Political Philosophy by Fr. Schall: 53. Republic Chapter 1

This course was recorded in 2015 in an informal setting by Fr. Schall himself.

This course was recorded in 2015 in an informal setting by Fr. Schall himself.

The first book of the Republic is written some time after the death of Socrates. Plato wants to know why it happened. The sub-title of the Republic is "on justice," that is, what happens if in this world justice is not served? Plato's answer is the immortality of the soul and final judgment after death. Lesson, we will not and cannot have a perfect city in this world.

 

For over 35 years, Fr. James Schall taught Political Philosophy at Georgetown University, where he was legendary among generations of students.  If you want an experience of what those students enjoyed, this course is the place to begin.  Fr. Schall starts with Aristotle’s Ethics and Politics and then, with wisdom and wit, guides his listeners through the thought of the great Roman statesman Cicero, the French Catholic philosopher Yves Simon, the Old and New Testaments, the political thought of St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas on Law, Machiavelli, politics in the plays of Shakespeare, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Nietzsche, and finally, Plato’s masterwork, the Republic.  It is a historical and intellectual tour de force in 60 lectures.  What generations of students had to pay thousands of dollars in tuition to hear, you can now have in recorded lectures to listen to over and over again.  In preserving the lectures of Fr. Schall, we at the Catholic International University feel that we are fulfilling the mission set by our founder Ralph McInerny:  to make the best Catholic lectures available as widely as possible to the public. Please don’t miss this opportunity to engage in one of the greatest intellectual journeys you’ll ever take with one of this generation’s wisest guides.

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