The Vocation of the Scholar

The Vocation of the Scholar by Johann Gottlieb Fichte

This is a short work of Fichte's philosophy. While the translated title is "Vocation of the Scholar", the lectures are more of a general look at man's role in universe. What is the role of man for himself? What is his role and responsibility in society? How do classes fit in? Then finally, near the hind, what responsibilities do scholars have with all of this?

The Modern Scholar: The Dead Sea Scrolls: The Truth behind the Mystique

The Modern Scholar: The Dead Sea Scrolls: The Truth behind the Mystique by Lawrence H. Schiffman

There is as much mythology as fact involved with the Dead Sea Scrolls. There was some knowledge of the scrolls before they came to light. A boy did discover them when exploring will wandering in the area - however, he was of a family of relic hunters. The scrolls do have early Jewish history with Messianic prophecies. However, there is no identification of the New Testament data there. The "scrolls" are actually primarily fragments in various conditions.

The Dead Sea Scrolls do give us a view of a Jewish sect from a few millennia ago. They had many of the same records of the Old Testament. The condition was fairly similar to what we have today. They also had their own commentary and historical views. The scrolls allow us to view the society as they saw themselves back then without the interference of historical change. This provides interesting insights that are interesting to Jews and Christians. The professor in these lectures is clearly excited about the scrolls and presents a "big picture" view of some of the scrolls and what they can tell us, without going into excessive detail.

Archaeology: An Introduction to the World's Greatest Sites

Archaeology: An Introduction to the World's Greatest Sites by Eric H. Cline

In these lectures, Eric Cline explores the key archeological sites around the world, while also providing background on the day in the life of an archaeologist. Alas, life is not nearly as fun as Indiana Jones would make us think. There is a lot of scrounging for money, and then hard work out and organization out in the field.  Many people will volunteer for the interesting digs. However, you also have to deal with disturbances - often looters ancient or modern. Many techniques are used to date finds. Underwater archeology is a newer subfield that can often find insights from preserved shipwrecks. 

The course explores some of the key areas that have been studied. Ancient Egypt and Biblical Areas get the most attention. However, there are many great archeological sites in the new world also. 

Some challenges with archeology are looters. Provenance is very important for artifacts. There is also significant efforts to discourage selling and looting. 

The Modern Scholar: History of Ancient Greece

The Modern Scholar: History of Ancient Greece by Eric H. Cline

The Minoan people of Crete appear to be the first cultural Greeks. The people spread to Greece and later spread to other areas with "colonies". Turkey and Sicily all had Greek connections. Sparta and Athens were connected to different areas. Many of the stories we hear of Greece have some basis in truth. Troy was uncovered and found to have many layers. (However, we likely guessed wrong at first.) There are still a number of guesses we have made regarding ancient Greece. What new things will we discover?

Looks like I also listened to these lectures a decade ago

The Modern Scholar: The History of Ancient Israel: From the Patriarchs Through the Romans

The Modern Scholar: The History of Ancient Israel: From the Patriarchs Through the Romans by Eric H. Cline

The land of Israel has been fought over for a long millenia. In Jewish people have documented their experience extensively in the Hebrew Bible. However, there focus was on the religious message rather than the historical details. Many events occurred long before they were documented. The stories were told primarily to promote religious belief. How much can be relied on as historical fact? Scholars have been all over the place on the factuality, with some saying it is purely allegorical, while others treating it more literally. Eric Cline comes down in the middle. There may be some of both. 

We have found a few records corresponding to some events. However, it may be impossible to validate the historicity of events. The area has been built up numerous times. Some areas are also forbidden to sacred and important to be dug up by archeologists. The Dead Sea scrolls have provided some help. There may also be connections between Christianity and the "mystery religions" of Rome.

The Varieties of Religious Experience

William James gave a series of lectures in Scotland about the various ways that people experienced religion. The focus is on the individual experience, rather than religious ritual. These experiences were further narrowed to those that more "novel" in nature. This often involves people that would go on to found religious movements. (George Fox and St Teresa seem to get the most coverage.) However, the experiences of regular people are also explored. These can often be as significant as the religious founders, though narrowed to an individual life.

