Having just listened to the last of the podcasts on Plato, I was in fact hoping for an episode on The Laws or some other continuation of the discussion of Plato's political philosophy. Of course, a podcast about the history of philosophy does not have to get into a more critical discussion of this, but given that you declared your willingness to be an apologist for Plato, I was wondering what this would look like in a more extensive discussion. Granted, the society of The Republic may or may not be considered completely ideal by Plato, but are we then to follow the recommendations of The Laws? And what kind of society is defended in that dialogue - is their any significant departure from the censorship, propaganda, eugenics etc. of The Republic? And if not, might it not be appropriate to adopt a more ambiguous view of Plato's greatness than the one presented in this podcast?
Plato's Laws
Having just listened to the last of the podcasts on Plato, I was in fact hoping for an episode on The Laws or some other continuation of the discussion of Plato's political philosophy. Of course, a podcast about the history of philosophy does not have to get into a more critical discussion of this, but given that you declared your willingness to be an apologist for Plato, I was wondering what this would look like in a more extensive discussion. Granted, the society of The Republic may or may not be considered completely ideal by Plato, but are we then to follow the recommendations of The Laws? And what kind of society is defended in that dialogue - is their any significant departure from the censorship, propaganda, eugenics etc. of The Republic? And if not, might it not be appropriate to adopt a more ambiguous view of Plato's greatness than the one presented in this podcast?