Gábor Betegh, the Laurence Professor of Ancient Philosophy at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Christ’s College, will be presenting Understanding Again for the Department of Classics' 2026 Townsend Lecture Series.
I. The Dynamic Structure of Understanding in Plato - November 13
Taking its starting point from lived experiences of understanding again, this lecture explores the temporal dimension of epistēmē in Plato. I argue that for Plato understanding is not simply a stable possession: it can weaken, become obscured, or be lost, but it can also be renewed and deepened. Moreover, just as individual human beings can forget why a belief they hold is true, and should therefore care for maintaining their understanding, so also political communities can lose their understanding why their laws are good and just, and should therefore have institutions that can guarantee the maintenance and renewal of understanding.
II. Meletē and the Good Life in the Phaedo - November 16
In the Phaedo, Plato famously characterises philosophy as a practice (meletē) of death. But what exactly does this practice involve, and why is it essential to the good life? I argue that meletē is first and foremost the exercise of memory and also an alternative to certain Orphic ideas. Connecting to the first lecture, I aim to show that philosophical meletē is an ongoing activity through which we preserve, renew, and internalise our understanding. I argue that this is precisely what Socrates' final injunction to his companions expresses.
III. The Resilience of the Wisdom of the Stoic Sage - November 18
The Stoics famously maintain that the sage's wisdom is secure, unwavering, and impervious to rational refutation. But can even the sage's understanding survive the vicissitudes of human life? What happens to wisdom during sleep, illness, drunkenness, or mental disturbance? This lecture explores the Stoic conception of cognitive stability, focusing on the disagreement between Cleanthes and Chrysippus over whether virtue and wisdom can ever be lost. I examine the distinction between possessing and exercising understanding, and ask whether Stoic wisdom is genuinely immune to erosion or instead possesses a distinctive capacity for resilience. I argue that the Stoic position is deeply connected to and offers a revealing contrast with Plato's emphasis on the continuous maintenance and renewal of understanding.