Attempts have often been made to explain religion in the terms of science. Miracles are explained in terms of scientific concepts. However, this belittles some of the true benefits of religious experience. Fatih, mystical activity and other religious experiences have tangible benefits that cannot be easily explained otherwise. Religion also encourages efforts towards an external good rather than a personal desire. This can be taken to different levels (such as monks that shun all worldly comforts.) Religious experiences can be best explored when they are legitimately respected.

The Modern Scholar: Shakespeare: The Seven Major Tragedies

Harold Bloom knows Shakespeare well. In these lectures he drops minor bits about the actors that originally played certain roles as if it were common knowledge. He has strong opinions about Shakespeare's works and shares them in a non-confrontational manner.

The works discussed are Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, McBeth, King Lear, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, and Othello. I feel I know most of those by reputation more than reading or seeing performance. (I didn't realize that Hamlet had such a large number of lines in the play.)

He admires the complexity of the character of Juliet. She was a teenager but had great complexity. (Was this a problem with him writing her "too old" or was this actually a well-written character.) Shakespeare's attention was on characters. In the tragedies he explored many challenges of humanity, while also throwing in some humor. 

Much of the stories for the plays were stolen from other sources. Disney animation is in someway the closest modern parallel. Both base most of their works on older source material. This serves as the basis for working their magic and creating a more complex and entertaining work.

The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World

Wayfinders started out as a series of lectures in Canada. The book explores bits of "wisdom" of ancient cultures. Polynesians could navigate across vast oceans long before the Europeans could. They used many different pieces of information to piece together the complete mental "map" of where they had been in order to find where they are going. There are other cultures that treat the land as an integral part of life. Other cultures had various rituals and customs that helped unite them as people as well as sustain the life in the world. Our view of many of these ancient cultures is often quite incomplete. We see the society after they have spent time in contact with western culture. This has caused them to adapt their ways. 

The has respect for ancient skills and wisdom. However, he does not idolize them as is often the case. He acknowledges that they had a way of wisdom and a certain set of skills. They are not necessarily better or worse than others, just different. It is valuable to retain these bits of wisdom rather than attempt to force everyone into the current mold of western civilization.

The Wisdom of History

J. Rufus Fears attempts to extract "key themes" from world history that we can learn from. His condescending tone makes it clear that this "wisdom" is his viewpoint. Any other beliefs are not acceptable. One point he keeps returning to is that history is caused by single men making decisions. Their failure to have proper foresight lead to the fall of empires. Those that have the proper character have a lasting positive impact. He views other events and cultural currents as not being nearly as important. However, even his own lectures contradict this. Some societies (like Russia) have historically preferred a strong leader to "freedom". This background culture helped support the rise of communism. The French culture set the grounds for a revolution. The United States needed the strong rights that were part of British culture. Without this, George Washington would have never been a significant leader.
We are limited by the single thread of history that we have lived. If Napoleon had died in his youth, would the course of history significantly changed? Would somebody else have come in to do exactly what he did? Or would history have turned in a totally different direction? Most likely, the short term events would have been drastically different, but over a longer horizon, history would have proceeded very similarly to how it did. We can look in the past at bad decisions of leaders. However, we know the outcome. At that time, those decisions may have been the "best". It is easy to look back and say "these people were great rulers." But how much of this was pure luck, and how much was due to the person. There may be many other people that had a strong moral compass and the ability to cause a similar (or even better) outcome.

