tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83990965596123664442011-09-08T08:40:47.124-07:00What we enjoy -- Great ideas that never lose their meaning. We read books that made history. Books that will change your life. We share the great ideas and writings of our civilization. Our topics range from politics to poetry, drama to economics. Join us!Great Books Discussion Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09599710759234467515noreply@blogger.comBlogger321100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399096559612366444.post-76337440151613383352011-05-27T09:35:00.000-07:002011-09-08T08:40:47.160-07:00

Revised ScheduleSeptember 8, 2011 – Foreword to The 7 Deadly Sins Sampler – Amy [change of venue: meeting at Walt Library for this occasion only] September 22, 2011 – Flannery O’Connor: “Good Country People” – Kathleen October 13, 2011 – Edith Wharton: “Roman Fever” – Mary October 27, 2011 – Tobias Wolff: “Smokers” – Denise November 10, 2011 – Rudyard Kipling: “Mary Postgate” – Eli

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2010 - 2011September 9, 2010 – From the Bible: EcclesiastesSeptember 23, 2010 – *Sophocles: Oedipus the KingOctober 14, 2010 – Freud: On DreamsOctober 28, 2010 – *Kafka: The MetamorphosisNovember 11, 2010 – *Goethe: Faust, Part OneDecember 9, 2010 – Kant: First Principles of MoralsJanuary 13, 2011 – *Flaubert: A Simple HeartJanuary 27, 2011 – Hume: Of Personal

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April 22, 2010 - The Federalist. What could be more timely? Some great works never go out of style.May 13, – Gogol: The Overcoat May 27, – The book of Job (Bible). Snow dateJoin us for always-lively discussions.

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Shakespeare's last play for which he was the sole playwright was The Tempest, produced in 1611. More than in any other play, Shakespeare the person, perhaps only in shadowy outline, can be glimpsed -- in the character of Prospero. In three late plays, The Tempest, The Winter's Tale, and Pericles, as well as the earlier King Lear, Shakespeare creates an extraordinarily strong father-daughter

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Sixteenth century commentator Michel de Montaigne had a refreshingly modern view of the world based on his extensive reading of the ancients. To him we owe such observations as: Nothing is so firmly believed as that which least is known.Not being able to govern events, I govern myself.No man is a hero to his own valet.The only thing certain is nothing is certain.To forbid us anything is to make

Great Books Discussion Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09599710759234467515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399096559612366444.post-83123634871869410622010-02-13T17:57:00.000-08:002010-02-13T18:02:38.675-08:00

On February 25 we will have a post-Valentine's Day discussion of Plato's dialogue, Symposium.The topic:  Love.There are numerous internet sites where you can find a free translation of this reading to download.  Here is one:classics.mit.edu/Plato/symposium.html 

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February 11, 2010 – St. Augustine: The City of God -

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Born: 26 July 1856Birthplace: Dublin, IrelandDied: 2 November 1950 (natural causes)Best Known As: The author of PygmalionGeorge Bernard Shaw was a superstar playwright and tart-tongued literary personality of the early 20th century. He first gained fame as a music critic under the pen name 'Corno di Bassetto,' but by then had already begun writing essays, political pamphlets, books and (

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If you haven't read George Bernard Shaw's play, Caesar and Cleopatra,  this is your chance. Shaw takes on the Roman Empire, the British Empire, Aestheticism, Disraeli, English fashions, and myths of womanhood, manhood, heroism, and paganism in this play.  And he does it with his usual panache.  Shaw won both the Nobel prize and an Oscar, and this play manages serious commentary on social problems

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Compiled 1/2/10 by Don Hanway (105 releases seen to date); based on personal impact: intellectual/emotional/sensual/spiritual.1. GOODBYE SOLO - Winston-Salem taxi driver befriends suicidal client2. BRIGHT STAR - the brief, intense love of John Keats & Fanny Brawne 3. AN EDUCATION - Carey Mulligan shines as smart girl seduced by charmer 4. WENDY & LUCY - young woman traveler loses her only

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As we are watching Christiane Amanpour interview Muslims in London on their attitudes towards democracy, does anything said in the 19th century relate to our present fearful and watchful state in a war against an enemy that is as much an idea as an amorphous collection of guerrillas?John Stuart Mill, known for a philosophical position known as "Utilitarianism,"  made a number of statements that

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Join us later for a discussion of the Book of Job, in the Bible. . .  IN MAY.Because of the weather, we have decided to discuss the Book of Job on a sunny evening in May. Check this site later for exact details. . . . In the meantime, listen to Bill McKibben's discussion of the book of Job, "moral math," and other aspects of the climate change problem and what we need to do about it on Dec. 10th

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Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman EmpireIf you ever thought reading this giant classic would be difficult, erase that thought now. Gibbons is tongue-in-cheek history. We are reading only a portion of the great book, a discussion of Christianity's role in the progress, or decline, of Rome. Join us.

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Some characters never die.  They don't fade away, either.  They just keep coming back, from Moliere's time till now.Join us for a discussion of one of the most amusing plays ever written.

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Does the Protestant work ethic mean anything?  Should we have a resurgence of this idea?  Do we hear echoes of the idea that to keep workers, you have to underpay them?  Does the present noisy health-care debate have anything to do with the Protestantism of this essay?

