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To lead into the next season of Enduring Interest, we're re-releasing our first two seasons, covering totalitarianism and ideology and liberal education. We'll be back on September 8 with a new season covering free speech and censorship. This month we're pleased to present a conversation on Eva Brann's book Paradoxes of Education in a Republic. Brann serves as a tutor at St. John's College—she's the author of many books and Paradoxes was published in 1979. Our guest is Pavlos Papadopoulos—himself a graduate of St. John's and now an assistant professor of humanities at Wyoming Catholic College. Brann's vision of education is a bibliocentric one, rooted in reading the great books. Such an education's purpose, as Pavlos articulates Brann's vision, is to take up and read the worlds of knowledge, nature and art. Brann's book is a philosophical and historical inquiry into education. In thinking through the prospects for liberal education in a republic, she appeals to and quotes from a vast range of texts stretching back to ancient Greece, although her chief interlocutor is Thomas Jefferson. She examines three paradoxes (defined as a “dilemma inherent in the thing itself”): utility, tradition and rationality. It's a short, penetrating and charming book that deserves a very wide audience. Pavlos Papadopoulos teaches Great Books seminars on politics, literature, and history. He received his MA and PhD in Politics from the University of Dallas. Pavlos has a long-standing interest in the history of liberal arts education, especially the revival of liberal education in America that began in the early 20th century. It was while pursuing this interest that he first read, and later taught, Eva Brann's Paradoxes of Education in a Republic. Pavlos's writing has appeared in Interpretation, First Things, Law & Liberty, The American Mind, and The American Conservative.
To lead into the next season of Enduring Interest, we're re-releasing our first two seasons, covering totalitarianism and ideology and liberal education. We'll be back on September 8 with a new season covering free speech and censorship. With this episode Enduring Interest moves into a new series on the subject of education. In the coming months we will be hearing from guests on authors including Leo Strauss, Hannah Arendt, Eva Brann, Michael Oakshott, and others. Leo Strauss once wrote, “I own that education is in a sense the subject matter of my teaching and my research.” Yet, as Michael and Catherine Zuckert note, Strauss wrote very little directly on this subject. “What is Liberal Education” was first given as a commencement address at the Basic Program of Liberal Education at the University of Chicago in the late 1950s—it was subsequently published in 1961. The second essay was prepared for a conference sponsored by the Fund for Adult Education—the organizers asked Strauss to elaborate on some lines from the first address. “Liberal Education and Responsibility” was then published in 1962. These two essays can be found in An Introduction to Political Philosophy: Ten Essays by Leo Strauss or in Liberalism Ancient and Modern. Michael and Catherine Zuckert are both Nancy Reeves Dreux Professor Emeritus in the Department of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame. They are currently visiting professors at Arizona State University's School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership. In addition to their voluminous, independent scholarly work, together they are the co-authors of The Truth about Leo Strauss and Leo Strauss and the Problem of Political Philosophy. Listeners can find their reflections on the two essays under discussion here in chapter 11 of this latter volume. The Zuckerts and I discuss Strauss's understanding of education as the cultivation of the mind and the capacity to see human greatness. Although both essays ultimately point to liberal education as the study of what Strauss calls the great books, we explore the differences in these two essays. Strauss emphasizes different threats to liberal education—consumerism and mass democracy on the one hand and scientism and technocracy on the other. We also discuss Strauss's biography and how he conducted himself in the classroom over the course of a long teaching career. Strauss points to liberal education as something to be pursued for its own sake—a liberation from vulgarity. “The Greeks had a beautiful word for ‘vulgarity,'” notes Strauss, “they called it apeirokalia, lack of experience in things beautiful. Liberal education supplies us with experience of things beautiful.” As the Zuckerts emphasize in our conversation, Strauss also suggests liberal education is necessary for the civic goods it can yield. Liberal education might produce the moderation that “will protect us against the twin dangers of visionary expectations of politics and unmanly contempt for politics…It is in this way that the liberally educated may again receive a hearing even in the market place.” We hope you enjoy the episode and don't forget to rate Enduring Interest on iTunes and other places where you might get your podcasts. Follow us on Twitter: @theEIpod. We are sponsored by the Zephyr Institute.
Continuing the Conversation: a Great Books podcast by St. John’s College
This episode takes us through a close reading of Shakespeare's Sonnet 94, which many consider to be his most enigmatic. Annapolis tutor Eva Brann brings a clear argument to the poem, taking us quatrain by quatrain through the poet's descriptions of the beloved's power over the poet through cold detachment and contingent self-mastery. For Brann, the sonnet provides exemplary evidence that “love and logic, passion and thinking, are closely intertwined.” The existence of the sonnet also masterfully enacts its revenge on the stone-cold beloved, whose legacy is defined by the sonnet itself, and its lingering concluding couplet: “For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds; lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.” We also explore the idea that the mastery of logic and language—when kindly and thoughtfully wielded—can prevent the passions of human nature from issuing in inarticulate violence and corruption. This episode is hosted by Louis Petrich.
