What can ancient thinkers teach us about speaking honestly when the truth is unpopular, choosing whom and how to love, or leading when those in power fail?
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The Wild Detectives Ideas and Princeton University Press present Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers, a conversation series that brings the practical ideas of classical thinkers into lively, accessible dialogue with modern life. Across three evenings, the scholars responsible for new editions in the series will discuss how ancient texts can help us think through urgent contemporary questions.
Explore the Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers series at Princeton University Press.
How to Speak Freely
What does it take to speak candidly when honesty carries real consequences? And how should leaders respond when people tell them what they do not want to hear?
For the opening conversation, classicist Michael Fontaine discusses How to Speak Freely: An Ancient Guide to Free Speech and Dissent, for which he selected, translated, and introduced Plato’s Apology, together with Lucian’s satirical The Gods in Council.
In Plato’s account, Socrates defends his duty to question authority, think independently, and speak according to conscience—even at the cost of his life. Lucian turns the question around, asking whether leaders who praise candor can tolerate it when speech becomes uncomfortable. Fontaine will bring these ancient arguments into conversation with today’s debates about free inquiry, dissent, institutional authority, and the risks of speaking one’s mind.
Michael Fontaine
Michael Fontaine is Professor of Classics at Cornell University and director of Cornell’s Program on Freedom and Free Societies. He is the selector, translator, and author of the introduction to How to Speak Freely, and has written, edited, or translated several books in Princeton’s Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers series.
The series continues
December 14: Maria Heim, translator and author of the introduction to How to Truly Love, brings the Buddhist thinker Buddhaghosa into a contemporary conversation about love and relationships.
February 16: Mallory Monaco Caterine, translator and author of the introduction to How to Lead When Men Fail, considers Plutarch’s lessons on women, power, and leadership.
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