Tag Archives: Epictetus

Moscow Becomes French (Briefly)

Posted on September 25, 2017 by Dr. J

Historical causation, the freewill/determinism dilemma, and the authority of scripture are just a few of the heavy topics we covered in the last set of readings. Now it’s time to press on. Here are the readings for the coming week: … Continue reading →

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Napoleon Blows Things Up

Posted on September 13, 2017 by Dr. J

This past week’s readings included many explosions and attempts to immanentize the eschaton. I expect more of the same this week. Let’s begin. Here are the readings for the coming week: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, Book XI, Chapters … Continue reading →

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Huns Are Meanies

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Dr. J

This week in the Great Books Project we finish a great novel while pretending we haven’t fallen further behind on the posting schedule. Let’s get right to it. Here are the readings for the coming week: The Brothers Karamazov by … Continue reading →

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Why Diogenes Refused to Give References

Posted on August 30, 2014 by Dr. J

This week in the Great Books Project we will hit the 5,000-page mark in the Man and Society category, although I can’t say I’m really feeling more manly or social than usual. Here are the readings for the coming week: … Continue reading →

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The Killer Is Revealed

Posted on August 14, 2014 by Dr. J

It’s shaping up to be a challenging week in the Great Books Project. Our psychology reading is quite long, and we have a short work by Kant as well. Hang in there, and flee to Dostoevsky if the pressure builds … Continue reading →

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Kant Writes Something Readable

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Dr. J

At long last, we are back with the Great Books Project. I was without web access (access costing less than $0.75/minute, anyway) for two weeks, and upon my return I had to devote most of my “brain” time to a … Continue reading →

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Shakespeare: Exposing an Infant Leads to Death by Bear

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Dr. J

As we forge ahead with the Great Books Project, this week we get an encore reading from T.S. Eliot. We also, at long last, wrap up Book I of Epictetus’s Discourses and get what I hope will be something lucid … Continue reading →

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The Wrath of Heaven against the Roman State

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Dr. J

We’ve now completed the Annals of Tacitus and are poised to finish Veblen’s Theory of the Leisure Class this week. I’m going to celebrate by reading another Shakespeare play, something particularly appropriate in light of Shakespeare’s role in the T.S. … Continue reading →

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“I Smile at Your Childish Thought”

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Dr. J

Welcome to a very tardy Great Books post. This week we take a break from Epictetus in order to read a short treatise by Aristotle (yes, such a thing does exist). Here are the readings for the coming week: The … Continue reading →

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How Many Psychoanalysts Does It Take to Change a Light Bulb?

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Dr. J

How many do you think it takes? (Get it?) Here are the readings for the coming week: The Divine Comedy: Paradiso by Dante Alighieri, Cantos I-XVI (GBWW Vol. 19, pp. 90-111) “In How Many Ways Appearances Exist” by Epictetus (GBWW … Continue reading →

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