Status Updates From History of Political Philos...

Read the essay on Plato. Extremely compelling and also understand better again why the straussians like democracy. I'm really interested in the Laws and wish someone would teach it to me. I am afraid I cannot read it on my own. This is a plea for help.

Read chapter on Thucydides. I guess everything is self interested not only at the level of the city but also the individual! Gasp! I guess Bolotin thought Thucydides was trying to say that the philosophic way of life is the best. Is this a stretch? TBD.

Read the essay on Farabi. I think I only now finally understand why the Straussians like democracy so much. Thanks Mahdi. I’m very interested in Farabi’s adaptation of Platonic philosophy to serve Islamic ends. My teacher seemed to really de-emphasize Farabi’s ties to Islam, but Mahdi seems to think his desire for the world state was tied to his Islamic sympathies, which makes sense to me.