Contrasting the modernist “cube” of the Great Arch of La Defense in Paris with the “cathedral” — Notre-Dame — George Weigel looks at both civilizations and argues that Europe’s shift to secular philosophy has produced a crisis of civilizational morale and a failing future. Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, is a Catholic theologian, author, and one of America’s leading public intellectuals. This lecture takes place at New York City’s Union Club in October 2009.

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Fordham Professor Emeritus of Philosophy Merold Westphal makes the case for taking a closer look at Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud and their responses to religion as a guide in “living the examined life.” This lecture was given in April 2011 at the Union Club in New York City.

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Longtime New York University Professor of Psychology Paul Vitz offers a psychological basis for what has for centuries been considered wisdom by taking a fascinating look at the parent-child relationships of influential thinkers such as Feuerbach, Nietzsche, and Freud. This talk was given in New York City in March 2004.

The post Paul Vitz: The Importance of Fatherhood first appeared on Socrates in the City.

Darwin, the scientific method, Danny DeVito, and Cher all manage to find a place in this mind-boggling and entertaining conversation between Stephen Meyer and Eric Metaxas, at the Union League Club in New York City in September 2013.

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Best-selling phenomenon Malcolm Gladwell talks with host Eric Metaxas about his book, DAVID AND GOLIATH, along the way touching on why his mom’s a genius, acromegaly, getting busted at immigration, the “practical” side of “grace”, “stop and frisk”, the ill-effects of attending a prestigious college, his own changed view of the power of faith, and much more. This interview took place in December 2013 at the Union League Club in New York City.

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N.T. Wright, one of the world’s leading New Testament scholars, discusses his book SURPRISED BY HOPE: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church.

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Eric Metaxas interviews Oxford Fellow Michael Ward about his discovery of a secret code in C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, which Ward explores in his book PLANET NARNIA.

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“You’re not going to have an easy time. Because I’m going to put you on the hot seat.” So declares our first nonagenarian guest, Alice von Hildebrand, to Socrates host Eric Metaxas as they begin this conversation about her life and writings. If you think the years have dulled Dame von Hildebrand’s fire, wit, and passion, be prepared to be happily flabbergasted!

The post Alice von Hildebrand: Man and Woman first appeared on Socrates in the City.

Professor Peter Kreeft discusses a philosopher’s thoughts on eternity in a lecture given in September 2003.

The post Peter Kreeft: Where Do We Go From Here? A Philosopher's Thoughts on Eternity first appeared on Socrates in the City.

In a lecture given in September 2009, English literature scholar Alan Jacobs introduces us to the world of original sin, which he describes as not only a profound idea but a necessary one.

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