Brief Notes on Various Topics -- 82

26 January 2026

Brief Notes on Various Topics -- 82

1.  Explanatory Power

I have often referred to a kind of divide in Platonism today that exists between Academic, or University based, Platonism and the Platonism that is offered by numerous small groups, and some individuals, that emphasizes Platonism as a way of life and/or Platonism as a spiritual tradition.  I think it is the most persistent and interesting divide in contemporary Platonism.  (As an aside, there are academic Philosophers who advocate for Classical Philosophy, including Platonism, as a way of life that has a spiritual purpose.  Pierre Hadot is a famous example and Hadot has influenced a number of Academics on this issue.  It’s important to keep these exceptions in mind.  Nevertheless, I think the basic division is a real one.)

Recently, by listening to some Academic Platonists, young Academics, I came to realize that one of the reasons Academic Philosophers have the tendency to view Platonism solely in doctrinal terms (leaving aside the spiritual purpose of Platonism) is that they find Platonism to have a great deal of explanatory power.  And it is interesting to me that those I watched express their satisfaction with the range and power of Platonism in their affect when they are talking about this, or when they are responding to a question about this.  I have observed this most often in the field of mathematics; I can think of two cases where the Philosopher of mathematics who was previously committed to non-Platonic explanations of numbers and their relationships, through their studies found Platonism to have greater scope than other traditions of the philosophy of mathematics; they both talk articulately about this and have become what they consider to be Platonists as a result.

But it isn’t only in mathematics; I have also observed this among those involved in political philosophy and aesthetics.  And there seems to be a bit of a renewal of interest in virtue ethics from a Platonic perspective as well. 

I can understand why an intellectual would find the discovery of the explanatory power and range of Platonism to be satisfying in a deep way even without acknowledging the spiritual roots of Platonism.  I think partly this happens because the Academy these days has separated from religion and is often openly contemptuous of it; this makes it easier to think of Platonism as a bearer of powerful ideas rather than primarily a spiritual tradition.  From my perspective, leaving out the spiritual component of Platonism is unfortunate, but I can understand why it happens.

2.  Removing Plato

I recently read that an American University ordered a Professor to remove Plato from the Professor’s list of readings for his class.  I don’t know all the details.  At least some of the dispute revolves around contemporary ideological issues and differing interpretations of Federal guidelines for federally funded Universities (which would be most Universities in the U.S.).  I’m not going to spend time trying to untangle all the issues involved, but it is interesting to me that the specific Dialogue at issue was the Symposium, one of Plato’s most accessible Dialogues.

That this has happened does not surprise me; I’ve been expecting something like this for a long time.  I’m surprised it hasn’t happened earlier (perhaps I just didn’t run across previous incidents like this.)  I say this because our culture has a strongly held view that the past is only to be interpreted as a source of negativities such as injustice and ignorance; and that because of this view of the past, the past is only looked at as something we must overcome, or partially overcome, and we need to continue to overcome it.  The best and simplest way of overcoming the past is to simply ban the past from the present.

I think that people that hold this view of the past would find Plato to be repugnant for several reasons.  First, and simply, because Plato is a representative of the past and has a lot of influence.  Just as the Red Guards were hostile towards Confucius for his influence on Chinese culture, so today those who see the past solely in negative terms would be inclined to be hostile to Plato.

The second aspect worth mentioning is that Plato revered the past.  Plato’s attitude towards the past was to learn from it, that the past is a repository of wisdom which it is our job to understand.  This would be particularly grating.

I don’t know if the above mentioned episode is just a fluke or if it might become more routine, like an expanded attempt to marginalize or delete Plato.  It’s hard to say.  But these kinds of episodes have happened before in history; knowing the past can be very helpful when faced with events like this.

3.  I’m afraid that I have a lot to do.  A friend of mine requires daily infusions for six week and I am driving him daily to the infusion center.  I had the idea that when I retired I would have a lot of time for contemplation and study and for the first three years it worked out that way.  But now I have to spend time taking care of my friend.  I don’t mind.  There is an Ennead where Plotinus discusses the difficulties of life, the setbacks, and the insights.  Reading Plotinus on this topic was uplifting.

But for the next few weeks I will be writing minimal posting.  Thanks for your attention.