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Essays and notes: philosophy, AI, and whatever is on the desk.

2026

The paradox of the just city and its first philosopher-king.

September 2026 · Plato · 4 min

If a just soul needs a just city to form it, and a just city needs a just soul to found it, how does the cycle begin? On Plato’s exceptions for the first philosopher-king, and the deficit they leave behind.

2026

Shadow-Virtue and Faction

Why do Plato’s degenerate regimes fall apart?

September 2026 · Plato · 4 min

In Book 8 of the Republic every degenerate regime collapses through stasis. If Hitz’s shadow-virtues bring order, why do they all fall apart? Because they order by force, and force makes factions.