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The Philosophy Department presents “Raw Virtue and Its Refinements: The Ranking of Divine Goods in Plato’s Laws” with Susan Sauvé Meyer(University of Pennsylvania) on Friday January 26, 2018 at 3:15-5:00 P.M. in Hellems 269.

Prof. Meyer’s talk on Friday is going to be on Plato’s thinking about ‘raw or natural virtue in the Laws. The Laws was Plato’s last work, and represents his mature thinking about moral and political philosophy, developing in significant ways away from his thinking in the Republic.

Prof. Meyer specializes in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, with focus on the natural philosophy of the period (especially Aristotle's and the Stoics'), as well as on the ancient ethical tradition. Her book Aristotle and Moral Responsibility (1993) argued for a compatibilist understanding of Aristotle’s views of moral responsibility. Her monograph Ancient Ethics (Routledge 2008) is a systematic treatment of Plato’s, Aristotle’s, Epicurean, and Stoic ethics designed to serve the interests both of students of ancient philosophy and of specialists in contemporary ethics who seek to understand the differences between Ancient and modern ethical philosophy. She recently published a translation and commentary on Plato's Laws, Books 1-2, in the Clarendon Plato Series of Oxford University Press, and she is at work on the next volume, which will cover Books 3, 4, and 5.  She also has active projects on Stoic and Aristotelian moral psychology, as well as Plato's Philebus.

This talk is sponsored by the Philosophy Department, as well as the generous support of Center for Western Civilization, Thought, and Policy (CWCTP), and of the Graduate Committee on the Arts and Humanities (GCAH).

Results

Approximately 20 people came to the talk, about half of them undergraduate and graduate students. In her talk, Prof. Meyer addressed a puzzling passage in Plato’s Laws on the teleological law code that Plato envisions the ideal lawmakers should have: they are to aim at producing virtue in citizens, but Plato offers a more detailed target, involving a hierarchy of goods which he divides into divine goods (wisdom, moderation, justice, courage) and human goods (health, beauty, strength and speed, and wealth). Her talk was on the question of how we are to think about this ranking and how to blend them together.

The Center for Western Civilization, Thought and Policy funds research and educational initiatives that contribute to critical reflection on the development of Western civilization. All CU Boulder faculty and students are eligible to apply. If you are interested in applying for a CWCTP faculty grant, deadlines are rolling throughout the year.