The Wisest Comedy of Aristophanes

Education or corruption: how do you know?

All the books we are reading were written during much less liberal times – the authors had more to worry about than political correctness. Cancel culture was an existential threat. Consider the case of Socrates. As you will see when we eventually come to the Apology, he was sentenced to death for corrupting the youth, introducing new gods, and making the weaker argument the stronger – essentially, for being a really, really good professor of law. Here in the Clouds, we will get an idea of why he was charged … and of why he was convicted.

Many today regard Socrates as the first and greatest liberal educator – but what is the difference between education and corruption? How do you tell the difference between the corruptor and the educator? This is a fundamental question of direct relevance not only to our politics today, but also to our own lives as we would like to be educated, not corrupted. If you went to college, did the four years you spent there make you a better person? Why else were you there?