Encounter #12 — Time Perception, the Proper Way to Lecture, and Plato‘s ”City for Pigs”

The Bullshit Artists

In this episode—their first after a three-month long hiatus—Jack and Rory begin the conversation by discussing the nature of time perception. In particular, Rory reflects on the phenomenological differences between Sedona and New York—the former a quiet, sleepy village; the latter, a dense, bustling metropolis—and Jack suggests that similar differences in the relativity of time perception may occur across the lifespan, with old age being marked by an accelerated experience of the passing of time. From there, the discussion turns once again to the topics of teaching and learning; both interlocutors reminisce about past experiences in the classroom, and they ruminate about the (perhaps only) correct way to lecture. Finally, the pair conclude with an arcane discussion of an obscure point from Plato’s Republic, namely, why Plato has Socrates describe early in the book an austere, self-sufficient city, which he then, using other interlocutors, uses as a springboard from which to juxtapose the kallipolis, or beautiful city, whose features occupy most of the remainder of the dialogue.