – can’t wait for the dinner in NY with her. She was great!
Narcissistic Leaders: The Incredible Pros, The Inevitable Cons
Hi Fellow Readers,
After the last call and our discussion about Xerxes, I promised to forward this article “Narcissistic Leaders: The Incredible Pros, The Inevitable Cons” by Michael Macoby from the January 2004 issue of HBR.
Better late than never!
CCC
Plato (or Socrates) the first feminist?
Folks,
Hope your reading is going well.
In section 451d (or page 1079 in our edition), Socrates starts a discussion about why women should have all the same jobs as men. He states clearly that gender should not be the determining factor but rather whether someone is suited to do the job.
“There is no way of life concerned with the management of the city that belongs to a woman because she’s a woman or to a man because he’s a man…”
I don’t know of any other extended written dialogue about the equality of women that precedes Plato.
Happy weekend,
Phil
15. September 2008 by Arrian
Categories: Commentary, Plato | Tags: Plato | 1 comment