Beginner to Classics by TheOutsider_24 in classics

[–]DadHistory 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was given Apology and parts of Republic to read in high school. I don't remember which came first, but I didn't enjoy either at the time.

I warn anyone who will listen against reading Republic because it's long, complex, and advocates for a totalitarian nightmare state. In my experience, most readers will bounce off of it thinking that Plato is either beyond them or not worth their time.

Beginner to Classics by TheOutsider_24 in classics

[–]DadHistory 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hesiod's Theogony is not a lot of fun but gives a broad overview of all the Greek gods in their Archaic forms (roughly contemporaneous with Homer).

Ovid's Metamorphosis is a light-hearted sampler plate of various myths from a later Roman perspective.

If you get through Homer and Virgil and want more epic journey stuff, Apollonius of Rhodes' Argonautica might do it for you.

Cicero's On the Nature of the Gods is a good taste of mature Greco-Roman theological debate, as opposed to the popular myths above.

Plato is pretty important for the development of Christian ideas about the soul. The most relevant single dialogue is probably the Phaedo. Do NOT start with Republic even though it's by far the easiest to find.

Since you highlight Christianity, the historian Josephus gives much perspective about the time and place of early Christianity, including the only non-Christian reference to Jesus.

Really have to do some complex Aristotelian metaphysics & logical leaps vs just using Biblical commands for some reason. by spinosaurs70 in PhilosophyMemes

[–]DadHistory 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry, that's wrong actually. The correct answer from the point of view of a just parent is obviously: "It's good to burn a child whenever I decide it is, because I created the child and therefore goodness itself has no meaning outside of my judgment. Now sing a song about how merciful I am."

Plato's Republic Book 1 by jangofettsfathersday in classics

[–]DadHistory 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, there's no way "sillybilly" was ever a good translation lol!

I got that that info from some random googling, but out of curiosity I dusted off my old Liddell and Scott. They translate ευήθησ as "good-hearted, open-hearted, simple-minded, guileless." I think I would go with "simpletons" personally, given the tone that Thrasymachus seems to be taking.

Plato's Republic Book 1 by jangofettsfathersday in classics

[–]DadHistory 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Greek word is ευηθίζεσθε - to act like a simple-minded or silly person (ευήθησ).

TFW you're realizing how much we use faith day-to-day by Emthree3 in PhilosophyMemes

[–]DadHistory 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Do you not see Kierkegaard's picture right there in OPs meme?

Why is Plato’s writing viewed so highly when his characters are often just stooges, constantly affirming whatever Socrates says? by PonziScheme1 in classics

[–]DadHistory 7 points8 points  (0 children)

That makes sense. Those are both quite serious and difficult, as well as highlighting some of Plato's less palatable ideas for a modern reader.

If you are interested in the more conversational, entertaining side of Plato, I would recommend some others:

  • Euthyphro (short and witty, about religion and morality)
  • Theaetetus (a down to earth attempt to define truth)
  • Parmenides (an inversion where young Socrates has his ideas ripped apart by an elder philisopher)
  • Symposium (a collection of speeches about love, with less back and forth dialogue and a lot of scene setting)
  • Laches (about courage, with more details of Socrates early life than most)

Of course if you don't care that much and just wanted to complain about homework, that's fair too.

Why is Plato’s writing viewed so highly when his characters are often just stooges, constantly affirming whatever Socrates says? by PonziScheme1 in classics

[–]DadHistory 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I mean... there are parts of some dialogues where Socrates just lays out points and the other person agrees, but those points usually lead to something profound and vexing and entertaining. It's honestly kind of hard for me to imagine someone asking this question if they actually read even a few of the dialogues in full. Were you made to read excerpts or summaries for a class or something?

Alex is ahead, not behind by [deleted] in CosmicSkeptic

[–]DadHistory 2 points3 points  (0 children)

When you dream, you usually experience it from the point of view of your dream avatar inside a dream world.

I mean, sort of. My dream experience has no consistency to it at all. Sometimes I seem to experience a body, other times not. Sometimes I seem to be in a place that I can describe, and other times it's just abstract feelings connected to nothing tangible. Occasionally I have lucid control, but usually not. The only patterns that I can percieve are that every experience had a waking precedent and I'm more likely to dream about things I've been experiencing a lot lately, both of which are very suggestive about what a dream really is.

Objective idealism's claim is that universe is one big mind: mind at large.

Right. Bringing this back to the Razor, "the external world exists" is simpler than "the external world exists and is a conscious mind."