The Western Literary Canon in Context

Professor Bowers had "second hand" experience with some of the great authors discussed in his lectures. William Faulkner was "author in residence" at University of Virginia. J.R.R. Tolkein taught at Oxford (before he arrived.) These authors both made his list of the Western Literary Canon. Distilling western down to 36 lectures involves a great deal of picking and choosing. What is insightful about these lectures is the interwoven discussions of what makes something canonical. There are past authors that were once well respected, yet have fallen out of favor. ("It was a dark and stormy night.") Other authors, unknown during their lifetimes, are now highly respected. Regardless of the circumstances, all authors in the canon are good writers. Some may have been popular, while others were relatively unknown. Some may not have been the "best" of their time - they were just lucky enough to have endured the test of time. Being taught in school is a good way to last. These lectures focus on the "classics". There are plenty of Latin and Greek works. The lectures are over halfway through when they get to Voltaire. This is a nice approach for exposure to more of the older works that are not so commonly read today.

Understanding the Human Factor: Life and Its Impact

And times, the Gary Sojka can come across as a little pandering. However, he balances it with quality communication and a great story to tell. The bulk of the lectures deal humans' domestication of plant and animal species.

In one intriguing lecture he details how our grocery stores present a wide variety of products all originating from a few small "wild" parents. I had realized that a large amount of out processed products come with multiple different corn products. However, I did not realize that our vegetables also come from a few common origins. Many of the vegetables have descended from the same few parents, with different parts being selected for.

He also presents a balanced accounting of large scale farming. Many farmers see large corporate feeding operations as a benefit to allow them to keep their farms. Consumers like the uniformity that the factory farms provide. The large scale farming also allows humans to feed more and more people. (But you have to wonder, with all these animals in close proximity, will some eventually rise up and overthrow their masters? Sounds like a great science fiction work.) However, they do have costs, especially with antibiotic abuse and waste disposal. How do we balance people's food needs with the environment? Will we eat and breed too much and drive ourselves to extinction like the Elk on the northern island?

The Will to Power: The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche

Professor Kathleen M. Higgins and Professor Robert C. Solomon are a husband and wife team that give these lectures. They divide things up a bit, giving the others an aura of expertise in the lectures.

I did not know that "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" came from Nietzsche. It seems like such a cliched phrase today. Nietzsche and Wagner also had a friendship. Alas, the 2001 theme, though it sounds very Wagnerian, was actually written by Richard Strauss. Thus spoke Zarathustra was structured as a novel. That sounds like something interesting to read. The lecturers stress that Nietzsche was not a Nazi (he died long before National Socialism was even started.) They also show that he had a great deal of sympathy towards Jews - and in fact was playing on the Antisemitism of others to help make his points. Other tidbits include the fact that he was insane for the last few years of his life, and that his father died when he was young, living him to grow up in a house full of females.

One theme that he mentioned was the difference between "Morality" and "morality". Nietzsche did not like the "M" version that a society forced upon others. However, he thought it important for individuals to have their own moral code.

The lectures made more more interested in Nietzsche. He seemed like the type of guy that would make strong, controversial ideas and over-sweeping ideas - even as he lived a much more conservative lifestyle.

War and World History

War has been an integral part of the history of mankind. Even supposedly "peaceful savages" often have an associated war-like past. War and World History provides a nice mixture of military theory along with a survey of the history of the world. It takes a balanced approach to the theory, acknowledging that there are many "theories" of what constitutes war that need not become a stumbling block to looking at the history.

I enjoyed the survey aspect of the work. It is rare to encounter a comprehensive history that attempts to cover the history of humanity over the entire globe. With its broad scope, military innovations are well traced across the entire world. (The professor also identifies areas where innovations were not propagated, with possible reasons why.) Interestingly, there has been little significant "new" innovations in the last century. Many of the new advancements have been refinements of older technology (such as airplanes.) The new weapons (such as nuclear bombs) are so powerful that they don't have a significant place in modern warfare.

Masterpieces of Short Fiction

Masterpieces of Short Fiction had a longer than normal introduction of the lecturer. In addition to teaching at San Francisco State, Michael Krasny also hosts an NPR radio program. Alas, these lectures are far from a radio program. It often felt like he was reading verbatim from his notes. It was distracting, but would have been acceptable if the content were great. Alas, it felt like too much effort was made at digging up lesser-known works from past eras. It probably feels good to bring up more female and minority authors. And I'm sure that some of these stories have merits of their own. However, part of being a masterpiece is the initial reception and impact of the stories. Retroactive "masterpieces" don't have the same history. They have not had the same influence on people of the time or later authors. The selection of stories makes these lectures "masterpieces and other things the lecturer wishes were masterpieces."

