We are told Greece gave us reason, logic, and philosophy. The same culture produced mystery cults, oracles, ecstatic rites, and myth-soaked poetry. Is Western rationalism built on a selective memory of Greece?
It's an interesting question! :) Perhaps the Greeks also gave us Panpsychism, American Football, Candice Owens and the Grateful Dead? :) :) :) :) But seriously...I think the question is really cool--I am not well versed in this matter, but it seems like I have read bits and pieces discussing ways in which major western religions (even including Judaism) may have inherited heavy Greek influence from some of the aspects that you listed.
What's your take on "morphic resonance". I never heard of it until last week so I have not formed any thoughts on it yet. Being a physicist I'm supposed to hate the idea, but reading about it has been a great pleasure. I'm already boiling over with half-baked questions regarding the data that is claimed by those who promote the theory, Of course the wise-ass side of me is already creating amateur comedy sketches about my "special theory of polymorphic dissonance" that permeates humans by way of the internet. (I refuse to work on the general theory until I receive my well deserved Ignoble Prize. :)
I wish I could have shown you the trailer for the show, but it is in Norwegian. We actually deal with that in a series on ancient migration and the myth of the norse god Odin and norse mythology both to and from the east and even to the far east. We went to some of the places of worship. I have the same instinct as you. It is really exiting. We filmed at runic sights around Norway and they surely do have a special feel to them, but I can not tell you anything valuable on this from a scientific standpoint.
Have you had any students join you that were persistently resistant to the Ralston methodology/approach, if so why do you think that was? Equally if not are you surprised there has been none?
Democracy somehow emerged in Greece out of systems that were otherwise authoritarian. How was that possible? And does that history lend support to the idea that forced regime change--from savage unrestrained despotism to a more benign autocrat-- can be a positive step?
A real pleasure and a refreshing guest in these times, - what does DR Butterfield think about returning Latin and Classical Greek into the regular curriculum… at least in some capacity? I know it won’t be popular with the kids, but I feel it would add a dimension and respect of history.
The Greek myths and epics are full of enough blood, sex and booze to challenge any modern writer. However, classics teaching tends to be awful (I personally had 3 Latin teachers, only one was any good, the other two being deadly dull).
How much of disinterest in classics is down to bad teaching or exposure at a school level?
Romans and Greeks fought several vicious battles in the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC which led to Greek capitulation in the ancient world. However this transition quickly manifests as a profound, enduring, respectful continuum; a passing of a "civilizational baton" writ large in Virgil's fawning Aeneid. Why?...and are there comparable, even modern examples?
Bertrand Russell argued that studying Plato and Aristotle was a waste of time for modern students ("The Art of Philosophizing, and Other Essays"). Is there something that modern students can gain from, for example, Plato's diaglogues that he can't gain from later philosophers, beyond understanding which ideas influenced the latter?
How did Aristotle's rules for politics get forgotten? We seem insistent on making the mistakes he explicitly pointed out with exactly the results he predicted. e.g. Tyrants should want to break down social bonds, as competition would come out of things like clubs.
I've been trying to study Latin and Greek on my own for many years, with a variety of success. Would love to take a class, but with work is hard to find the time and money. What resources do you recommend for learning these beautiful languages, and what books do you most recommend reading in those tongues?
We are told Greece gave us reason, logic, and philosophy. The same culture produced mystery cults, oracles, ecstatic rites, and myth-soaked poetry. Is Western rationalism built on a selective memory of Greece?
It's an interesting question! :) Perhaps the Greeks also gave us Panpsychism, American Football, Candice Owens and the Grateful Dead? :) :) :) :) But seriously...I think the question is really cool--I am not well versed in this matter, but it seems like I have read bits and pieces discussing ways in which major western religions (even including Judaism) may have inherited heavy Greek influence from some of the aspects that you listed.
I am currently developing a series partly related to this, so I hope that he answers.
What's your take on "morphic resonance". I never heard of it until last week so I have not formed any thoughts on it yet. Being a physicist I'm supposed to hate the idea, but reading about it has been a great pleasure. I'm already boiling over with half-baked questions regarding the data that is claimed by those who promote the theory, Of course the wise-ass side of me is already creating amateur comedy sketches about my "special theory of polymorphic dissonance" that permeates humans by way of the internet. (I refuse to work on the general theory until I receive my well deserved Ignoble Prize. :)
I wish I could have shown you the trailer for the show, but it is in Norwegian. We actually deal with that in a series on ancient migration and the myth of the norse god Odin and norse mythology both to and from the east and even to the far east. We went to some of the places of worship. I have the same instinct as you. It is really exiting. We filmed at runic sights around Norway and they surely do have a special feel to them, but I can not tell you anything valuable on this from a scientific standpoint.
Have you had any students join you that were persistently resistant to the Ralston methodology/approach, if so why do you think that was? Equally if not are you surprised there has been none?
Democracy somehow emerged in Greece out of systems that were otherwise authoritarian. How was that possible? And does that history lend support to the idea that forced regime change--from savage unrestrained despotism to a more benign autocrat-- can be a positive step?
Which single figure from Ancient Greece would you like to have a discussion with, and why?
PS I love your history of The Spectator book published in 2020.
A real pleasure and a refreshing guest in these times, - what does DR Butterfield think about returning Latin and Classical Greek into the regular curriculum… at least in some capacity? I know it won’t be popular with the kids, but I feel it would add a dimension and respect of history.
Thank you,
M
The Greek myths and epics are full of enough blood, sex and booze to challenge any modern writer. However, classics teaching tends to be awful (I personally had 3 Latin teachers, only one was any good, the other two being deadly dull).
How much of disinterest in classics is down to bad teaching or exposure at a school level?
Is “the West” actually a Roman misunderstanding of Greece. Did Rome preserve Greek thought, distort it, or weaponize it?
Is it fair to say that without the intervention of Greco-Romans like the Apostle Paul, that Christianity would have remained a sect of Judaism?
What were the bad exports of Ancient Greece that we conveniently ignore?
Romans and Greeks fought several vicious battles in the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC which led to Greek capitulation in the ancient world. However this transition quickly manifests as a profound, enduring, respectful continuum; a passing of a "civilizational baton" writ large in Virgil's fawning Aeneid. Why?...and are there comparable, even modern examples?
Bertrand Russell argued that studying Plato and Aristotle was a waste of time for modern students ("The Art of Philosophizing, and Other Essays"). Is there something that modern students can gain from, for example, Plato's diaglogues that he can't gain from later philosophers, beyond understanding which ideas influenced the latter?
How did Aristotle's rules for politics get forgotten? We seem insistent on making the mistakes he explicitly pointed out with exactly the results he predicted. e.g. Tyrants should want to break down social bonds, as competition would come out of things like clubs.
Which writings and books would you tell someone to read if they are just getting into the Greek classics?
I've been trying to study Latin and Greek on my own for many years, with a variety of success. Would love to take a class, but with work is hard to find the time and money. What resources do you recommend for learning these beautiful languages, and what books do you most recommend reading in those tongues?
Inventing Democracy is Greece best achievement. My question is. What influnce from Greece that hurt the western world?