I plan to make an analytical entry after each reading of the Great Books as I pursue this long delayed journey into the Western World Classics. I will try to post a short overview and offer a downloadable PDF. Each of these entries will be also posted in full in my Blog! Please see the Index further down the page!
If any of my old and dear friends read this they may be surprised.
Background
When I was beginning college back in the late 1960's I invested/purchase 'The Great Books of the Western World'. It was an indexed/integrated set of books featuring the greatest written works of the Western Civilization. My original thought that they would be wonderful to help me with my college work and they were a bit. Unfortunately, few of my classes referenced these works and I don't believe my professors had even heard of many of the authors; much less read them.
This collection of 517 classics in 60 beautifully bound volumes is color-coded into four subject categories: literature, history, philosophy, and science. And since this edition includes works from 20th century authors, it’s the most up-to-date collection of the Great Books ever.
The Great Books of the Western World has been acclaimed as the greatest publishing venture of the 20th Century. The set now consists of 60 volumes, with 517 works by 130 authors spanning 30 centuries, on a total of 37,000 pages containing 29 million words. Among the Great Books` 130 authors, 47 are writers of imaginative literature; 29 are masters of mathematics and/or the natural sciences; 28 are historians or social scientists, and 28 or more are philosophers and/or theologians. (This totals 132 because William James and Alfred North Whitehead have made contributions in both of the latter two subject categories). See: http://www.encyclopediacenter.com/great-books-p/great-books.htm?gclid=CJyT8N77xawCFcfv7Qodwy3yrg
In addition to these there is a great set of Gateway books of more modern authors not included in the primary set. There is a 10 volume 'The Great Ideas Program' that is a structured guide that walks you through and help you understand the volumes in the collection.
Well, it has been almost 40 years and I have lugged and protected my coveted collection from Indiana to Texas to Florida and many, many moves in each location. I have faithfully protected these and NOW, FINALLY, I plan to begin to actually read every word as I follow the 10 volume guide.
I plan to blog here about key ideas, thoughts and opinions as I wade through these tomes. I am setting a goal of reading at least one hour a day in this endeavor (in addition to my fictional and business reading) and blog each day about what I have learned. Some entries will be very short, others long. I truly have no idea.
I also don't know if anyone will ever read this or much else I will write. It is sufficient that my mind continue to expand and learn. To what end? I really don't know and actually don't care as the enjoyment is in the knowledge. I pray I will be able to pass some thoughts on to you and my Grandkids that will be interesting.
I leave to begin my long sought journey in my prized collection of The Great Books of the Western World!
Index
My first reading started with Plato. It begins with the trial of Socrates and of his last days in prison. Some thoughts and quotes from Plato's Apology and Crito. The Apology is the discourse of Socrates to his accusers in the Athenian Senate. He stands accused of corrupting the youth of Athens by challenging the wisdom of the powers that be. Given that the God of Delphi speaking through the Pythian prophetess said that there was no man wiser than Socrates (as witnessed by Chaerephon [being deceased] who's brother was attending the trial of Socrates), the powerful elite of Athens was out to discredit Socrates. | |
