Dr. Gerald Culley Teaches on History, Philosophy and Mt. Sophia- Part I

Dr. Culley recently blessed Mt. Sophia’s World Literature and Latin students by teaching for a couple of days. It was a great experience for them to have a university-level teacher in the classroom and to gain from his years of wisdom.

I was so blessed by his World Lit lesson, that I asked if I could post some of it. He said, “sure”.

So here goes (speaking of Athens in ancient times):

What had happened to Athens’ splendid experiment with Democracy? (It) finally degenerated into mob rule. Every form of government, it seemed, had been tried in the century just past, and all had failed.

What could be done? What was needed? Here Plato turned for inspiration to his mentor, Socrates. What was needed was virtuous people. People who understood duty and goodness. People who could put the welfare of all ahead of their own selfish desires. And because one could never hope to have a whole population rise to that level of excellence, the need was for leaders who did.

The state will never become stable, tranquil, just and good, Plato argued, until either philosophers become kings, or kings, philosophers. That, as you have seen or guessed, is where his great dialogue, The Republic, is headed.

It’s all very well to sit in an ivory tower somewhere and talk about such ideals, but the real world is out there waiting for real solutions. Some of Plato’s own students at the Academy that he founded must have raised that objection, because the time came when the teacher decided to face the world.

Events provided the raw material for his great experiment… (Plato was invited twice to Syracuse to work with the local ruler on establishing a philosopher kingship. The first time, the ruler, Dionysius, got irritated by Plato’s ideas and sold him into slavery. He was rescued by friends, but returned 20 years later when Dionysius II was ruling.- editor)

This time civil war broke out and Plato had to flee for his life. Syracuse, instead of becoming Plato’s ideal state, descended into decades of chaos and violence. Plato’s great experiment, noble as it was, came to nothing…

What is to become of it all? Stay tuned next week for the exciting conclusion (and actual point) of this important lesson.- Vicki

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