A Brief History of Western Thought

at Kosmos Institute

Warm holiday greetings, friends. I have been invited by the Kosmos Institute to offer a nine-week online seminar on the history of the Western mind and spirit, from the ancient Greek to the postmodern and beyond, based on my book The Passion of the Western Mind. The course begins soon, on January 10, and will involve a live weekly lecture followed by informal discussion. Participants will have about eight pages of reading to do per day. No papers or tests, just learning and reflection.

In the course of these two months we will explore the major eras, thinkers, and movements whose impact has deeply shaped our current world: Homer and Plato, Judaism and Christianity, the Renaissance and Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment and Romanticism, and onward to our own dramatic time. World views create worlds. Knowing their origins can help us create a better future.