Our latest writing is now published on Substack. Follow our weekly content there at https://thinkingwest.substack.com/ We continue to highlight the great minds and ideas that built the West through in-depth articles on history, culture, literature, and the Great Books. We’d love for you to subscribe over there!| ThinkingWest
Many contemporary narratives cast the so-called “Dark Ages” as a period defined by intellectual stagnation and cultural regression, frequently attributing these trends to the influence of Christianity. Critics argue that the Church’s pervasive power stifled innovation and suppressed alternative modes of thought. However, a closer examination of the historical context reveals that the Church emergedContinue reading "How Christianity Civilized the Dark Ages"| ThinkingWest
This past October, we had the profound honor of accepting the 2024 Oswald Spengler Prize alongside co-winner Culture Critic and joining the esteemed ranks of past winners: Jordan Peterson, Walter Scheidel, and Michel Houellebecq. The prize is awarded every two years by the Oswald Spengler Society to recognize work promoting the study of culture andContinue reading "Our Acceptance Speech for the 2024 Oswald Spengler Prize" The post Our Acceptance Speech for the 2024 Oswald Spengler Prize appea...| ThinkingWest
Gutenberg’s printing press was revolutionary for Western civilization—it increased the spread of information, led to widespread literacy, and catalyzed scientific development as new inventions and discoveries could be shared on a mass scale. It’s certainly a contender for “most important invention of all time”, and its positive effects on society cannot be overstated. However, asContinue reading "The Printing Revolution: How Mass Media Destabilized the West" The post The Printing Re...| ThinkingWest
Most cultural movements aren’t grass-roots—they’re top-down. Charlemagne’s cultural rebirth, the “Carolingian Renaissance,” proved how real cultural change is accomplished through a concerted effort by society’s elites… Let’s explore how Charlemagne transformed the West. In the late 8th and early 9th century, Charlemagne ruled vast lands from Northern Spain to the North Sea. Charlemagne was aContinue reading "How to Change the Culture, According to Charlemagne"| ThinkingWest
Mont-Saint-Michel might be the most aesthetic place on earth. It’s a cultural icon today, but at one point it served as a prison, and then was almost completely lost to history. It’s story highlights the need to vigilantly guard our cultural heritage. Mont-Saint-Michel is what’s called a tidal island—a piece of land that’s connected to theContinue reading "A Lesson in Cultural Preservation from Mont-Saint-Michel" The post A Lesson in Cultural Preservation from Mont-Saint-Michel a...| ThinkingWest
The 20th century witnessed a rare and irreversible shift, not seen since the ancient nomads planted their feet and began to work the land: a societal evolution. The first societal evolution was from nomadic to agrarian. Thousands of years later, our familiar agrarian society has finally given way to a mechanized society. Up until thisContinue reading "Consequences of Leaving an Agrarian Society"| ThinkingWest
By chance I was recently introduced to the ideas of Oswald Spengler – a German intellectual of the early 20th century whose claim to fame is the two-volume work The Decline of the West. The essential idea of Spengler is that civilizations may be described similarly to organisms, which either thrive, survive, or stagnate andContinue reading "The Great Tree of Western Civilization"| ThinkingWest
Most discussions of the Roman Empire’s wars focus on its great successes. Battles won by the barbarians are nearly universally described as tragic losses from the viewpoint of the Romans. But every loss of the Romans was a victory for the little-understood barbarians – that catchall term for the relatively uncivilized northern tribes that bringContinue reading "Leaders of the Resistance: The Barbarian Kings Who Challenged the Roman Empire"| ThinkingWest
Thermopylae, Tours, Vienna—throughout the West’s history were a number of battles that scholars can point to and say ”this was the moment the West was saved.” Rescued from destruction at the last minute with the fate of a continent resting on a knife’s edge, battles offer a discrete point of separation between a culture’s continuationContinue reading "The Monk Who Saved Western Civilization"| ThinkingWest
