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Dr. Mitch Stokes begins his introduction to the Enlightenment of the 18th century with the Greek Pythagoreans and the “problem of change” and traces those issues to the Scientific Revolution. Students learn about the search for certainty that led to skepticism through the works of Galileo, Descartes, Newton, Hume, Kant, and finally Reid, as each philosopher grapples with the nature of knowledge.

Old Western Culture: The Novels wraps up the series of the great books with a study of some of the great novels of the 19th century, Wesley Callihan guides students through Dickens’s heartwarming A Christmas Carol, and then turns to Dostoevsky’s darker Russian tale, The Brothers Karamozov, as well as Chekhov’s The Bet. A study of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice looks at both the story and the social setting of England during this period. Old Western Culture concludes with a hat-tip to two of the 20th-century revivors of the great books: C. S. Lewis, who coined the term “old Western culture,” and J. R. R. Tolkien, with guest lecturer Jonathan McIntosh, who guides students through the story and themes of The Lord of the Rings.