The Republic of Plato

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1. rokhayakebeFeb 2015
   Book worth opening everyday for the rest of one's life: Discourses (Epictetus)

   Books worth reading 10 times: Social Contract (Rousseau), Republic (of Plato), Apology (Socrates), As a Man Think, Inquiry into the Wealth of Nation (if you can muster the energy)

   Books worth reading 3 times: Lucretius (on the nature of things)

   And pretty much most books in the Great Books of the Western World list

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2. mbivertAug 2023
   Okay granted; my intent wasn't to justify astrology either, but merely to encourage prudence when dismissing "old ideas." To be clear, I'm not talking about modern astrology, but really about old beliefs that could have been built on repeated observations, but weirdly/poorly phrased.

   In The Republic of Plato, there's this idea of rotation between political regimes[0], and it's explained by the way each generation treats the next one. Down to Earth example: think of overprotecting parents making their child unprepared for an ordinary adult life.

   Now of course, this is again distant from the discourse of our favorite astrologers, but if you squint a little, there are conceptual similarities.

   Thinking about it a little more, and on point to your original remark, I wonder if the fact that a considerable amount of people like to believe in astrology isn't tied to the same instinct that made old people personify everything and anything as Gods: a strong tendency to see order and intelligence in chaos.

   After all, science is still about doing just this, minus the anthropomorphism. So, not so shocking: just human nature at works.

   [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_(Plato)#Book_VIII%E2%...

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3. ekm2Nov 2014
   Have you ever noticed that those who have a natural capacity for calculation and arithmetic are, generally speaking,quick in all kinds of study.And those dull minds when trained and exercised in it,if they getting nothing else,at least become sharper than they were before.

   Republic of Plato

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