Why Economies Rise and Fall

The rising tide lifts all boats. As such, wouldn't everybody want their economy to rise? If so, why do economies sometimes fall? This teaching company course presents a historical overview of what has caused the rise and fall of various economies and lessons that can be applied today. The approach is much more historical than quantitative.

Countries seek to raise the standard of living of everyone. Through trading, specialization and industrialization, they can seek those results. Many different ideologies and policies have been used to help grow economies. These lectures, however, intentionally dismiss the ideology arguments and focus on what has worked. Some policies from opposite ends of the political spectrum have in their respective times produced impressive economic growth. At other times, each has fallen on their face. There have been numerous "miracles" of outsized economic growth. However, these miracle growths are often followed by a sharp fall. The US has become one of the largest economies by growing only a percentage point more than other economies - but compounding that over many years. Will China be able to sustain its growth rate?

These lectures though short on hard science were fairly interesting in "magazine article" sense. Only in the ending did he drift off into conjecture of the future. (Is the US ceding its place? Will other countries really stop lending so much money to the US, and how will that impact the country? We don't know.)

The Long Shadow of the Ancient Greek World

The Long Shadow of the Ancient Greek World covers Greece from early civilization to Alexander the Great.

The Greek society has been an important base for modern western thought. These lectures start with early Greek thinkers from the "archaic" age. We get the originator of democracy. He did not necessarily create it out of some high-minded ideal, but merely thought it was a could we to keep order and reign in some of the problems in his current society. It didn't really hold, but was eventually restored.

We also get the origins of "Draconian" law. The law was finally written down. However, the punishment for nearly everything was death. Well, at least that was what was going to happen without the law. At least now, there is some support of the state.

Then we have the history of Sparta. They evolved into a warrior state. Even the women had to be strong in order to birth strong babies. They were able to keep their warrior state going by enslaving some of the neighboring communities.

There are many details of Greek history that we just don't know for sure. We do have plenty of records, but they tend to be very opinionated. You could easily argue both sides of an issue and find some support.

The Persian wars were a dividing line between archaic and classical Greece. Athens got a little too cocky in the end. Greece had a very slave-driven economy, thus giving people free time to engage in things like arts, war and democracy.

Ian Worthington had a very personable opinionated style of lecture delivery. He would present the "common" historical view, but also give balanced weight to his "heresy". His views often run somewhat counter to historical consensus, but are well supported. He also presents them in such a way that makes it easy to pick to believe in either view (or adopt one of your own.) He tends to view people like Alexander the Great as being overrated, while some others as underrated. It makes for a very well done series of lectures that not only teaches that facts but also gets you thinking.

Upon This Rock: A History of the Papacy From Peter To John Paul II

Upon this Rock is a Modern Scholar offering presenting the history of the papacy. The papacy is tightly interwoven with the history of Europe, from the heyday of Rome to the rise of modern "Empires" and modern Europe of today. At first, the church was a minor sect. The pope had little real power outside his local flock. Gradually, the Roman ruler began to become more aristocratic and assume a greater role in society. In part due to Constantine's conversion and subservience to the church in religious matters, the pope and the church grew to gain even more strength. The papacy was the de facto government of Europe during the middle ages. The church even had its own papal lands.

Alas, at this time, the popes became more regal, worldly figures, and forgot about their pastoral missions. This led to the reformation. At first, the reformation looked like the mumblings of a few scholars. (The church did heavily support scholarship - even if at times it seemed accepted teachings.) However, things began to really catch on - especially among some leaders who say a great chance to take some of the church riches. Eventually the popes had to come back down to earth and focus again on their religious mention, and so they did.

