{"id":102696,"date":"2021-05-31T09:50:38","date_gmt":"2021-05-31T14:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=102696"},"modified":"2026-09-28T12:44:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T17:44:53","slug":"plato-republic-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manhood\/plato-republic-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Podcast #496: What Plato’s Republic Has to Say About Being a Man"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note: This is a re-broadcast. This episode originally aired in April 2019. <\/em><\/p>\n

Plato\u2019s Republic<\/em> is a seminal treatise in Western political philosophy and thought. It hits on ideas that we\u2019re still grappling with in our own time, including the nature of justice and what the ideal political system looks like. But my guest today argues that The Republic<\/em> also has a lot to say about manliness, character development, and education in our current climate of safe spaces and trigger warnings. <\/p>\n

His name is Jacob Howland. He\u2019s a professor of philosophy at the University of Tulsa and the author of the recent book Glaucon\u2019s Fate: History, Myth, and Character in Plato\u2019s Republic<\/em><\/a>. We begin our conversation with an outline of Plato\u2019s Republic<\/em> and how it combines literature and philosophy. Jacob then makes the case that in The Republic<\/em>, Socrates was attempting to save the soul of Plato\u2019s politically ambitious brother, Glaucon, and why he thinks Socrates failed. Along the way we discuss what Socrates\u2019 attempt to save Glaucon can teach us about andreia<\/em> or manliness and what it means to seek the Good in life. We end our conversation discussing the way The Republic<\/em> teaches us of the need to possess not only physical courage, but the courage to think for oneself and stand up for one’s beliefs — a courage that is tested in a time like our own, where it can feel difficult to ask hard questions and wrestle with thorny issues. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note: This is a re-broadcast. This episode originally aired in April 2019.  Plato\u2019s Republic is a seminal treatise in Western political philosophy and thought. It hits on ideas that we\u2019re still grappling with in our own time, including the nature of justice and what the ideal political system looks like. But my guest today argues that The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":195361,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[502,42387,156],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-character","category-manhood","category-podcast"],"featured_image_urls":{"large":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/496-538x280.png","medium_large":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/496-768x432.png","aom":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/496-372x230.png","reactor-320":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/496-320x180.png","reactor-640":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/496-640x360.png"},"yoast_head":"\nPlato's Republic: What Does It Mean for Modern Men? | Art of Manliness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Plato\u2019s\u00a0Republic\u00a0is a seminal treatise in Western political philosophy and thought. 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