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The Sept. 24 meeting was a discussion of Medea, which has also been featured recently on the News Hour (PBS).  Annette Deming in the leading role.  Comments on the play, the new production, or related musings are always welcome. 

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You can read or download Euripides' Medea from MIT.http://classics.mit.edu/Euripides/medea.html

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September 10, 2009 – Schopenhauer: The Indestructibility of Our Inner Nature – AmyPostscript comments welcome.

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 September 10, 2009 – Schopenhauer: The Indestructibility of Our Inner Nature – Amy September 24, 2009 – *Euripides: Medea – Dick October 8, 2009 – Weber: The Spirit of Capitalism - October 22, 2009 – *Moliere: The Misanthrope - Marilyn November 12, 2009 – Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire -   December 10, 2009 – Job, from the Bible - January 14, 2010 – Mill: Utilitarianism –

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 TOP 20 LIST of 2008 Movie Releases (on-line version): compiled 1/10/09    by Don Hanway (104 releases seen to date); based on personal impact: intellectual/ emotional/sensual/spiritual)1. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (Romania) – true friend helps her irresponsibleroom-mate through crisis2. Frozen River – two desperate women ally for family survival3. The Visitor – burned-out academic

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May 14, 2009 - Tolstoy: The Death of Ivan IlychJoin us for this last meeting before the summer break.  You can download the 65pp. reading from http://www.classicallibrary.org/tolstoy/ivan/For additional background on Ivan's job, see:  http://neabigread.net/books/deathivanilyich/teachers/DeathIvanIlyichHandout2.pdf

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Readers will get a chance to discuss one of the world's most famous political tracts on April 23, 2009. Machiavelli's work The Prince is perennially relevant.This work may be downloaded (37 pp.) from the internet.The following link is no longer functioning: http://religionanddemocracy.lib.virginia.edu/library/tocs/MacPrin.htmlFor a good-looking, easy-to-search copy from Down Under, go to:

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In our next discussion we leap forward 2500 years. American author Henry James published his novella, The Beast in the Jungle, in 1903. This 52pp. work is downloadable from http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1093

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Still debating with Plato : Where do mathematical objects live? http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/31392/title /Math_Trek__Still_debating_with_PlatoDid Socrates "Teach New Deities"? Or: Homer's Gods, Plato's Gods: A Public Talk by Dr. Jan Garrett http://www.wku.edu/~jan.garrett/pgods.htmHomer's Gods, Plato's Gods http://www.wku.edu/~jan.garrett/pgodscht.htmWestern

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On March 26 we will be discussing a play by 6th century BC Greek playwright Aeschylus: Agamemnon.Those who do not own a copy of the Great Books Reading Set may download the reading of 63 pp. from http://classics.mit.edu/Aeschylus/agamemnon.html"Time as he grows old teaches all things."-- Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound

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Geoffrey Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales 81 pp. (A portion of the General Prologue, The Wife of Bath's Tale, and The Clerk's Tale) http://www.bibliomania.com/0/2/14/24/frameset.html

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Some background on historical events and characters Montesquieu uses to illustrate his principles.Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix, or Sylla. Sulla used his armies to march on Rome twice, and after the second he revived the office of dictator, which had not been used since the Second Punic War over a century before. He used his powers to enact a series of reforms to the Roman constitution, meant to

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Charles de Montesquieu: Principles of Government.You can download this reading from: http://religionanddemocracy.lib.virginia.edu/library/tocs/MonLaws.html (within Spirit of Laws Ch.3.22 The Principle of Different Governments, 26pp.)Member comments welcome.

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Some postscripts on our discussion of the Iliad. On Greek views of the gods: from Britannica.com: Greek mythology -body of stories concerning the gods, heroes, and rituals of the ancient Greeks. That the myths contained a considerable element of fiction was recognized by the more critical Greeks, such as the philosopher Plato in the 5th–4th centuries bc. In general, however, in the

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2008-2009 Great Books Discussion Group reading schedule.September 11, 2008 - John Dewey: Habits and WillSeptember 25, 2008 - John Stuart Mill: On LibertyOctober 9, 2008 - * William Shakespeare: HamletOctober 23, 2008 - The Gospel of Mark, from the BibleNovember 13, 2008 - Thucydides: History of the Peloponnesian WarDecember 11, 2008 - von Clausewitz: What Is War?January 8, 2009 - * Chekhov: Uncle

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What we read in 2007-2008 September 13, 2007 - * Plato: The CritoSeptember 27, 2007 - Dewey: The VirtuesOctober 11, 2007 - * Euripides: Iphigeneia at AulisOctober 25, 2007 - Aristotle: PoliticsNovember 8, 2007 - * Dostoevsky: Notes from the UndergroundDecember 13, 2007 - Exodus (from the Bible) January 10, 2008 - Hobbes: Origin of GovernmentJanuary 24, 2008 - *

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September 11, 2008 - John Dewey: Habits and Will.  14 pages http://www.alexandercenter.com/jd/johndeweyhabits.html  Taken from Human Nature and Conduct September 25, 2008 - John Stuart Mill: On Liberty.  On Liberty (essay) 26 pages http://www.billstclair.com/Serendipity/on_lib.html   Also at http://www.constitution.org/jsm/liberty.htm October 9

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