1066: The Year That Changed Everything

The Teaching Company course on 1066 is one of the shortest courses I have listened to. It provides some background to the William the Conqueror's invasion of England as well as a bit of the aftermath. William had a claim to the English thrown, though it was not a strong one. The English had just completed a major victory and were a little full of themselves (as well as a little spent.) The Normans were originally from the Viking lands, but they had quickly assimilated into the French culture. (Would we consider it like Americans and British? Or perhaps German Americans and Germans would be a better comparison today.) In the end the Norman's come over and continue to merge some cultures that were already merging.

These lectures are a quick overview of 1066. There are a few new things and new ways to look at things, but it mostly an overview of the key events of the Norman invasion.

Purpose and Persuasion: The Power of Rhetoric in American Political History

Professor Masugi traces some of the rhetorical "trends" in some of the key American political speeches. He attempts to provide a politically unbiased view of what actually made a good speech. He also emphasized how speeches were a product of their time. As time progresses, society often tends to "remember" speeches in a way different than they were heard at the time. Lincoln's Gettysburg address uses language that to us sounds archaic. However, to his audience, the biblical language was not all that unusually. The allusions to biblical versus also helped to give more power to his views.

Often in US history, big shifts in the political leanings are accompanied by a master speaker. The powerful speeches often have a way of drawing the listener to independently generate the exact thoughts that the speaker desires. In the case of Frederick Douglass, he began a speech be giving many points critical of Lincoln and his "lax" attitude towards freeing slaves. Then he turned it around and praised him for doing exactly what needed to be done at the time to maximize the freedom of his people. The speech was thus able to unite an audience of divergent views.

Franklin Roosevelt gave speeches couched in patriotism, while indirectly calling his opponents unpatriotic for not supporting his agenda. Reagan later turned the tables, telling the people how his conservative ways were the true American ways. Both were master speakers that lead to big shifts in the country's political leanings.

Obama is also a master of oratory. An the campaign trail, he stressed the unity of the country torn by a sharp political divide. His speeches are often politically neutral (often to the extend that many could have just as well been given by his opponent.) By staying away from the controversial views in his speeches, he can steer the message in the direction he desires, while the dirty work gets done elsewhere.

In the day of modern technology, we get our political information from many different sources. However, in spite of a bad reputation, political speech making remains important.

The Quest: The Historian's Search for Jesus and Muhammad

These lectures attempt to access the historical facts about two most well known religious figures in the world. While many religious teachings are known, very little is known of their actual lives.

He speaks extemporaneously, with only a page of notes. (This makes for a much better listening experience than a professor that simply reads his notes.) He sprinkles in interesting tidbits. (Muhammad is a common name in the Islamic world. However, Jesus is only common in Spain - probably in response to the common usage of Muhammad by the Muslim occupiers.)

He also is important to differentiate between Faith and History. Faith supplies answers. History asks questions (though not necessarily the same ones answered by faith.)

The lectures focus entirely on the history. The big miracles are left for faith. (Historians simply can't explain them.) The attempt is made to put these figures in their religious context. It is somewhat easier to study the roots of Christianity because he lived in a more literate society with additional contemporary accounts available. Less is known about Mohammad's society, in part because it was less literate and more nomadic. The Arab academic and political culture is also different, making detailed studies of the Koran more difficult to carry out. Academic study of the works is also often carried out be people with some degree of vested interest (usually as adherents to the faith, but sometimes as opponents.)

We have no surviving texts written by either Jesus or Mohammad. However, we do have sacred records written by their followers, as well as additional accounts. Historians seek to analyze the source and veracity of these. There records were written by men and can be reasonably evaluated from the scholarly perspective. Scholars also attempt to identify original source from which our current sources have been derived. (For instance, both Matthew and Luke appear to derive work from a common set of "sayings of Jesus". Scholars believe this was an original source available at the day that we no longer have.) An attempt is made to find the original and to identify motives for creations of the current text that we have.

In the end, we get a better understanding of the climate in which these two major religions sprouted. However, there are still a number of questions related to the early history and canonization of scripture. Scholarship can make some highly educated guesses. However, the lack of ancient details available still leaves many holes in obtaining a true understanding. Much is still left to faith.