Reprising this rant-post about those who fail to learn from history, who are condemned to … well … uhhh … something or other. But I digress. Last weekend we went to a school-sponsored Santa Shop. The idea of the Santa Shop is that while the parents eat cookies and sip punch and listen to carols, […]
Don’t know much about history — anecdote Read More »
Current infant mortality rates are about half of one percent, and it is awful for parents who lose a child. But in the 1700s, before the achievements of the Enlightenment were widespread, infant mortality rates were over 50%. I came across this in Robert K. Massie’s Catherine the Great: Peter the Great (1682-1725) and his
More appalling infant mortality numbers, then and now Read More »
Reality demandsthat we also mention this:Life goes on.It continues at Cannae and Borodino,at Kosovo Polje and Guernica. There’s a gas stationon a little square in Jericho,and wet painton park benches in Bila Hora.Letters fly back and forthbetween Pearl Harbor and Hastings,a moving van passesbeneath the eye of the lion at Chaeronea,and the blooming orchards near
On the heavy weight of history: *Reality Demands* by Wisława Szymborska Read More »
The next session of our online course “Education’s Villains and Heroes”: October 12, when we will discuss John Dewey & Pragmatic Democracy. * Reading to prepare for this session: Excerpt from Democracy in Education (1916). * Link to register: ZOOM. To see more of our courses and related topics, visit Atlas Intellectuals. Related: Professor Hicks’s online course
Dewey & Pragmatic Democracy [Education’s Villains and Heroes course] Read More »
At the rate of one woman per night, that would take 13.7 years. “In 281, Emperor Wu took 5,000 women from Sun Hao’s palace into his own, and thereafter became even more concentrated on feasting and enjoying the women, rather than on important matters of state. It was said that there were so many beautiful
Goats and the contingency of history Read More »
Historically, “right wing” and “left wing” came into use in late 18th-century France, designating seating positions in the Assembly during the early stage of the Revolution. Birds of a feather flocked together. The “right wing” was animated in its opposition to the Enlightenment, whose philosophes had risen to prominence and were poised to transform society
What is “Right Wing”? Read More »
If the pursuit of truth is rejected on postmodern grounds, what replaces it? In this invited lecture, Dr. Hicks surveys key educational ideas from pre-modern times, the modern era, and our post-modern times. Ancient education often stressed discipline, obedience and rule following, while modern thinkers such as Galileo, Locke, and Montaigne stressed independent judgment and
Professor Lentricchia on the use of Power in the Classroom [Pope Lecture Series] Read More »
A few elements from the 1932 Platform of the Democratic Party. Overall the document calls for much expansion of government, but also these: * An immediate and drastic reduction of governmental expenditures by abolishing useless commissions and offices, consolidating departments and bureaus and eliminating extravagance, to accomplish a saving of not less than 25% in
1932 Platform of the Democratic Party Read More »