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 …
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.
Mahatma Gandhi: The Force of the Spirit
Mahatma Gandhi is the father of nonviolent resistance movements throughout the twentieth century, from India to the US to South Africa to the USSR.
Confucius: Heavenly Wisdom
Confucius is not only one of the great minds of China, but has wielded an influence on the politics and culture of the entire world.
The Great Conversation: Language
“The medium is the message,” Marshall McLuhan wrote, and when the Great Conversation touches on language, it’s hard to argue with him.
The Great Conversation: Induction
Though often given second place beside deductive logic, induction is a powerful and surprisingly subtle instrument in the pursuit of knowledge.
Voltaire: Worshiper of Reason
As one of the principal architects of the French Enlightenment, Voltaire wields an influence on all subsequent world history.
The Great Conversation: Element
Nature that fram’d us of four elements, / Warring within our breast for regiment, / Doth teach us all to have aspiring minds: / Our souls, whose faculties can comprehend / The wondrous architecture of the world …
