#67- Montaigne's "Of the Education of Children”

04/16/20 • 88 min

In 1580, Michel De Montaigne is asked by the pregnant Madame Diane de Foix on what the best way of educating a child is. In his essay "Of the Education of Children," Montaigne provides her with a glimpse into his own upbringing, advising her on how children should apply their education to their own life.

Karl warns, “I don’t think you should let anyone read this because they will become dissatisfied with the current state of education.”

There’s nothing that will squash curiosity and a love of learning more than compulsion and force. Can Montaigne's mode of education even be done in a modern classroom?

If you are struggling with how to school your children at home, Karl has some advice for you. "Keep the screens turned off, have good things in the house, and eventually they will learn stuff out of boredom."

Tune in for more advice from Montaigne, Scott, and Karl on the proper means of educating your children.

Karl warns, “I don’t think you should let anyone read this because they will become dissatisfied with the current state of education.”

There’s nothing that will squash curiosity and a love of learning more than compulsion and force. Can Montaigne's mode of education even be done in a modern classroom?

Tune in for more advice from Montaigne, Scott, and Karl on the proper means of educating your children.

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#66- The Other Side of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

This week, Scott and Karl are joined by Aristotelian scholar and OGB seminar host, John Pascarella. The trio talks about the not-so-obvious side of Jane Austen's novel, Pride and Prejudice.

Austen’s Aristotelian ethical ideas are often overlooked by the majority of readers, but as Scott points out, "This isn’t a chick book. This is a people book. This is about rational people trying to pursue a rational happiness, making decisions about their life, and taking agency in doing things on their own behalf according to the contents of their mind.”

Austen wrote her novel in 1813 — you'll find it provides an honest depiction of manners, education, marriage, and money during the Regency era in Great Britain. But it's also a lot more than that.

John says, “You just don’t see stories written like this anymore. [Now] it’s all about the sentiment and not about the virtue."

Tune in to hear a fascinating discussion about why a novel that has consistently appeared near the top of lists of "most-loved books" is more than meets the eye.

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#68- Edgar Allan Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and “The Masque Of The Red Death”

This week, Scott and Karl read two short stories by Edgar Allan Poe. Poe’s stories are known for following many traditions of Gothic fiction, and “The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and “The Masque Of The Red Death” are no different.

First, the duo dives into “The Masque of the Red Death” published in 1842. The story follows Prince Prospero's attempts to avoid a mysterious plague, known as the Red Death, by hiding in his abbey. You may find a modern-day parallel in times of emergency and precarity.

Published a year earlier, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue" has been described as the first modern detective story. However, Karl points out, “It’s not following the rules of the conventional mystery.” Scott adds, “This is more about the detective than the story or the mystery.”