A Reading Bucket List

    It seems that the phrase "bucket list" is hanging around. I will hear folks of all ages mention adding something to the bucket list. Reading Stringfellow Barr's Voices That Endured: The Great Books and the Active Life, it dawned on me that people should have a "Reading Bucket List." Everyone should make a list of those very important books that they really want to read before they die. The wonderful thing about a list like that is that people do not have to make elaborate plans or dip deep into the savings account to see this list unfold.
     Barr insightfully divides his reading list book into three categories: (1) Books that picture humans working, choosing, and acting, such as poems and novels. (2) Books that seek to know the nature of things such as mathematical and scientific works, (3) Books that deal with what humans ought to do, such as works of ethics, politics, and economics. These three categories show how very practical and relevant are these great books.
     Stringfellow Barr is the genius behind St. John's College where everyone studies primarily the great books for four years. The reality is that only a handful of people will ever have the opportunity to study the great books in a college or university setting. That is just fine. Mortimer Adler has spoken about "the poor man's Harvard education." It is a fact that if you set out to read ten, twenty, or one hundred of the most important books ever written, you would learn more than many college graduates learn. If you are a college student, do not let college get in the way of an excellent education. Make your bucket list now and start reading, learning, growing and get the best sort of education.
     Why would anyone ever set out to read the Great Books? Stringfellow Barr says, that when it gets right down to it that the things that really pass through our sleepless minds and haunt our dreams are the thoughts about how we have wronged friends. We also are seeking courage to face the next hurdle in life. We humans constantly grapple with loss, fears, frustration, guilt, shame, happiness, joy, resentment, despair, and hope. These are the themes of the great books and partly what makes them great. An active life is a reading life. A life that looks to the works that have shaped many who have come before us and will come after us.
     I love reading and I really love reading with others. Talking about books, ideas, and the sheer delights of reading is one of the finest of human pleasures. Whether I am conversing with students in a class, my wife at breakfast, or people online with Google Helpouts, it is a joy to talk about books and the ways they enrich our lives.
     In these blogs, I will explore the great books of literature, philosophy, history, science, mathematics, and social science. I am not alone. I have guides like Stringfellow Barr, Mortimer Adler, Robert Hutchins, Alan Jacobs, Os Guinness, Virginia Woolf, Matthew Arnold, Sainte-Beuve, Percy Shelley, Samuel Johnson, T.S. Eliot, C.S. Lewis, and many others. In addition to reading and offering thoughts and questions, I will also give lots and lots of tips on wisely reading all sorts of things. I invite you to join me in this making of a bucket reading list and participate in the active life of reading the great books.

NEXT BLOG: Virginia Woolf's How Should One Read a Book?
   

Seneca's On The Shortness of Life: Required Reading Before the Final Exam

     One does not have to jump into the Great Books by starting at the beginning. One does not have to start with the longest most difficult Philosophical work, or an 800 page literary masterpiece. It might be wise to begin with one of the shorter, richer selections. 
     A teaching found throughout the Great Books is the theme of a most insightful writing by Seneca. The idea is that life is short. However, Seneca takes a most unique perspective on this theme. "It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it. Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount has been given to us for the highest achievements if it were all well invested."
     Seneca elaborates, "so it is: we are not given a short life but we make it short, and we are not ill–supplied but wasteful of it." There are a number of things Seneca suggests that add up to a terrible use of one's life, including, but not limited to, the slavish dedication to monetary pursuits, useless endeavors, sluggish and lazy behavior, idle preoccupations, constant distractions, being bogged down in expectancy, and engaged in indolent activities. One could only imagine what he would think of television and games.
     While some may read this essay and think that Seneca is reflecting on life and its brevity, the truth is Seneca is offering up a vision of a life well lived. Throughout the essay, Seneca calls the reader to engage in a life of leisure. Leisure does not mean simply lying around in a slothful manner, but rather an ongoing reflective contemplative notion of living the good life. 

     Throughout, Seneca also makes references to Liberal studies and the value of a liberal education and how this can lead one to wisdom by supplying a free mind.  Dealings with liberal studies allows one to become wise throughout one's leisurely endeavors. And this is the ultimate training for living a good, although, be it relatively short life (especially for the unwise). Similar to the modern existentialist, Seneca frequently distinguishes between a well lived life and a biologically long existence. 
     Of all of the relevant insights that Seneca offers in this essay, possibly the one most pertinent to the modern mind is Seneca's numerous reflections on time. He speaks wisely of our relationship to time: the past, present, and the hoped-for future. In more than one place, Seneca reminds us that time is a most precious gift and should be used wisely.
     The essay is replete with quotable quotes that one could post at one's work station, or on the refrigerator reminding one of the wisdom within this work. A particular quote that I have thought about a number of times over the last few days is this insight, "But learning how to live takes a whole life, and, which may surprise you more, it takes a whole life to learn how to die."

