Bertil is a member of a pensioners’ association and has made a name for himself as something of a thinker and philosopher. One day, the president of the association asks Bertil if he would like to write a column for the association’s membership magazine. What should the chronicle be about, asks Bertil. But if you’ve studied Plato’s writings, you’ll know how to write a good chronicle,” says the President and continues. Write something about how Plato’s ideas affect us pensioners in today’s society.
How to write a chronicle
After some hesitation, Bertil accepts the flattering offer. He must not lose confidence as the Association’s expert in the history of ideas and learning. But how do you write a chronicle, Bertil thinks. He has never written anything down, but just walked and thought. In this respect he is more like Socrates than Plato. Socrates never wrote anything; Plato, his pupil, did.
Bertil is going to get help to learn how to write a chronicle. He contacts an acquaintance who has written editorials and columns in the local newspaper. The former editor is enthusiastic and promises to send a memo on how to write a chronicle step by step.
How to write a chronicle – an example
To his delight, Bertil receives a suggestion on how to write a chronicle of Plato’s ideas and what he should think about. He gets the proposal in point form:
- Start by finding a headline for your column that will pique the reader’s interest
- Make a short introduction about what the chronicle wants to convey. Given the subject matter, the preamble can have a humorous touch. What does retirement have to do with Plato, the reader should ask.
- Think about what your readers of the chronicle know about Plato
- Tell us how society in Athens was structured in Plato’s time
- Write briefly about Socrates and why he had to take his cup of poison. Readers have heard that story and feel a bit generalized. Flattering the reader is always good.
- Tell us about Plato’s ideas on how a society should be built and his work “The State”
- How have different ideologies been influenced by Plato? Was he a democrat or was he even an advocate of an elite society or dictatorship?
- Now it’s time to tell us what you think of Plato and his importance today
- As an amateur philosopher yourself, what conclusion do you draw: does Plato have any relevance to today’s retired life?
- Remember that the chronicle can be the basis for a discussion at a future meeting of the Pensioners’ Association. Name some points that could be the subject of such a future discussion, such as Plato’s theory of ideas, or why not Platonic love.
