Counter-Currents Radio Podcast No. 539
Greg Johnson on Plato’s Gorgias,
Lecture 2

361 words / 1:41:51

Greg Johnson is teaching a five-week course on Plato’s Gorgias on Counter-Currents Radio, which will continue on three Saturdays later this month (July 15, 22, and 29). The second lecture, which dealt with Socrates’ discussion with Polus from 461b to 481b, can be heard below. A visual aid that accompanies the lecture is here.

The theme of the course is “Might vs. Right.” Dr. Johnson is using Donald J. Zeyl’s translation of the Gorgias published by Hackett as both a separate book and as part of their Plato Complete Works volume. You can use other translations, because all Plato translations have a standard citation format known as Stephanus numbers, which appear in the margins of each translation. There are many free online translations, for instance this one at Archive.org. The first lecture ends at Stephanus number 466a.

Every educated person should be familiar with Plato, but higher education today is usually a barrier to understanding the great thinkers of the past. Hence the need for Counter-Currents, which Jonathan Bowden described as an online university of the Right.

The streams will start at noon Pacific, 3pm Eastern Standard Time, 8pm UK time, and 9pm Central European Time on:

DLive: https://dlive.tv/Counter-Currents

Odysee: https://odysee.com/@countercurrents/ccradio

Send questions & donations to Entropy: entropystream.live/countercurrents

Topics discussed in the first lecture include:

00:09:46 Why technology needs to be tempered by wisdom
00:12:06 “The technocratic society is a car without brakes”
00:13:56 Beginning of analysis of the dialogue with Polus
00:27:56 Politics creates health in the soul
00:36:30 Confectionery is to medicine as oratory is to justice
00:41:23 Socrates on power and freedom
00:43:36 Doing what you want versus doing what you see fit
00:47:01 Real freedom means wanting and getting well-being
00:54:44 It is better to have injustice done to you than to do injustice
00:55:46 In our society, has the difference between techne and a knack has been lost?
01:06:57 Happiness is a function of justice and education
01:08:28 Is it really better to have injustice done to you, though?
01:14:00 Socrates on punishment
01:19:36 Is criminal rehabilitation even possible?
01:30:03 Is happiness subjective?
01:33:22 You are miserable because you are free
01:36:58 Getting punished is your right
01:39:19 On next week’s lesson

To listen in a player, click here. To download, right-click the link and click “save as.”

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