ABSTRACT
There is logos (“rational account”), which is central to Greek philosophy. Plato nowhere says that this is exclusive to humans. Of all such terms it is the most susceptible to context. It can be good or bad, support false opinion as well as true and does not seem to cover subjective “ability.” The difference between ease of learning and genuine understanding becomes clearer over the course of Plato’s work. Plato’s “ease of learning” and “learning difficulty” therefore cannot be identified with modern notions of a specifically human intelligence or disability. Plato lists the reincarnations merited by certain types of intellect and behaviour. In the highest rank, men are reborn as men, and in the next highest as women. This chapter discusses three further ranks: simple-mindedness, civic ignorance, and ultimate ignorance.
