Teaching Philosophy

Volume 26, Issue 4, December 2003

A Lesson from Cephalus

This paper discusses Socrates’ conversation with Cephalus in Book I of Plato’s “Republic”, arguing that the passage expresses Plato’s view that the activity of reminisce in old age can be a source of moral insight. To motivate this thesis, the author devotes a class session to explaining the theory of “life review”, which consists of an aging person’s final, retrospective articulation of the important components of their life. Finally, the paper points to three pedagogical implications for teaching the meaning of Socrates’ conversation with Cephalus and several suggestions on how to help students develop their ideas about the Cephalus passage.