Great Books and Big Lies (“Theirs” and “Ours”)
How can the the great books spur independent, critical thinking? Instructor Adam Rose discusses liberal education in ideal democracies.
About the Event
Presented by Basic Program instructors and open to all, these lectures also complement the texts and ideas from our curriculum and always include a Q&A session.
In contrast to Plato’s ideal polity ruled by a “philosopher-king”, an ideal democracy must be ruled by “philosopher-citizens”, each of whom pursues wisdom through independent, critical thinking. One of the central ongoing tasks of such free thinking is the recognition, analysis, and rebuttal of the assorted “big lies” (i.e., propaganda) perpetually perpetrated by foe and friend alike. Lifelong liberal education grounded in the great books can help us do this. As the preface to an old University of Chicago reader once put it: “If citizens are to be free, they must be their own judges. If they are to judge well, they must be wise. Citizens may be born free; they are not born wise. Therefore, the business of liberal education in a democracy is to make free men wise.”
Who's Speaking
Adam Rose
Open Enrollment Instructor
Adam Rose, one of the Graham School’s most senior instructors with 30 years’ teaching experience, has helped generations of adult learners become successful close readers of classic texts. His courses are widely known for their unique combination of rigor and humor, as well as their consistent focus on the primary goal: comprehension of the texts at hand.