Dr. Eliot Grasso will discuss the book Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Steven Pinker. Pinker, a cognitive psychologist, argues that the Enlightenment has succeeded and continues to provide positive value to humanity. Eliot will look at how Pinker uses concepts of reason, science, and progress to justify his claim. [...]

Dr. Jordan Peterson, a clinical psychologist and professor, has studied the moral problems arising from the uncertainty and chaos generated by totalitarian regimes and weapon technologies that developed in the twentieth century. In 12 Rules for Life, Peterson puts forward a practical set of guidelines, along with some nuance and context, that he hopes will [...]

This critique of email (asynchronous communication) comes not from Luddites but from cutting edge computer scientists and mathematicians. It appears there is a place for synchronous communications. Charley Dewberry is a tutor and the dean at Gutenberg College, a practicing scientist and stream ecologist, and the author of Saving Science: A Critique of Science and [...]

The Enneagram has become one of the most popular “personality assessments” ever, especially in Christian circles. In this Community Class, Nancy Scott will use this book to discuss what the Enneagram is, what it is not, and how we can think critically about our culture’s fascination with it. Nancy Scott, is a marriage and family [...]

Winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction and a New York Times bestseller ever since, Richard Powers's The Overstory is one of those rare novels that achieve both critical and commercial success. In this Community Class, Chris Alderman will consider the following questions: What kinds of topics tend to capture people's imaginations these days, [...]

Why do cell phones cost more in the U.S. than in Europe? In his new book (October 2019), Thomas Philippon discusses the economics of free markets. He explains how markets work and, in the context of the cell phone industry, discusses a number of factors that influence their freedom. He concludes that free markets are [...]

On January 13, Chris Swanson will give the first talk in the series "The Gutenberg Dialogues: An In-depth Look at Tyranny." Two notable books about tyranny have been published recently: On Tyranny (2017) by Timothy Snyder and Live Not By Lies (2020) by Rod Dreher. Both books were on the best seller lists, with On Tyranny hitting the [...]

On January 13, Naomi Rinehold will give the second talk in the series "The Gutenberg Dialogues: An In-depth Look at Tyranny." Western political thought has roots in ancient Greece, notably in the ideas of Plato and Aristotle. Both categorize different kinds of government and consider their attributes and failings. Both include tyranny among the [...]