Life Lessons from the Great Books

Overview

Course No. 2180

This illuminating course explores how Western civilization’s greatest literary works – from ancient Greece to modern times – offer timeless wisdom for contemporary life. Through 36 insightful lectures, Professor Fears guides you through more than three dozen masterpieces that speak across centuries about the universal human experience.

You’ll discover profound insights on six enduring themes: the unconquerable human spirit, youth and old age, romance and love, adventure and courage, laughter and irony, and patriotism. Whether revisiting classics like Homer’s Odyssey or discovering lesser-known gems, you’ll gain fresh perspectives on how literature can guide and inspire us through life’s challenges and triumphs.

Video Lectures

01: Seneca – “On Providence” (32 min)

Explore Stoic philosophy’s perspective on adversity through this Roman treatise asserting that true goodness cannot be overcome by evil.

02: The Gospel of John (30 min)

Discover how John’s distinctive portrayal of Christ offers lessons about spiritual power transcending earthly empires.

03: Boethius, Martin Luther King – Conscience (30 min)

Compare medieval and modern wisdom about responding to injustice without perpetuating cycles of harm.

04: Dostoevsky – The Brothers Karamazov (30 min)

Delve into this Russian masterpiece’s profound meditation on suffering, faith, and the meaning of existence.

05: Elie Wiesel – Night (30 min)

Witness the Holocaust through Wiesel’s memoir, a testament to human resilience in the face of unimaginable evil.

06: Schweitzer – Out of My Life and Thought (30 min)

Learn from this humanitarian’s autobiography about finding purpose through service to others.

07: Goethe – The Sufferings of Young Werther (30 min)

Analyze this seminal Romantic work’s cautionary tale about the dangers of obsessive love.

08: Shakespeare – Hamlet (30 min)

Reconsider the Danish prince’s story as a meditation on the futility of vengeance.

09: Sophocles – Ajax (30 min)

Examine how Greek tragedy warns against the destructive potential of unchecked pride.

10: Plato – Epistle VII (30 min)

Study this philosophical letter demonstrating the wisdom of admitting one’s mistakes.

11: Cicero – “On Old Age” (30 min)

Appreciate the Roman statesman’s defense of aging as a period of continued growth and contribution.

12: Isaac Bashevis Singer – The Penitent (30 min)

Explore this Nobel winner’s tale about the emptiness of worldly success without spiritual fulfillment.

13: Euripides – Alcestis (30 min)

Contemplate the nature of true love through this Greek play about ultimate sacrifice.

14: Euripides – Medea (30 min)

Witness love’s destructive potential in this shocking tragedy of betrayal and revenge.

15: Von Strasburg – Tristan and Isolde (30 min)

Analyze medieval concepts of courtly love and their spiritual dimensions.

16: Shakespeare – Antony and Cleopatra (30 min)

Study how history’s greatest love story warns about passion’s power to eclipse reason.

17: Shakespeare – Macbeth (30 min)

Re-examine ambition’s corrupting influence through this tale of power and its consequences.

18: Aldous Huxley – Brave New World (30 min)

Consider this dystopian warning about technology’s potential to dehumanize society.

19: Homer – Odyssey (30 min)

Extract survival strategies from Odysseus’s epic journey through temptation and danger.

20: Sophocles – Philoctetes (29 min)

Learn about finding redemption amid the brutality of war through this Greek tragedy.

21: The Song of Roland – Chivalric Adventure (30 min)

Explore medieval concepts of honor and their potential dangers when taken to extremes.

22: Nibelungenlied – Chivalric Romance (30 min)

Discover how this Germanic epic intertwines themes of love, destiny, and courage.

23: Lewis and Clark – Journals (30 min)

Draw lessons about friendship and purpose from these explorers’ frontier accounts.

24: T.E. Lawrence – Seven Pillars of Wisdom (31 min)

Reflect on personal destiny through Lawrence of Arabia’s extraordinary memoir.

25: Aristophanes – Comedies (30 min)

Appreciate how ancient Athenian satire provided social commentary during wartime.

26: Menander – The Grouch (30 min)

Learn this comedy’s lesson that pursuing happiness too directly may prevent its attainment.

27: Machiavelli – La Mandragola (30 min)

Analyze this Renaissance comedy’s insights about self-deception in matters of love.

28: Erasmus – In Praise of Folly (30 min)

Discover the value of self-awareness through this humanist’s satirical masterpiece.

29: Thomas More – Utopia (30 min)

Contemplate this visionary work’s lessons about social organization and human nature.

30: George Orwell – Animal Farm (30 min)

Decode this allegorical critique of totalitarianism and political corruption.

31: Josephus – History of the Jewish War (30 min)

Honor the human love of freedom through this ancient historian’s account of rebellion.

32: Joseph Addison – Cato (30 min)

Explore how this Enlightenment drama inspired American revolutionary ideals.

33: George Washington – Farewell Address (31 min)

Extract timeless political wisdom from the first president’s parting advice.

34: Abraham Lincoln, George Patton – War (30 min)

Compare two military leaders’ perspectives on sacrifice and valor in conflict.

35: Theodore Roosevelt – An Autobiography (31 min)

Trace the development of leadership principles through this president’s life story.

36: The Wisdom of Great Books (32 min)

Synthesize course themes and reflect on literature’s enduring power to guide our lives.