Monthly Archives: June 2014

The Scandalous Decomposition of Elder Zossima

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Dr. J

Everyone is talking about the Hobby Lobby case today, but I haven’t heard a single national news outlet mention that today also marks the halfway point of the Western Tradition’s Great Books Project, 2011-2017. What is wrong with the world? … Continue reading →

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Totalitarianism and the Rule of Law

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Dr. J

Even though working at a small university like mine means I spend most of my time handling my course load, every now and then I get to Think Big Thoughts and discuss them with colleagues. One such occasion was on … Continue reading →

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Ever Wonder How They Figured Out Pi?

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Dr. J

This week in the Great Books Project you have a chance to remedy that gaping hole in your education. I refer, of course, to your most likely never having read a masque before. Therefore, I give you John Milton. Here … Continue reading →

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Mao’s Great Famine

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Dr. J

45,000,000 dead in four years. That’s Frank Dikötter’s estimate of the devastation wrought by Mao Zedong’s “Great Leap Forward” beginning in 1958. The figures can be found in his recent book Mao’s Great Famine. In addition to the death toll, Dikötter … Continue reading →

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Smerdyakov Scripts His Own Epileptic Seizure

Posted on June 16, 2014 by Dr. J

In a mere two weeks we’ll have made it to the halfway point in our seven-year journey to read through the Great Books of the Western World. If we’re lucky, we might be halfway through the Brothers K by then … Continue reading →

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The Biases of Biologists

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Dr. J

This week in the Great Books Project we pass the 4,000-page mark in the Science and Mathematics category. Just typing that number exhausts me. Here are the readings for the coming week: The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Part II … Continue reading →

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Christian Faith and Social Justice

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Dr. J

Today I offer definitive proof (in case you were in doubt) that there is absolutely no consensus of any kind on social or political issues among people professing Christianity. This month Bloomsbury Academic releases Christian Faith and Social Justice: Five … Continue reading →

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Great Books Project Page Updated

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Dr. J

Today I noticed with surprise and embarrassment that it has been a full year since I’ve updated the list of completed works on the Great Books Project page. It took some time, but I’m glad to say that it is … Continue reading →

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Dmitri Karamazov Is an Idiot

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Dr. J

We have lots of moderns on this week’s reading list in the Great Books Project, but don’t let that discourage you. Thomas Aquinas makes up for a lot. Here are the readings for the coming week: The Brothers Karamazov by … Continue reading →

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