Plato's Laches, on Courage (Live Reading)

Laches is one of Plato’s early dialogues and involves two of the best known generals Athens had: Nicias and Laches. One would assume that with such a star cast arriving at a plausible definition of courage and delineating the practical aspects of training for battle would be a piece of cake, but one after another the arguments proposed collapse under the weight of Socratic interrogation.

How is it possible to define virtue in the singular and virtues in the plural? What constitutes an apposite definition of a particular virtue? Who is truly qualified to talk about education? I sit possible for one virtue to contradict another? These are some of the highly intriguing questions investigated in Laches.

The dialogue is highly intriguing and valuable n its own right but reading it against the background of the various stages of the Peloponnesian war and the extreme vicissitudes of Athens’ fortunes adds further layers of meaning.

**********

The reading is intended for well informed generalists even though specialists are obviously welcome. The discussion isn't intended for specialists but rather for informed and curious generalists. We will be using R.E. Allen’s translation (Yale University Press), which appears to propose the best compromise between a graceful style and precision of meaning

The present group discussions on Laches follow those on Plato's Timaeus. It is our aspiration to read the Platonic corpus over a long period of time. The host ισ Constantine Lerounis, a distinguished Greek philologist, author of Four Access Points to Shakespeare’s Works (in Greek) and Former Advisor to the President of the Hellenic Republic. A full introduction to the dialogue and its historical and philosophical background and extensive running commentary will be provided.

[Note for the 1st meeting happening on March 4, 2023: Much of the background will be provided at this first meeting. Those who intend to attend subsequent sessions are strongly advised to make sure that they attend this one too!]

The text can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VPWC5rXTS2kVl2BLogmn_BIfDxe32EgH/view?usp=sharing