In this episode, I speak with Prof. Monte Johnson about the work that he has done in collaboration with Prof. Doug Hutchinson in reconstructing Aristotle's Protrepticus. The Protrepticus is a lost work by Aristotle. Most ancient texts were written, copied, and then lost. As Monte discusses in this interview, 99% of ancient Greek literature is lost. Monte Johnson and Doug Hutchinson have done very important work in (literally) piecing together an Aristotelian text that would otherwise be lost to history. We talk about the current state of the evidence, how they took (primarily) excerpts preserved by later authors and fragments of papyri, and, ultimately, how they reconstructed from them Aristotle's lost text. The first half of the interview talks about the reconstruction process; the second half talks about the arguments of the Protrepticus and what protreptic as a genre was.

Host: Doug Campbell, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Alma College.

Interviewee: Monte Johnson, Professor in the Department of Philosophy at UC San Diego.

Monte's collaborator in this project: Professor Doug Hutchinson, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Toronto.

For information related to the Protrepticus project, visit www.protrepticus.info.

For the most up-to-date (2025) translation of the Protrepticus that Monte Johnson and Doug Hutchinson have produced, visit https://philpapers.org/go.pl?aid=ARIP-29. 

You can subscribe to The Ancient Philosophy Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast, and wherever else you find podcasts. There is a YouTube channel available with video episodes.

I have a Substack: platosfishtrap.substack.com.

You can show your support at: https://buymeacoffee.com/ancientphilosophy

I also have a book available for purchase, An Introduction to the Ethics of Social Media:  https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Ethics-Social-Media/dp/1647922356/ref=sr_1_1?nsdOptOutParam=true&sr=8-1 

In this episode, I discuss some considerations related to whether Plato's characters should be thought of as his mouthpieces. I focus on Debra Nails' essay, "Mouthpiece Schmouthpiece," published in Who Speaks for Plato? Issues in Platonic Anonymity.

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Alma College.

You can subscribe to The Ancient Philosophy Podcast on all major podcast platforms (Spotify, Apple Podcast, etc.), as well as on YouTube.

I have a Substack: platosfishtrap.substack.com.

You can show your support at: https://buymeacoffee.com/ancientphilosophy

I also have a book available for purchase, An Introduction to the Ethics of Social Media: https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Ethics-Social-Media/dp/1647922356/ref=sr_1_1?nsdOptOutParam=true&sr=8-1 

In this episode, I discuss the Buddha's first Noble Truth. 

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Alma College.

You can subscribe to The Ancient Philosophy Podcast on all major podcast platforms (Spotify, Apple Podcast, etc.), as well as on YouTube.

I have a Substack: platosfishtrap.substack.com.

You can show your support at: https://buymeacoffee.com/ancientphilosophy

I also have a book available for purchase, An Introduction to the Ethics of Social Media: https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Ethics-Social-Media/dp/1647922356/ref=sr_1_1?nsdOptOutParam=true&sr=8-1 

In this episode, I discuss the origins of the concept of 'organ' in ancient Greek science and philosophy.

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Alma College.

You can subscribe to The Ancient Philosophy Podcast on all major podcast platforms (Spotify, Apple Podcast, etc.), as well as on YouTube.

I have a Substack: platosfishtrap.substack.com.

You can show your support at: https://buymeacoffee.com/ancientphilosophy

I also have a book available for purchase, An Introduction to the Ethics of Social Media: https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Ethics-Social-Media/dp/1647922356/ref=sr_1_1?nsdOptOutParam=true&sr=8-1 

In this episode, I discuss the basics of ancient skepticism as it was developed by Sextus Empiricus.

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Alma College.

You can subscribe to The Ancient Philosophy Podcast on all major podcast platforms (Spotify, Apple Podcast, etc.), as well as on YouTube.

I have a Substack: platosfishtrap.substack.com.

You can show your support at: https://buymeacoffee.com/ancientphilosophy

I also have a book available for purchase, An Introduction to the Ethics of Social Media: https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Ethics-Social-Media/dp/1647922356/ref=sr_1_1?nsdOptOutParam=true&sr=8-1 

In this episode, I discuss Marcus Aurelius' life and his Meditations. 

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Alma College.

You can subscribe to The Ancient Philosophy Podcast on all major podcast platforms (Spotify, Apple Podcast, etc.), as well as on YouTube.

I have a Substack: platosfishtrap.substack.com.

You can show your support at: https://buymeacoffee.com/ancientphilosophy

I also have a book available for purchase, An Introduction to the Ethics of Social Media: https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Ethics-Social-Media/dp/1647922356/ref=sr_1_1?nsdOptOutParam=true&sr=8-1 

In this episode, I talk about Ecclesiastes, an important and philosophically rich text in the Hebrew Bible. 

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Alma College.

You can subscribe to The Ancient Philosophy Podcast on all major podcast platforms (Spotify, Apple Podcast, etc.), as well as on YouTube.

I have a Substack: platosfishtrap.substack.com.

You can show your support at: https://buymeacoffee.com/ancientphilosophy

I also have a book available for purchase, An Introduction to the Ethics of Social Media: https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Ethics-Social-Media/dp/1647922356/ref=sr_1_1?nsdOptOutParam=true&sr=8-1 

In this episode, I talk about what Aristotle thought the soul was.

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Alma College.

You can subscribe to The Ancient Philosophy Podcast on all major podcast platforms (Spotify, Apple Podcast, etc.), as well as on YouTube.

I have a Substack: platosfishtrap.substack.com.

You can show your support at: https://buymeacoffee.com/ancientphilosophy

I also have a book available for purchase, An Introduction to the Ethics of Social Media: https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Ethics-Social-Media/dp/1647922356/ref=sr_1_1?nsdOptOutParam=true&sr=8-1 

In this episode, I talk about the complicated and weird marriage-lottery system that Plato developed in the Republic. 

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Alma College.

You can subscribe to The Ancient Philosophy Podcast on all major podcast platforms (Spotify, Apple Podcast, etc.), as well as on YouTube.

I have a Substack: platosfishtrap.substack.com.

You can show your support at: https://buymeacoffee.com/ancientphilosophy

I also have a book available for purchase, An Introduction to the Ethics of Social Media: https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Ethics-Social-Media/dp/1647922356/ref=sr_1_1?nsdOptOutParam=true&sr=8-1 

In this episode, I talk about different interpretations of Socrates' last words in Plato's Phaedo. 

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Alma College.

You can subscribe to The Ancient Philosophy Podcast on all major podcast platforms (Spotify, Apple Podcast, etc.), as well as on YouTube.

I have a Substack: platosfishtrap.substack.com.

You can show your support at: https://buymeacoffee.com/ancientphilosophy

I also have a book available for purchase, An Introduction to the Ethics of Social Media: https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Ethics-Social-Media/dp/1647922356/ref=sr_1_1?nsdOptOutParam=true&sr=8-1