Plato: The Examined Life

From Socrates's trial to the invisible ring, the divided soul, the cave and the philosopher-rulers: an introduction to Plato that takes the arguments seriously without excusing their political costs. Includes Diotima's account of love, the Phaedrus on writing, a source-honest translation note, and the myth of Er. History, dramatic presentation, myth and interpretation are kept distinct. Narrated by Tara, an AI voice. Provisional interpretation, not an authoritative translation, lineage transmission or practice authorization.

Full primary works read: the Apology and Crito in Benjamin Jowett's public-domain translation; the Republic, Symposium and Phaedrus appear as selected passages only, and the course says so - no whole-corpus claim. Socrates in the dialogues is a dramatic speaker, not a verbatim recording of the historical man. The oracle, the ring of Gyges, the cave, Diotima's account of Love's parentage, the Egyptian writing story and the myth of Er are attributed to their dramatic contexts, not treated as verified events. Moral and political criticism, present-day illustrations and the closing exercise are the course author's own interpretation and application. No long quotations; every argument is given in the course's own words. Original narration and commentary CC0 1.0 Universal.

Sources
Plato, Apology, Jowett translation (Project Gutenberg): https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1656
Plato, Crito, Jowett translation (Project Gutenberg): https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1657
Plato, Republic, Jowett translation, selected passages (MIT Internet Classics): https://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.html
Plato, Symposium, Jowett translation, selected passages (MIT): https://classics.mit.edu/Plato/symposium.html
Plato, Phaedrus, Jowett translation, selected passages (MIT): https://classics.mit.edu/Plato/phaedrus.html
Richard Kraut, "Plato", Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato/
"Plato's Ethics and Politics in The Republic", Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-ethics-politics/
"Plato", Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://iep.utm.edu/plato/

Chapters
The man who would not stop asking
The door is open. Why stay?
The ring that removes the witnesses
Who is running the household?
The cave is not a compliment
The people who know best
A ladder, a party, and the limits of a book
Leave with a question that can change something