Editor's Note: What is the duty of government? What are the rights of man in a civilized society? What is the purpose of law? Mortimer Adler, scholar of, and advocate for, the Great Books, attempts to answer these questions and more in the following interview. Interposed with scenes of discussion from a seminar conducted at [...]
Ash Wednesday Receive this cross of ash upon your brow, Brought from the burning of Palm Sunday’s cross. The forests of the world are burning now And you make late repentance for the loss. But all the trees of God would clap their hands The very stones themselves would shout and sing If you [...]
Dr. Louis Markos explains how the problem in today's education is not that virtue is forgotten, but that only certain "pseudo-virtues" are being taught. We're raising a generation of people who say, "Well, yeah, I do sleep around. But I recycle cans and so it's okay." We've thrown out the sins against morality and replaced [...]
Odysseus has the art we need. I think he came by it through a rare combination of acutely honed cleverness and deep-souled imagination; we can acquire it by education. This art, the art of discovering significance, is the art of interpretation... I am to write about my hero Odysseus and to connect him to Liberal [...]
“First attend to the adjustment of your own soul, particularly the regulative liberal learning of your intellect, then project your internal economy on the world as social and political justice. The other way around is headless.” – Eva Brann, The Music of the Republic: Essays on Socrates’ Conversations and Plato’s Writings Eva Brann is a [...]
Distinguished scholar Eva Brann, of St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland, shares her thoughts, discusses how St. John’s is truly unique among American colleges, why students should read Homer first, how Aristotle speaks to us today, and why Yogi Berra is one of her favorite philosophers. The first part of the interview is below; a link [...]
Publisher's Note: In this episode of a documentary series on St. John's College's most beloved tutors, Senior Contributor Dr. Eva Brann recounts how she escaped Nazi Germany and ended up at the College; her relationships with such philosophic luminaries as Jacob Klein, Seth Benardete, and Leo Strauss; and her vision of the good life. —Video by [...]
Editor’s Note: We invite you to join Thomas Jefferson (portrayed by Bill Barker) as he explores the remarkable history of the early American Republic and the principles that undergird it. From Jamestown to Plymouth, from the American Revolution to the Louisiana Purchase, the promise of free enterprise has driven the course of human history [...]
Join Boris Johnson, Britain's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and Mary Beard, professor of classics at the University of Cambridge, as they debate the significance of the world's most timeless civilizations: Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Mr. Johnson defends the culture, art, and philosophy of Ancient Greece, while Dr. Beard argues for the supremacy [...]
Editor's Note: Join host Steve Allen as he welcomes Cleopatra, Thomas Aquinas, Thomas Paine, and Theodore Roosevelt to a discussion of questions of enduring significance. Topics include the merits and evils of imperialism, the American Revolution, the possibility of nobility in war, certitude of religious doctrine, and the best form of government. Hear Cleopatra and [...]
Why do conservatives conserve? And what is worth conserving? What is free enterprise? What is law? What is dignity? If these questions intrigue you, join Dr. Bradley Birzer as he explores answers to these questions.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCB613EdMJU This address was given at the Free Enterprise Institute’s 40th Annual Founders’ Day Breakfast (October 2016). Subscribe to our YouTube channel here. [...]
The Free Enterprise System is dynamic. It is disruptive, yet also full of opportunities in its competitive nature. It requires hard work and virtue in order for it to be possible. If capitalism is to rise above cronyism, a proper understanding must not only be cultivated but also promoted. Dr. David Azerrad offers us such [...]
On the heels of the Orlando massacre and with the Fourth of July recess in the near future, House Democrats sought to “seize the moment” to bring about strict gun control. Thus, on Wednesday, July 22, 2016, they orchestrated and executed a twenty-five-hour sit-in on their chamber’s floor. In light of these events, the temptation is [...]
http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.libsyn.com/partiallyexaminedlife/PEL_ep_079_6-22-13.mp3 In the above podcast, Eva Brann discusses her book The Logos of Heraclitus (2011). What is the world like, and how can we understand it? Heraclitus thinks that the answer to both questions is found in "the logos," which is a Greek word with multiple meanings: it can be an explanation, a word or [...]