Why The Phantom Tollbooth is a Gateway to Great Books and Great Ideas

     This past summer, among the various books we read on our own and reported to one another, my wife and I read a "children's book" neither of us had read before. Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth. Of course, we had both seen it before and we had people at different times recommend it, but we went on through the Tollbooth together and it was a most enjoyable and edifying experience.
     We both laughed out loud as we traveled with Milo and Tock and met King Azaz.  We traveled with the Mathemagician and other guides to strange but enchanting lands such as Dictionoplois and Digitopolis, the Valley of Sounds, the Forrest of Sights, and the quest to restore Rhyme and Reason with the ultimate goal of the establishment of the Kingdom of Wisdom. 
     There are many memorable moments and lots of great quotes, but my wife and I agreed that our favorite is a conversation between Canby, Milo, and Humbug. On the edge of the Sea of Knowledge, the reader reads,
     "Isn't there even a boat?" asked Milo, anxious to get on with his trip.
     "Oh, no, " replied Canby, shaking his head. "The only way back is to swim, and that's a very long and a very hard way."
     "I don't like to get wet," moaned the unhappy bug, and he shuddered at the thought.
     "Neither do they, " said Canby sadly. "That's what keeps them here. But I wouldn't worry too much about it, for you can swim all day in the Sea of Knowledge and still come out completely day. Most people do."
     If one thought long and seriously about potential for learning in class or in life, the stark truth is that most people do swim in the sea of knowledge and leave the sea as dry as if they had never jumped in for a swim. Related to this truth is the reality that many swim for too long in the shallow end of the sea of knowledge, by staying close to the shore and not wading out out to the deeper waters.
     I have only one reservation with this work, and it is mild because I may be wrong, but there is a reference to The Terrible Trivium that is less than favorable. If indeed, Norton Juster is referring to "the trivium," which is central to Classical education, then he is simply, but terribly illformed. If he is merely using "trivium" as a synonym for trivial, then I apologize and retract my only mild reservation about this work.

Bertrand Russell's Definition of Number: Readings from Gateway to the Great Books

Bertrand Russell's Mathematics and Metaphysicians: Readings from Gateway to the Great Books

Bertrand Russell's The Study of Mathematics: Gateway to the Great Books Vol. 9 Mathematics

     When most Christians hear the name of Bertrand Russell, they are likely to be aware of his most famous (or infamous) essay which is entitled "Why I am not a Christian" (which, all Christians should read). In truth Russell should also be known for being a mathematical polymath. There are a number of insights one can glean from his writings on mathematics, beyond the very nature of math itself. One quote that Adler gives of Russell that is representative is, "The habit of mind that is developed in defining the obvious will stand you in very good stead when you enter the world of abstract thought. Your definitions will be your only landmarks." (83) 
     A point of import Russell makes that is well worth recurring reflection is, "At this stage, it is well to study afresh the elementary portions of mathematics, asking no longer merely whether a given proposition is true, but also how it grows out of the central principles of logic." (89)  It is here that Russell is asking the student of math to not only be able to crunch the numbers, but to be able to give an explanation for why things are the way they are in math.
     Even if one does not appreciate Russell's views of Christianity, one can certainly appreciate his view that, "As respects those pursuits which contribute only remotely, by providing the mechanism of life, it is well to be reminded that not the mere fact of living is to be desired, but the art of living in the contemplation of great things." (84)
     Unlike most mathematicians of the modern world, Russell was aware of the deep history of mathematics, especially as it is connected with philosophy. Russell speaks well of the roots of mathematics in Plato and other ancient Greek philosophers. He also notes the relationship between math and poetry, math and beauty, and of course math and logic. Russell makes one brilliant insightful comment about the understanding of Euclid and geometry. (87)
     As a teacher of Great Books, I have long been opposed to textbooks for their inadequate ability to actually teach students to think through disciplines. I was encouraged to read Russell had similar convictions, "In the great majority of mathematical textbooks there is a total lack of unity and method and of systematic development of central themes." (89)
     While there is certainly much in this brief essay to appreciate and even learn from Russell, there are also a number of elements that one would want to question.  More than once Russell makes claims for the nature and power of mathematics that may not be defensible. (91)
     Among the many things that a Christian reader can appreciate from this essay on mathematics, one could certainly affirm Russell's convictions against skepticism and his  argument for objective truth.  As a matter of fact he ends this essay with some of the most encouraging words for the defense of math one will ever read. "Every great study is not only an end itself, but also a means of creating and sustaining a lofty habit of mine; and this purpose should be kept always in view throughout the teaching and learning of mathematics." (94)

“On Mathematical Method” Alfred North Whitehead....Gateway to The Great Books Vol. 9 Mathematics

