Ancient Greece Declassified

Philosophers today often dismiss Plato's Theory of Forms as an outdated and failed attempt by a pre-modern thinker to explain knowledge. However, cognitive scientist John Vervaeke offers a radically d...

13 Maj 20221h 2min

An announcement about the upcoming Ancient Greece Declassified tour in Greece this summer.

4 Maj 20225min

The cave analogy, which takes up the majority of book 7 of the Republic, is one of the most famous passages in all of western philosophy. In this episode, we are joined by Ben Morison, professor of ph...

30 Apr 20221h 1min

Plato is at once the most loved and possibly the most hated philosopher of all time. This episode explores five reasons why he drives some people mad. Contents of the episode, with timestamps: Reason ...

29 Apr 20221h 7min

Where does the notion of 'moral duty' come from? In this conversation with Simon E. Drew we dive deep into the history of the concept and discuss my recent book The Invention of Duty.  This episode wa...

27 Jan 20221h 15min

Book 6 of the Republic is the work's core section where Plato lays out his metaphysics. Appealing to his signature Theory of Forms, Plato offers a transcendent vision of the Good as the ultimate sourc...

12 Dec 20211h 5min

Was Homer was influenced by the stories of civilizations to the east of Greece? Joining us to discuss the Hittites and their potential (direct and indirect) influences on the Greek epic tradition is M...

28 Nov 202159min

The most controversial part of Plato's Republic is its fifth book, wherein Socrates argues for the political equality of men and women, the abolition of the nuclear family, a strange eugenics program,...

18 Okt 202153min