The School of Philosophy, Melbourne
presents the sixth of the
Lifestyle and Culture Lectures
Sunday, 3rd January 2010
Plato's Five Forms of Government
Who will rule us now?
by David Horan
The next Lifestyle & Culture lecture will focus on the five forms of government, as presented by the Greek philosopher Plato in his seminal work, the Republic, books 8 and 9.
Presenter David Horan warns that this will be a dramatic talk! Plato does not pull any punches in his examination of the various possible forms of government and their relative merits. Democracy itself comes heavily under fire. The 'bottom line' is that greed and desire lead us towards tyranny and enslavement, while truth and justice lead us towards liberation at both the personal and political level.
David Horan presented From Heaven to Earth: Plato's Philosophy and the World We Live In last January, and this next lecture proves to be just as insightful, engaging and challenging!