Philosopher Brann celebrates writing two groundbreaking books this year at age 93.
This month we're pleased to present a conversation on Eva Brann's book Paradoxes of Education in a Republic. Brann serves as a tutor at St. John's College—she's the author of many books and Paradoxes was published in 1979. Our guest is Pavlos Papadopoulos—himself a graduate of St. John's and now an assistant professor of humanities at Wyoming Catholic College. Brann's vision of education is a bibliocentric one, rooted in reading the great books. Such an education's purpose, as Pavlos articulates Brann's vision, is to take up and read the worlds of knowledge, nature and art. Brann's book is a philosophical and historical inquiry into education. In thinking through the prospects for liberal education in a republic, she appeals to and quotes from a vast range of texts stretching back to ancient Greece, although her chief interlocutor is Thomas Jefferson. She examines three paradoxes (defined as a “dilemma inherent in the thing itself”): utility, tradition and rationality. It's a short, penetrating and charming book that deserves a very wide audience. Pavlos Papadopoulos teaches Great Books seminars on politics, literature, and history. He received his MA and PhD in Politics from the University of Dallas. Pavlos has a long-standing interest in the history of liberal arts education, especially the revival of liberal education in America that began in the early 20th century. It was while pursuing this interest that he first read, and later taught, Eva Brann's Paradoxes of Education in a Republic. Pavlos's writing has appeared in Interpretation, First Things, Law & Liberty, The American Mind, and The American Conservative.
With this episode Enduring Interest moves into a new series on the subject of education. In the coming months we will be hearing from guests on authors including Leo Strauss, Hannah Arendt, Eva Brann, Michael Oakshott, and others. Leo Strauss once wrote, “I own that education is in a sense the subject matter of my teaching and my research.” Yet, as Michael and Catherine Zuckert note, Strauss wrote very little directly on this subject. “What is Liberal Education” was first given as a commencement address at the Basic Program of Liberal Education at the University of Chicago in the late 1950s—it was subsequently published in 1961. The second essay was prepared for a conference sponsored by the Fund for Adult Education—the organizers asked Strauss to elaborate on some lines from the first address. “Liberal Education and Responsibility” was then published in 1962. These two essays can be found in An Introduction to Political Philosophy: Ten Essays by Leo Strauss or in Liberalism Ancient and Modern. Michael and Catherine Zuckert are both Nancy Reeves Dreux Professor Emeritus in the Department of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame. They are currently visiting professors at Arizona State University's School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership. In addition to their voluminous, independent scholarly work, together they are the co-authors of The Truth about Leo Strauss and Leo Strauss and the Problem of Political Philosophy. Listeners can find their reflections on the two essays under discussion here in chapter 11 of this latter volume. The Zuckerts and I discuss Strauss's understanding of education as the cultivation of the mind and the capacity to see human greatness. Although both essays ultimately point to liberal education as the study of what Strauss calls the great books, we explore the differences in these two essays. Strauss emphasizes different threats to liberal education—consumerism and mass democracy on the one hand and scientism and technocracy on the other. We also discuss Strauss's biography and how he conducted himself in the classroom over the course of a long teaching career. Strauss points to liberal education as something to be pursued for its own sake—a liberation from vulgarity. “The Greeks had a beautiful word for ‘vulgarity,'” notes Strauss, “they called it apeirokalia, lack of experience in things beautiful. Liberal education supplies us with experience of things beautiful.” As the Zuckerts emphasize in our conversation, Strauss also suggests liberal education is necessary for the civic goods it can yield. Liberal education might produce the moderation that “will protect us against the twin dangers of visionary expectations of politics and unmanly contempt for politics…It is in this way that the liberally educated may again receive a hearing even in the market place.” We hope you enjoy the episode and don't forget to rate Enduring Interest on iTunes and other places where you might get your podcasts. Follow us on Twitter: @theEIpod. We are sponsored by the Zephyr Institute.
