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If you were asked what rules the world, what would you say? Money, politicians, scientists? Incredibly, what really rules the world is none of these, but an intangible entity: ideas. From ancient Greece to the French Revolution, history is replete with evidence of the power of ideas.
Join Audrey Rindlisbacher for this podcast as she gives evidence supporting the claim that ideas do in fact rule the world. You’ll hear how Athens and Sparta were shaped on dramatically different ideas and how they developed for good or bad as a result of those ideas. You’ll also hear about The Great Ideas Movement in the early 20th Century and why it’s vital mothers learn about The Great Ideas and get involved in The Great Conversation happening today.
“Ideas matter. Ideas rule the world. It’s important for moms to start learning who it is that’s putting forth these ideas, why these ideas have such great power, and how they are affecting the daily life we find ourselves living in.” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher
Listener’s Guide:
Use the time stamps below to skip to any part of the podcast.
1:21 Ideas rule the world
5:15 Solon of Athens’ ideas vs. Lycurgus of Sparta’s ideas and the results
10:27 The power of ideas today
14:14 The Great Ideas through history
26:05 Why mothers need to know about the ideas shaping society
28:35 Why it’s important for mothers to engage in The Great Conversation
Quotes from this episode:
“The density of ideas in Plato or Shakespeare or Thomas Hardy frustrates the mind that comes to them ready to draw conclusions. To tackle a course of reading successfully, we have to retrain our minds to grasp new ideas by first understanding them, then evaluating them, and finally forming our own opinions.” ~Susan Wise Bauer
“These books are the means of understanding our society and ourselves. They contain the great ideas that dominate us without our knowing it.” ~Robert M. Hutchins
“The liberally educated man has a mind that can operate well in all fields. He may be a specialist in one field. But he can understand anything important that is said in any field and can see and use the light that it sheds upon his own. The liberally educated man is at home in the world of ideas and in the world of practical affairs, too, because he understands the relation of the two.” ~Robert M. Hutchins
“A classic is a book that is contemporary in every age. That is why it is a classic. The conversations of Socrates raise questions that are as urgent today as they were when Plato wrote. In fact they are more so, because the society in which Plato lived did not need to have them raised as much as we do. We have forgotten how important they are. Such books are then a part, and a large part of the permanent studies. They are so in the first place because they are the best books we know. How can we call a man educated who has never read any of the great books in the Western world?” ~Robert M. Hutchins
“My challenge for you is to engage more in the conversation around the great ideas and to start picking up the classics where these ideas are found and start talking about them…” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher
Books from this episode:
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