Galileo: “A New Theory of the Nature of Theory”
Galileo: “A New Theory of the Nature of Theory” By Gabriel Blanchard Galileo’s notorious condemnation as “vehemently suspect of heresy” conceals a far more interesting story. In 1609, …
The Great Conversation: Oligarchy
The Great Conversation: Oligarchy By Gabriel Blanchard Money is power, sometimes literally. The word oligarchy comes from the Greek ὀλίγος, meaning “few.” Technically, any government by a small …
The Great Conversation: Soul
The Great Conversation: Soul By Gabriel Blanchard The nourishment and maturation of the soul is the stated aim of classic education. We had better know what we mean …
Kafka: Master of the Bizarre
Kafka:Master of the Bizarre By Gabriel Blanchard The work of Kafka is nonsensical, dark, directionless—and celebrated. Beyond vague references to a gigantic cockroach, many of us have little …
Mary Shelley: Mother of Monsters
Mary Shelley:Mother of Monsters By Gabriel Blanchard Practically every sci-fi, horror, and futuristic story owes something to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Today’s author is the child of another name …
The Great Conversation: Immortality
The Great Conversation: Immortality By Gabriel Blanchard Fittingly, immortality is one of the perennial subjects of human thought. As The Princess Bride taught us, man is mortal. People …
Ibsen: A Gilded Gadfly
Ibsen:A Gilded Gadfly By Gabriel Blanchard Ibsen is among the most influential—and controversial—of modern dramatists. Henrik Ibsen was a Norwegian dramatist of the nineteenth century, contemporary with Queen …
The Great Conversation: Time
What is time? Scientists, mystics, and philosophers have tried to describe and define it, yet it has eluded most of them—even though we all experience it.
The Great Conversation: Science
The Great Conversation: Science By Gabriel Blanchard Science has taken us from watching the moon to walking on it. The word science comes ultimately from the Latin scire, …
Karl Marx: Godfather of Revolutions
Marx is, to put it mildly, a controversial figure. But nineteenth and twentieth century history cannot be understood without studying his ideas.
