You make me think of so much today. Have you ever read the story called "Leaf by Niggle" by J.R.R. Tolkein?

And I can't call to mind what you mean by the learning cycles in Plato, except that it puts me in mind of the end of the Republic, where the souls are judged for what they have learned or failed to learn, and return again to another cycle of life and learning based on their choices:

When Er and the spirits arrived, their duty was to go at once to Lachesis; but first of all there came a prophet who arranged them in order; then he took from the knees of Lachesis lots and samples of lives, and having mounted a high pulpit, spoke as follows: "Hear the word of Lachesis, the daughter of Necessity. Mortal souls, behold a new cycle of life and mortality. Your genius will not be allotted to you, but you will choose your genius; and let him who draws the first lot have the first choice, and the life which he chooses shall be his destiny. Virtue is free, and as a man honors or dishonors her he will have more or less of her; the responsibility is with the chooser—God is justified." When the Interpreter had thus spoken he scattered lots indifferently among them all, and each of them took up the lot which fell near him, all but Er himself (he was not allowed), and each as he took his lot perceived the number which he had obtained. Then the Interpreter placed on the ground before them the samples of lives; and there were many more lives than the souls present, and they were of all sorts. There were lives of every animal and of man in every condition. And there were tyrannies among them, some lasting out the tyrant's life, others which broke off in the middle and came to an end in poverty and exile and beggary; and there were lives of famous men, some who were famous for their form and beauty as well as for their strength and success in games, or, again, for their birth and the qualities of their ancestors; and some who were the reverse of famous for the opposite qualities. And of women likewise; there was not, however, any definite character in them, because the soul, when choosing a new life, must of necessity become different. But there was every other quality, and they all mingled with one another, and also with elements of wealth and poverty, and disease and health; and there were mean states also. And here, my dear Glaucon, is the supreme peril of our human state; and therefore the utmost care should be taken. Let each one of us leave every other kind of knowledge and seek and follow one thing only, if peradventure he may be able to learn and may find someone who will make him able to learn and discern between good and evil, and so to choose always and everywhere the better life as he has opportunity. He should consider the bearing of all these things which have been mentioned severally and collectively upon virtue; he should know what the effect of beauty is when combined with poverty or wealth in a particular soul, and what are the good and evil consequences of noble and humble birth, of private and public station, of strength and weakness, of cleverness and dullness, and of all the natural and acquired gifts of the soul, and the operation of them when conjoined; he will then look at the nature of the soul, and from the consideration of all these qualities he will be able to determine which is the better and which is the worse; and so he will choose, giving the name of evil to the life which will make his soul more unjust, and good to the life which will make his soul more just; all else he will disregard. For we have seen and know that this is the best choice both in life and after death. A man must take with him into the world below an adamantine faith in truth and right, that there too he may be undazzled by the desire of wealth or the other allurements of evil, lest, coming upon tyrannies and similar villanies, he do irremediable wrongs to others and suffer yet worse himself; but let him know how to choose the mean and avoid the extremes on either side, as far as possible, not only in this life but in all that which is to come. For this is the way of happiness.

No disrespect to fine thread intended.

when I dialed that number I got Senator Menendez office.

at (202) 224-2854 where a nice staffer promised to pass along my urging for him to return to support filibuster.

(apparently) for a change. *cheers loudly!*

Thank you for this outstanding pick. These two men are true patriots.

in thought today, reading through this thread. A funny kind of modern Platonic dialogue that made me think of so many things (which I won't impose on you). Just wanted to say thanks to all the writers for making me think.

I prize thinking.

Directed an independent study once for a student who was looking into Sufi dance, so we read a lot of Rumi: a grand time, a great thinker. Clarity. The intoxication of clarity.

Being Tribal, as you put it, is a root of great sorrow, I think. It's code is to do good to your friends and evil to your enemies. Tribalists are so sure of themsleves: they think they know what these terms mean: friend, enemy, good, evil. They avoid the pain of facing our limits, because it is so scary to admit what you do not know.

And it is hard not to be that.