     I have expressed in other blogs I've done on Math, that if I had a teacher like Whitehead, that is one who not only gave me the mechanics of "doing math," but also, the "what is the meaning of this," it is likely that this blog would be entitled, "Confessions of a Christian Mathematician."  I was almost giddy when I read from the great Alfred North Whitehead, “But it is equally an error to confine attention to technical processes, excluding consideration of general ideas” (51). 
    Well, maybe, just maybe, there are future mathematicians being encouraged with the meaning of math and not merely the "how to" of math.  Among the many treats in this short piece, Whitehead does what few moderns do today when comparing our mathematical and scientific position with future generations.  He graciously and humbly affirms that, “There is no reason to believe that they were more stupid than we are” (62).  What a surprise. The norm when reading math and science today is the chronological snobbery that belittles and berates anyone not currently a practitioner with all the presuppositions of moderns. 
     The ultimate value of "doing math" historically is to learn along side of those who were often first rate philosophers and theologians as they were exploring the meaning of math.  Can you imagine a child, who learns the formulas and procedures, with the ideas of why and how, through the lens that affirms the good, the true, and the beautiful? 

Francis Bacon's The Sphinx: A Slanted Fable

     While Francis Bacon is a first rate intellect, he can also be seen as one of the enablers of our modern scientific madness. Adler says of this key Bacon work that, "The Sphinx is a fable. It is not always wise to say much about a fable. It should be read and pondered." In his introductory comments, Adler observes that at the heart of Bacon's fable is an exploration of the nature of science itself and human nature.  Adler does ask one great question, "Is there not evidence that the one kind is much more difficult than the other?" In other words, Adler is making a great observation that human nature and the nature of science are profoundly intertwined and need to be considered together as they both have implications for one another.
     There are two related questions that are also worth pondering as one reads the Francis Bacon fable on "The Sphinx." Adler asked, "to the nature of man, how much does the modern age know which Bacon did not? Or has it even forgotten some things that seemed clear and obvious to him?"  My own sense is that neither Bacon nor much of the modern mind has a real clear understanding of either the nature of science or the nature of man.
     Part of the reason I make such a bold assertion is found at the very beginning of the fable by Bacon. He describes the looks of the Sphinx that has claws of aggression. It seems that the modern world has forgotten how Christianity came to view the Griffin.  If the moden mind was guided by the Griffin, we would certainly be in a better condition.  It is worth noting that Bacon says, "the Sphinx is a killer." However, it is Oedipus in his wisdom, that slays the Sphinx. Here's one key quote from the story, "Science, being the wonder of the ignorant and unskillful, may not absurdly be called a monster." One could add, even to the knowledgeable and the most skilled, science could be thought of as a beast, apparently open to being tamed, but also ultimately beyond human control.
     Bacon also says, "again the Sphinx proposes to men a variety of hard questions and riddles which she received from the Muses." One could say that modern practical science seems to have entirely lost this sense of mystery, awe, and wonder. One thing that Bacon says that is certainly not true is that, "For he who understands his subject is a master of his end; and every workman is king over his work." Bacon and other scientists seem to miss one of the most striking aspects of applied science. It is what the Amish clearly understand. It is the reality of the unintended consequences of our application. In other words, our tools often act back upon us in a manner we did not anticipate.
     Even though this fable by a mind as grand as Bacon's is worth reading and pondering, it is the slant of the fable that is easily missed.  While there is something of a warning tone in the fable, ultimately, Bacon celebrates in fictional form man's potential for reigning sovereign with science (theoretical and applied) as our slave.  The reality of the lessons of history has demonstrated that it is often the master who is the slave.

Mathematics in Life and Thought.....Reading from Gateway to the Great Books

As with the other readings in this series, all students (and most math teachers) would benefit from the philosophy that is present. While there are some occasional items that are dated, the readings are extremely beneficial, especially in terms of qualitative reflection-an item sorely lacking in much theoretical mathematics that calls for application of theories without full comprehension.

Within Mathematics, in Life and Thought by Andrew Russell Forsyth, there is much for enjoyment and reflection. In contrast to the emphasis on "practical results" of some modern mathematics, Forsyth, says, “If utility should come, well and good: but we need trouble no more about immediate utility as an aim than the Greeks troubled about the utility of their conic sections or Newton troubled about the utility of the gravitation theory” (46). In the same line of thinking Forsyth states, “Ever since man has attempted to acquire ordered knowledge, the science that deals with number and deals with form has been pursued for its own sake because, thereby, the human spirit can find unending satisfaction and unending occupation. And the creations of mathematical science have been the glory of the nations” (45). No doubt, some ancient mathematicians would take issue with the term "creations" as opposed to "discoveries." This is a key, but rare distinction.

Forsyth is in the majority of mathematical camp that asserts “Mathematics as a pure science of progressive knowledge” (45). It is on this basis that he and others speak well of Newton and yet recognize a move past Newton. “The Newtonian theory is still alive sufficiently to provide man with a working hypothesis of the natural universe in which he lives” (44). PBS did a series some years ago on Newton that should be required viewing. While there was some chronological snobbery hoisted against Newton, much of the series was respectful and insightful.