A book to let you know you're not alone: the wisdom of the ages can guide us through the struggles of the present. The fate of our civilisation depends on whether ordinary people internalise the truth and beauty conveyed in the masterpieces of Western culture. Spencer Klavan, classicist and podcaster, defends that culture and explains why and how we must hand it on to the next generation.
A book to let you know you're not alone: the wisdom of the ages can guide us through the struggles of the present. The fate of our civilisation depends on whether ordinary people internalise the truth and beauty conveyed in the masterpieces of Western culture. Spencer Klavan, classicist and podcaster, defends that culture and explains why and how we must hand it on to the next generation.
It has been proclaimed many times, but perhaps never more convincingly than now, when every news cycle seems to deliver further confirmation of a world gone mad.Β
Is this the endgame? Have we come to closing time in the West?Β
Author Spencer Klavan is a classicist, with a Ph.D. from Oxford, and a deep understanding of the West. His analysis: The situation is dire. But every crisis we face today, we have faced before. And we can surmount each one. Todayβs βfive essential crisesβ are:Β
β’ The Crisis of Reality: Is there such a thing as objective truthβand even if there is, can βvirtual realityβ replace it?
β’ The Crisis of the Body: Not justΒ the βtransgenderβ insanity, butΒ the push for a βtranshumanistβ future
β’ The Crisis of Meaning: Evolutionβboth biological and culturalβis a process of endless replication, of copying. But is there an original model that gives us an aspiration to aim for? Do our lives and actions have meaning?
β’ The Crisis of Religion: Science has not eliminated man's religious impulse, but ratherΒ misdirected itβand wrongly dismissed the profound philosophical plausibility of Judeo-Christian revelation.
β’ The Crisis of the Regime: Has America reached a point of inevitable collapse? Republican government was meant to end the destructive cycle of regimes rising and fallingβbut can it?Β
Klavan brings to the Westβs defence the insights of Plato, Aristotle, the Bible, and the Founding Fathers to show that in the wisdom of the past lies hope for the future. ThatΒ wisdomΒ can improve our own lives and the lives of those around usβand ultimately save the West.Β
Spencer A. Klavan is a scholar, writer, and podcaster. A graduate of Yale, he earned his doctorate in ancient Greek literature from Oxford University. He is the author of the acclaimed bookHow to Save the West: Ancient Wisdom for 5 Modern Crises and the editor of Gateway to the Stoics. The host of the Young Heretics podcast and associate editor of the Claremont Review of Books, he has written for many outlets, including The Atlantic, the Los Angeles Times, City Journal, Newsweek, The Federalist, The American Mind, and The Daily Wire. He lives near Nashville, Tennessee.
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