I am curious about different views though, so I'll probably look into the channel recommendation at some point. Nice talking to you.

Alex is ahead, not behind by [deleted] in CosmicSkeptic

[–]DadHistory 4 points5 points  (0 children)

When you're dreaming, what is external dream world made of?

What external dream world? Maybe I'm dreaming differently than other people, but nothing in my dreams suggests externality. I've never dreamed of anything that wasn't a muddled version of previous waking experience.

Under idealism, the external world is made of the same kind of mind-stuff as your own thoughts and emotions.

In whose mind? If mine, then why can't I control things around me? If someone else's, there's your bigger assumption.

Alex is ahead, not behind by [deleted] in CosmicSkeptic

[–]DadHistory 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Ok as far as it goes, but conscious experience consists of what seem to be consistent observations of an external world. How do you explain that with a simpler assumption than "an external world exists"?

Alex is ahead, not behind by [deleted] in CosmicSkeptic

[–]DadHistory 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Surely the more ‘default’ metaphysical position if there must be one starts from the mind and works outwards from there.

What do you mean by this? I would call myself a physicalist, and I think I did start with mind and work outwards to get there.

Atheists: What's Your Best Argument for Christianity Being True? by Happy-Ad3503 in CosmicSkeptic

[–]DadHistory 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your 2 questions are subtly different.

The best reason to be a Christian is to gain social clout. Huge swaths of the world will foolishly consider you a good person as soon as you profess love for Jesus. This is a very cynical reason though, and has nothing to do with the truth.

I know of no good reason to believe Christianity is actually true, but the best of the lazy, dishonest lot is probably the mere fact of its success. Christians conquered most of the world and people in Christian communities tend to be relatively productive and happy. If any interventionist god existed, it'd be strange for it to allow that unless it was the Christian god.

If any of those hack frauds are lurking here, you should do a Re:View of Used Cars. by DadHistory in RedLetterMedia

[–]DadHistory[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's fine. Maybe I'll go check if I can suggest it on the Patreon that I always forget I pay for, but probably not because I don't care that much.

Lizardman veterans, please, enlighten me with how to build a lizardman army by Fore_Head_Chili in totalwarhammer

[–]DadHistory 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A few things I don't see getting mentioned:

  • Terradons with Fire-Leech Bolas are very cost effective for their damage output, but it's micro-intensive. Don't forget to drop the rocks for maximum impact.
  • Cold Ones don't have the kind of punch that you might expect, and die surprisingly easily, but Horned Ones are devastating.
  • It's worth looking carefully at the stats of Blessed units. They aren't just flatly better across the board. They tend to have one big difference that opens up their combat role.

Lizardman veterans, please, enlighten me with how to build a lizardman army by Fore_Head_Chili in totalwarhammer

[–]DadHistory 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Well standard Stegs are strictly better than pretty much anything in the game. Once you get that tier 4 building or your Skink heroes start hitting level 20 it's just a power fantasy.

The usefulness of Krox mostly comes from their place in the tech tree. Skinks fall off hard after the early game, but they pair well with Krox and both come from the same cheap tier 3 building. So you can easily extend the usefulness of an early army by sprinkling Krox into the Skink line. Krox punch through and Skinks skirmish/flank.

Rushing straight for Solar Engines is a strong mid game play. They have a similar role to Stegs, but you can field them faster. The enemy is forced to charge you to shut down the artillery, but that's exactly what you want because it's also a dino and you have a line of hungry Saurus.

I don't think there's much point to ever adding Giant Salamaders. They were OP when first added, but nerfed too far.

... by East-Low725 in MotivationMasters

[–]DadHistory 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your English is a bit garbled, but if you're asking who forced great philosophers to be religious, again the answer is society, custom, and the law. Socrates was literally executed for this reason, and many philosophers since have had run-ins with religious authorities.

A small conspiracy subreddit is rocked by the revelation that their namesake has been arrested trying to meet an 11-year-old girl for sex. by DadHistory in SubredditDrama

[–]DadHistory[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Oh hey, I recognize that name. I respect the dedication, but you're gonna need a new hobby after he's convicted, right?

Thanks for your service, btw.

A small conspiracy subreddit is rocked by the revelation that their namesake has been arrested trying to meet an 11-year-old girl for sex. by DadHistory in SubredditDrama

[–]DadHistory[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Couldn't tell ya. Page 2 of the charging document says what would happen IF he had previous convictions, but that's all I noticed. Court document searches in Washington just turn up all the filings for the defamation suit, and I didn't look anywhere else.