The Platonic Academy of Melbourne
Platonic Mysticism and Science
Now that our last classes for the Twilight Term have finished, it is time to come together and celebrate the year at our Christmas break-up.
Our last hurrah for 2021 is a morning tea in Camberwell (Melb) from 10.30 am, Saturday 18 December .
All students and former students are welcome (must be fully vaxxed).
RSVP is essential for attendance. Email Bernie or use the contacts page on this site.
Philosophy Café | 10.30 am | Sunday 24 Oct | online via zoom link
Melbourne might be finally easing out of lock-down, but still larger gatherings of philosophers are discouraged.
Our online Philosophy Café is an opportunity for broader discussion than what tends to unfold in class. Current and past students are welcome, as are other folks interested in Plato and philosophy. So we hope to see you Sunday morning with a cup of coffee and maybe some philosophical questions you’ve been pondering.
Join us from 10.30 am on Sunday 24 Oct, via this zoom link.
(Nice to let us know you’re coming | Dial-in details available on request)
“The soul possesses a logos which grows itself.”
So wrote Heraclitus of Ephesus, whose sayings are all the more enigmatic because they survive only in fragments. Philosophy emerged in the 6th century and was flourishing across Greece and its colonies at the end of the 5th century BC when Plato was born. The writings of Plato and Aristotle depict a lively philosophical debate between diverse schools, which we only know of otherwise through hearsay and gossip. But then there are these precious few authentic fragments of their original writings.
Join Martin Black of the Independent School of Philosophy for a close examination of some of the most intriguing ‘pre-Socratic’ fragments through which you may spy the very beginnings of the European tradition of science, philosophy and metaphysics.
Ancient Greek language & the first philosophers: a second online class is now available, Monday nights from 25 October. Book Now BOOKED OUT
Open lecture | Existentialist Society (Melb) | 2-4pm, Sat, 2 Oct | zoom UPDATED: recording here
For Plato, scientific discourse (logos) is all about making arguments that can be found to be true or false either by reference to experience (empirical science) or otherwise by reference to the formal nature of things (the formal sciences). These days we would say that physicists and mathematicians make and defend “falsifiable” hypotheses.
But what about discourse that can’t be falsified? Well, that’s where we come to good old fashioned storytelling. In The Republic, Plato rejects traditional literary education based on the myths of gods and heroes, not so much because they aren’t true, but more because these stories don’t promote good psycho-social health. To serve this purpose in his ideal republic, Plato proposes the development of a new mythology.
These new morality tales would include stories about the soul’s afterlife that could help overcome fear of death for those who have led a just life but to exacerbate fear for those who have not. Samples of such inventions that appear in Plato’s Socratic dialogues bear a striking resemblance to the myths of the afterlife that subsequently made their way into the folklore of Christianity and that then became the prime motive of popular Christian morality. One of these stories is told by Plato’s ideal man, Socrates, just before taking the poisonous hemlock, to “enchant” himself as he says, as though a lullaby for the dying.
Join us at the Melbourne Existentialist Society (zoom, 2pm, Sat, 2 Oct) where we consider the extent to which the success of Christianity is based on a Platonic propaganda strategy in which the inherent fear of death is manipulated to effect social control.
UPDATE: See lecture recording here
While this Melbourne lockdown is dragging on and on and on…, we thought to catch-up for a casual philosophy chat. Join us on this zoom link for morning coffee on Sunday (12Sept21) from 10.30 am (Melb time).
This is an opportunity for broader discussion than what tends to unfold in class. Current and past students are welcome, as are other folks interested in Plato and philosophy. (Nice to let us know you’re coming | Dial-in details available on request)
So we hope to see you Sunday morning with a cup of coffee and maybe some philosophical questions you’ve been pondering.
Also note that there is currently only one class scheduled for the Twilight term (starting 26 Oct 21), and so this might bookout early. For details about “Ancient Greek Language and the First Philosophers” see the listing on the Courses page.
Places are still available in all Spring evening classes starting the week of Monday, 23 August, 2021.
If you are new to Plato and philosophy, then we recommend for starters Reading Plato [BOOKINGS CLOSED]. If you ever wondered about the origins of Christianity then you might try Platonism and Christianity [BOOKED OUT]. In the new course for continuing students [BOOKED OUT], we will be reading not only the Timaeus (cosmology), but also a curious set of short dialogues: Critias (the Atlantis myth), Meno (learning-as-recollection) and Ion (enthusiastic rhapsody).
All classes were planned to be online-only using zoom, except Reading Plato (classroom + online option). However, with a likely extension of the Melbourne lockdown, it looks like Reading Plato will also move to online-only.
See more on the Courses page.