Monthly Archives: August 2011

Sing, Goddess, the Rage of Peleus’ Son Achilleus

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Dr. J

What better way to start the week than with a discussion of some of the greatest literary works of all time? That’s what we do here every week at the Western Tradition, and I hope that you’ll put in your … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Liberal Arts | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Montaigne Is a Jerk

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Dr. J

Having crossed the 3,500-page mark of our Great Books reading project this past week, it’s time to celebrate by returning to the fountainhead of Western literature and putting ourselves on track to–wait for it–finish a volume of the Great Books … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Liberal Arts | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

On Reading the Bible Literally

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Dr. J

An interesting but somewhat confusing editorial by John Wilson of Books and Culture magazine appeared in the Wall Street Journal yesterday. Wilson’s topic was the recent controversy at Calvin College over a professor who had been asked to leave his … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

It’s Going to Get Worse Before It Gets Better

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Dr. J

The 2012 presidential race has begun in earnest, with straw polls in Iowa recently making headlines. Aside from the usual nonsense that this means we’re all in store for, there’s some really egregious distortion taking place in the reporting of … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events | 2 Comments

Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Dr. J

It’s Great Books Monday once again, and this week we are on track to pass the 3,500-page mark of this reading program. It seems crazy that after reading so much, we have yet to complete a single volume of either … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Liberal Arts | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Of Philosopher-Kings and Megalomaniacs

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Dr. J

It’s Great Books Monday once again, and our train keeps on rolling. It’s quite healthy to read something from several different time periods on a regular basis; the practice helps to keep you from unconsciously adopting the biases of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Liberal Arts | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

S&P Downgrades U.S. Government

Posted on August 5, 2011 by Dr. J

It was inevitable, wasn’t it? On Friday evening Standard and Poor’s confirmed what everyone already knew to be the case: the U.S. government isn’t as good a credit risk as it used to be. No more AAA credit rating, which … Continue reading →

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Which Needs More Explaining: Vice or Virtue?

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Dr. J

If, unlike me, you’ve watched TV over the last couple weeks, you’ve probably seen a few earnest talking heads trying to “explain” the psychology of Anders Breivik, the man who murdered several dozen people in Norway a couple of weeks … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | 4 Comments

Look at the Size of Them Thar Cuts!

Posted on August 3, 2011 by Dr. J

I find that all sorts of momentous things were happening around the world while I was out of commission on the blogging front: another Greek bailout, political upheaval in Turkey, and a madman shooting up Norway, to name a few. … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Hang That Innocent Man from the Nearest Yardarm

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Dr. J

If you’re following this Great Books reading program with me, you’re probably encountering at least one and perhaps several works each week you’ve never dealt with before. In fact, last week I got to read five selections for the first … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Liberal Arts | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments