Erik Kenyon's "Philosophy at the Gymnasium"

Erik Kenyon received his PhD from Cornell University in classics. He is a philosopher, musician, and weightlifter, who teaches Latin and humanities at Friends Academy, Dartmouth, Massachusetts. He is the author of Augustine and the Dialogue and a coauthor of Ethics for the Very Young.

Kenyon applied the "Page 99 Test" to his new book, Philosophy at the Gymnasium, and reported the following:

Page 99 starts, “and queens. Unlike most rulers, they will approach ruling as a burden in comparison to the delights of philosophy, yet one that they must shoulder for the sake of the city that raised them. While the masses will be left to chase shadows, people with a sense of how the world actually works will keep them in line as best they can. Having an army at their disposal will help. The goal is for the city as a whole to flourish.” This conclusion to a section ties together main ideas from Plato’s Republic: class distinctions between rulers, army and masses; educational requirements for rulers; real-world knowledge vs. “shadows” on the wall of Plato’s Cave. How this fits with the chapter title, “Women at the Gym,” is unclear.

A new section, “The Method of Hypothesis in Republic 1-7,” reminds readers of a philosophical method, explained in chapters on Plato’s Symposium, which “proceeds as investigators keep identifying the question behind the question until they arrive at a most basic question,” after which they try out hypothetical answers to all these questions. Using this methodology as a lens, the remainder of the page lays out core questions that drive Republic’s first seven books. This proceeds from “Is justice profitable?” to “What is justice?” and “What is good?” at breakneck speed.

Philosophy at the Gymnasium uses Greek philosophers as coaches for ‘wrestling with’ questions that are still timely today. Page 99’s emphasis on methodology captures this, as do its connections between education, politics and life. That said, this page concludes a discussion spanning four chapters and takes ideas, which are laid out more carefully above, ‘at a sprint.’ This missing puzzle piece, what any of this has to do with women at the gym, is that ancient gyms were both venues for nude athletics and schools for future citizens. The present chapter stresses that Republic’s forays into the nature of knowledge are introduced by the suggestion that women, as future rulers, “must strip naked and wear virtue instead of clothes.” This collision of body and soul, quirky and profound, captures the flavor of the book well.

Visit Erik Kenyon's website.

--Marshal Zeringue