Socrates – Jacke Wilson

July 18, 2023

The History of Literature #465 — Greek Lit and Game Theory (with Professor Josiah Ober)

Game theory as a mathematical discipline has been around since the Cold War, but as Professor Josiah Ober (The Greeks and the Rational: The Discovery of Practical Reason) points out, its roots stretch back to Socrates, if not before. In this episode, Jacke talks to Professor Ober about the Greek discovery of practical reason – Continue reading

Arts, Authors, Fiction

ancient greece, game theory, History, Literature, practical reason, society, Socrates

August 6, 2021

The History of Literature #328 – Aristophanes (with Aaron Poochigian)

Often called the Father of Comedy, the satirical playwright Aristophanes (c. 450 BCE – 388 BCE) used his critical eye and sharp tongue to skewer politicians and philosophers alike. In this episode, poet and classicist Aaron Poochigian joins Jacke to discuss his new translation of four plays by Aristophanes – and explains why these ancient Continue reading

history of literature, Podcast

aaron poochigian, ancient athens, ancient greeks, aristophanes, father of comedy, Socrates, translations

August 20, 2018

The History of Literature #155 – Plato

http://traffic.megaphone.fm/ADL3663385565.mp3 “The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition,” said Alfred North Whitehead, “is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato.” We’ve all heard the name of Plato and his famous mentor Socrates, and most of us have encountered the dialogues, a literary-philosophical form he essentially invented. We know the Continue reading

Arts, Authors, books, history of literature, Writing

Aristotle, crito, plato, republic, Socrates, theory of forms

December 14, 2015

History of Literature Episode 7 – Greek Comedy – Aristophanes

Author Jacke Wilson examines the life and works of Aristophanes, whose comic plays included The Clouds, which pokes fun at philosophers such as Socrates, and Lysistrata, where the females of Athens and Sparta go on a sex strike in an attempt to end the war. Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:04 — 31.2MB) Subscribe: iTunes | Continue reading

Arts, history of literature, Podcast, Writing

aristophanes, dionysian festival, greek comedy, satire, Socrates, the clouds

October 25, 2013

What They Knew #11

The unexamined life is not worth living. –Socrates …and examining your life makes you want to kill yourself. –Saul Bellow Continue reading

Authors, What They Knew, Writing

Ancient Greek philosophy, Saul Bellow, Socrates