Hooray! John Lewis is coming to Denver!
Dr. John Lewis will be speaking on “For the New Intellectual: A Study in History” to FROST (Front Range Objectivism Supper Talks) on May 6th, 2006.
A typical college history text begins its chapter on Medieval Civilization with “The Traditional Orders of Society: Those Who Pray, Those Who Fight, Those Who Work, and Those Left Out.” But it was Ayn Rand, in her seminal essay “For the New Intellectual,” who identified those truly left out as the voiceless producers who kept everyone else alive.Her identification that the development of the West is related to the mind / body distinction in philosophy provides a fundamental explanation for centuries of ghastly savagery. Ayn Rand’s seminal achievement was to show the importance of the Producers–the Businessman and the Intellectuals–in human life, and to explain their liberation in the Industrial Revolution. This lecture will dive into this important text, consider its claims in the light of several examples from history, and celebrate the opportunity it offers for the future.
Dr. John Lewis is Assistant Professor of History at Ashland University, Ashland, Ohio. He is holder of an Anthem Fellowship for Objectivist Scholarship. He received his PhD in Classics from the University of Cambridge, has taught at the University of London, and has been a visiting scholar at Rice University and Bowling Green State University. Dr. Lewis has published in academic and Objectivist journals. His book Solon the Thinker: Political Thought in Archaic Athens is forthcoming from Duckworth Press, and he is completing a book Nothing Less than Victory: Military Offense and the Lessons of History. His encyclopedia articles include an entry on Ayn Rand, at www.LiteraryEncyclopedia.com.
The evening will begin at 6:00 pm with a social hour (cash bar), followed by dinner at 7:00, and the talk at 8:00. Cost is $50 per person, $35 student. Reservations must be made by May 3. You may reserve a place by contacting Lin Zinser at [email protected], or by phone at 303-431-2525. You may pay using Paypal to [email protected] or by sending Lin Zinser a check payable to FROST to 8700 Dover Court, Arvada, CO 80005.
Anyone who knows John Lewis knows what a blast the weekend will be!
