Philosophy? We Have Lynyrd Skynyrd -Will Brady
Bonus blog, HERE WE GO!
So I could spend the next couple paragraphs going on another long rant about our favorite hemlock chugger's controversial ideas of tyrannical despondency or the injustice of being creative as a poet. But I'm tired of writing about that and you're tired of reading about that, so let's talk about Southern music instead.
"BABY, BE A SIMPLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE KIND OF MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN"
...“Simple Man” is Odysseus' theme song, according to Socrates. The picture of the afterlife at the end of Book X is... interesting. All of the souls in the afterlife, whether they had just died or had been living in paradise for a while, are given the opportunity to reincarnate into whatever life they chose--peasant, king, cobbler, the opposite gender, chipmunk, exploding salmon, whatever. They had a lot of options. Poor men became tyrants, Agamemnon said "screw being a person" and turned into an eagle, and Odysseus--the triumphant and heroic king of Ithaca, renowned for his wealth and wisdom--chose the life of a humble middle-class workman. Carrying that much power and prestige evidently took so much of a toll that he decided it wasn't worth doing again. Why?
"FORGET YOUR LUST FOR THE RICH MAN'S GOOOOOOOOOOLD
ALL THAT YOU NEED NOW IS IN YOUR SOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUL"
Socrates mentions that in reincarnating as a humble man Odysseus would "mind his own business." I'm sure he means to assert Odysseus' just nature in this (even though he never specifically says as much), but was Odysseus not minding his own business in his past life? His business just happened to revolve around running a country and fighting a decade-long war. So what's significant about Odysseus' choice? Humility. He wasn't power-hungry. He didn't want to go back to standing high above other men and being adored by the public. He knew it was hard, and that his pride wasn't worth it. Odysseus wanted contentment and peace from the simple life, so he chose it freely--and that is the difference between him and the Republic. Socrates would force men into roles based on whether he deemed them fit and control every aspect of their lives from there. Odysseus chose his life for himself, and once he had it he was free to live it however he pleased; of course there was the boundary that his life would never rise above that of a common man, but it was a wall he set for himself. That was what he wanted.
"AND YOU CAN DO THIS, OH BABY, IF YOU TRYYYYYYYYYY
ALL THAT I WANT FOR YOU, MY SON, IS TO BE SATISFIIIIIIIIIIEEED"
So what is justice? Is it a hive-mind regime where everyone shares everything in common, where lives and ideas are strictly regulated in order to prevent strife? Or is it choosing to live as Odysseus did, humbling yourself in all things, seeking satisfaction with simplicity over material wealth, and resolving to march through the hard storms that you know will come? "Minding your own business" leaves too many doors unchecked, especially concerning government. Humility is the key here.
Now, would you all rather read a three hundred page book about people defining justice under infuriating conditions, or listen to Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man" and hear the entire book get unintentionally rebuked in six minutes?
So I could spend the next couple paragraphs going on another long rant about our favorite hemlock chugger's controversial ideas of tyrannical despondency or the injustice of being creative as a poet. But I'm tired of writing about that and you're tired of reading about that, so let's talk about Southern music instead.
"BABY, BE A SIMPLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE KIND OF MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN"
...“Simple Man” is Odysseus' theme song, according to Socrates. The picture of the afterlife at the end of Book X is... interesting. All of the souls in the afterlife, whether they had just died or had been living in paradise for a while, are given the opportunity to reincarnate into whatever life they chose--peasant, king, cobbler, the opposite gender, chipmunk, exploding salmon, whatever. They had a lot of options. Poor men became tyrants, Agamemnon said "screw being a person" and turned into an eagle, and Odysseus--the triumphant and heroic king of Ithaca, renowned for his wealth and wisdom--chose the life of a humble middle-class workman. Carrying that much power and prestige evidently took so much of a toll that he decided it wasn't worth doing again. Why?
"FORGET YOUR LUST FOR THE RICH MAN'S GOOOOOOOOOOLD
ALL THAT YOU NEED NOW IS IN YOUR SOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUL"
Socrates mentions that in reincarnating as a humble man Odysseus would "mind his own business." I'm sure he means to assert Odysseus' just nature in this (even though he never specifically says as much), but was Odysseus not minding his own business in his past life? His business just happened to revolve around running a country and fighting a decade-long war. So what's significant about Odysseus' choice? Humility. He wasn't power-hungry. He didn't want to go back to standing high above other men and being adored by the public. He knew it was hard, and that his pride wasn't worth it. Odysseus wanted contentment and peace from the simple life, so he chose it freely--and that is the difference between him and the Republic. Socrates would force men into roles based on whether he deemed them fit and control every aspect of their lives from there. Odysseus chose his life for himself, and once he had it he was free to live it however he pleased; of course there was the boundary that his life would never rise above that of a common man, but it was a wall he set for himself. That was what he wanted.
"AND YOU CAN DO THIS, OH BABY, IF YOU TRYYYYYYYYYY
ALL THAT I WANT FOR YOU, MY SON, IS TO BE SATISFIIIIIIIIIIEEED"
So what is justice? Is it a hive-mind regime where everyone shares everything in common, where lives and ideas are strictly regulated in order to prevent strife? Or is it choosing to live as Odysseus did, humbling yourself in all things, seeking satisfaction with simplicity over material wealth, and resolving to march through the hard storms that you know will come? "Minding your own business" leaves too many doors unchecked, especially concerning government. Humility is the key here.
Now, would you all rather read a three hundred page book about people defining justice under infuriating conditions, or listen to Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man" and hear the entire book get unintentionally rebuked in six minutes?
Wow. I must admit that your attempt to draw a connection between The Republic and some good old Southern music is very entertaining. As for the accuracy of the connection, I believe even Fort Knox is jealous of the metaphorical gold you just uncovered. Socrates is very effective in supporting humility. His presentation of important characters using hindsight to understand and even treat reincarnation as some complicated puzzle is baffling. I had fun reading the book, but I really feel I was left with some sort of poetry that Socrates dislikes in the first place. Basically, I gathered that the ideal city built was as real as a fairy tale, and questioned why I read 300+ pages late on Monday and Wednesday nights.
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