Men with Chests

In this Socratic Hour, I'm joined by podcaster and author Spencer Klavan. Spencer earned his Ph.D. in ancient Greek literature from Oxford, making him a perfect guest to talk about thumos (the chest). He is also the creator of a new Tolkienesque language for the upcoming show "The Pendragon Cycle" from the Daily Wire. We discuss the chest, education, the importance of language, art's relation to morality, the Great War between Lewis and Barfield, and more in this dynamic episode.

You can interact with the show on Instagram or Twitter @menwchests

Spencer's podcast Young Heretics: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/young-heretics/id1513602173
Spencer's book How to Save the West: https://a.co/d/3d72FGP

In this episode, we finish Marcuse's An Essay on Liberation. In the final chapter, Marcuse calls for a new solidarity. Instead of solidarity amongst the proletariat, which was a feature of traditional Marxism, solidarity is now to be found among those who have had their consciousnesses raised into Marcuse's new sensibility complete with its transvaluation of values. 
An Essay on Liberation: https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/marcuse/works/1969/essay-liberation.pdf

Soren is the VP of partnerships at Classic Learning Test. We discuss his background as a native German, he explains the purpose of CLT, and we look at Lewis's painfully true essay "Democratic Education." 

An Essay on Liberation began with Marcuse putting forth a foundation for utopia, a foundation based upon a physiological and psychological manipulation that would produce dysfunction in the human being who didn't have their new biological "needs" met. Marcuse then looked to art and language as the means to instill a new sensibility in his biologically altered people. In this episode, covering chapter 3, Marcuse continues to lay out his plan to control language to obtain power, he pinpoints education as the means for instilling a critical consciousness in the masses, and he even goes clownish by encouraging a rebellion reminiscent of the Joker in The Dark Knight. https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/marcuse/works/1969/essay-liberation.pdf 

In this episode, I'm joined by Shane Morris, host of the Upstream podcast at the Colson Center. We discuss his background, the Colson Center, Abolition of Man, Lewis's essay "Talking About Bicycles," unicycles, scuba diving, and more. Upstream: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/upstream/id1526456111?i=1000631599586

In chapter two, Herbert Marcuse explains that the physiologically and psychologically altered people from chapter one will have a "new sensibility." What this sensibility entails is so bizarre that you just have to listen to the episode. To write it out here in a summary fashion would likely induce incredulity.  https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/marcuse/works/1969/essay-liberation.pdf  

Brian McGreevy joins me on today's Socratic Hour episode to discuss The Abolition of Man and That Hideous Strength. Rev. McGreevy puts on a class at St. Philips in Charleston where he covers Lewis's works.  

In this episode, we begin our short series covering a book by America's most influential Critical Theorist, Herbert Marcuse. Marcuse and his "critical" adaptation of Marx's theory form a poignant and eye-opening contrast to the understanding of human nature we saw on display in Lewis's The Abolition of Man.  Link to An Essay on Liberation: https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/marcuse/works/1969/essay-liberation.pdf

In this episode, I'm joined by John West, the VP of the Discovery Institute and the editor of The Magician's Twin, a book on what Lewis thought about science, scientism, and society. We discuss topics related to Chapter 3 of The Abolition of Man, including what Lewis meant when he said that magicians and scientists were born as twins.  

In this episode, we see how science and magic grew up together as twins in the 16th century. And we complete The Abolition of Man with the memorable wisdom that to see through all things is the same as not to see.