What happens when a society no longer values standards? Modernity believes killing ideals will increase the value of the ordinary. The truth however, is that; without Perfect there is no Decent. “Every ideal is a judge.” -Jordan Peterson Dive deeper: Little Places & The Recovery of Civilization by Eva Brann https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2021/06/little-places-recovery-civilization-timeless-eva-brann-90.html The Fading of Forgiveness by Tim Keller https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2021/06/little-places-recovery-civilization-timeless-eva-brann-90.html
In this, Episode #27 of the BPR Podcast, I caught up with my old friend and founder of Agora Financial, Addison Wiggin. Over the course of an hour or so, Addison and I talked about the books that matter to him, why we should resist growing calls to “cancel” the western canon, how politics has changed over the course of the US empire, and why having fist fights at 40,000 feet is probably not a good idea. We also looked at exploding government debt in a “post-covid” world, reminisced about his “big budget” movie, I.O.U.S.A. and wondered what the classically trained Founding Fathers would think of the current state of the union. All that and more in my conversation with Addison Wiggin, below... (00:45) - Intro (04:20) - Interview (07:50) - Addison on his unique and formative experience at St. John's College (14:35) - Eva Brann and the value of the examined life (18:05) - The road less travelled... takes Addison to Annapolis (19:05) - From Annapolis to Agora (21:05) - Claude Bernard's scientific method and standing on the shoulders of giants (24:35) - Can the classics survive “cancel culture”? (28:00) - Literature and the “Lindy Effect” (29:30) - The mark of an educated mind and the definition of classical liberalism (32:45) - “Nobody is trying to be civically responsible, not in the age of social media. They're just trying to win votes.” Addison Wiggin (33:15) - It's not “right” vs “left” as much as it is “liberal” vs. “Illiberal” (38:40) - From the Founders Fathers limited government to the Post Pandemic supermonster - lessons in the growth and growth of the governmental apparatus (41:00) - I.O.U.S.A. remembering a “big budget” movie (45:00) - The case for optimism - is this the beginning of a New Era of Prosperity? (46:40) - The central flaw of modern western democracies (50:00) - “Never let a good crisis go to waste,” said every government, ever. (49:55) - Civil liberties in America - an outsider's perspective (55:30) - Why a healthy democracy needs space for opposition (57:30) - Examining the facts on the ground - Addison heads to Greenland (1:03:00) - A useful corollary to Gresham's Law from Saul Bellow (1:04:00) - That which one does not know, one ought not claim to know
Just making sure I'm not taking for granted that I even know what it is to 'do' philosophy, in this episode. We touch upon, or maybe even take our cue from, Plato's 'Symposium' [correction: from 'Phaedrus'], and then also mention the work of a modern day philosopher named Eva Brann, and specifically her book on Heraclitus, as we briefly mention too Aristotle's Analytics, and his difficulties when accounting for the derivation of first principles. As ever, E. S. Dallaire shares a few of his own thoughts on the matter.
Ian Lindquist, Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, joins host Scot Bertram to discuss the thinking and teaching of Eva Brann.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ian Lindquist, Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, joins host Scot Bertram to discuss the thinking and teaching of Eva Brann.
Hear the lecture by Dr. Eva Brann (St. John's College) given at Morningside Institute's conference “The Great Books at 100,” in celebration of the centennial of Columbia University's Contemporary Civilization course.
Hamza Yusuf, President of Zaytuna College, converses with Eva Brann, the sagely long time educator and author of St. Johns College in Annapolis Maryland about philosophy, wisdom, and wit.
It is no secret that our country is incredibly divided right now, and I think there are some obvious reasons for that that people often times overlooked. I'm going to try to shed some light on that today. These articles might seem to be a bit diverse, but I think I can bring them together for you. 1. Do You Know What an Odyssey Is? by Eva Brann from The Imaginative Conservative 2. Is Jordan Peterson on a Suicide Mission? by Grayson Quay from The American Conservative 3. Today’s Two Main Political Camps Are Pro-Thought Versus Anti-Thought by Stella Morabito from The Federalist 4. A New Poll Finds Most Americans Are Overwhelmed by All the News by Jennie Neufeld from Vox 5. Atheist Community: Too Many Atheists Embracing ‘Troubling’ Morals by Denyse O'Leary from Intellectual Takeout All music from audionautix.com.
This interview, recorded on May 16, 2016, features Eva Brann, tutor and former dean at St. John's College. We look at the model of St. John's College as a possible alternative to address issues in higher education today, and we also hear details of Ms. Brann's personal philosophy and history.
We discuss Un-Willing: An Inquiry into the Rise of Will's Power and an Attempt to Undo It (2014) with the author, covering Socrates, Augustine, Aquinas, Heidegger, Nietzsche, Sartre, compatibilism, the neurologists' critque of free will, and more. End song: "I Insist" by Mark Lint. Read about it.
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.” Looking for the full Citizen version?
Eva Brann discusses her book The Logos of Heraclitus (2011).
Eva Brann of St. John's College tells us about how the school and its Great Books program has (and hasn't) changed over the FIFTY-SEVEN YEARS she's been a tutor there. Then alum Ian Kelley talks about his experiences in the program and how they informed his decision to join the U.S. Navy.