Announcing: Technology and Statecraft
Parnassus House is excited to announce our Summer 2025 series, Technology and Statecraft: the Perennial Problems. We invite you to join us.
Western Civilization has enjoyed ascendance in part because of its dynamic harnessing of technological power. This was as true for the ancient Athenians and Romans as it was for the Venetians, the Dutch, the English and now the Americans.
But the various traditions that comprise our civilizational legacy do not speak in one voice on technology. The myths of ancient Greece warn of technological and intellectual hubris in the figures of Daedalus, Prometheus, and Oedipus. The book of Genesis, similarly, warns of the false promise of empire and technology. Greek philosophy, especially the work of Plato and Aristotle, explores the positive and negative effects of techne (craft intelligence) within the horizon of the city state. Even later thinkers like Francis Bacon and Adam Smith, both proponents of a new vision of science and politics, see the dangers entailed by unrestrained technological power.
We stand now, with one foot planted in the age of AI, both hopeful and concerned about our technological future. Having barely understood the lessons of the Industrial Revolution, we find ourselves needing to grasp new layers of “tech” forming around labor, industry, art, politics, warfare, and commerce.
How should states prepare for the age of AI? How should our leaders form their plans and strategies for our new digital era?
Thinking seriously about our technological future requires us to recover the wisdom of the past. Parnassus House’s series on technology and statecraft proposes such a recovery. Together, over nine seminars, we will read various works and explore the perennial problems identified by some of the greatest minds in our tradition as they illustrate how to best come to terms with the promise and problems of technological dependence.
July 22: Innovation vs. Stability
- Plato, Phaedrus (the myth of Theuth and Thamos)
- Aristotle, Politics (2.8: the critique of Hippodamus)
- Plutarch, Life of Marcellus (the practical genius and self-censoring of Archimedes)
July 29: Enhancement vs. Dependence
- Plato, Phaedrus (the myth of Theuth and Thamos)
- Plato, Protagoras (the myth of Prometheus)
- Jean Jacques Rousseau, Second Discourse (excerpts)
- Neil Postman, "Giving Up the Gun"
August 5: Industry vs. Decadence
- Plato, Republic (Book 2: The True and Healthy City)
- John Locke, Second Treatise (Ch. 5 on Property)
August 12: Adaptation vs. Domestication
- Charles Darwin, Descent of Man (excerpts)
- Matt Ridley, The Rational Optimist (excerpts)
- Christopher Ryan, Civilized to Death (excerpts)
August 19: Spontaneous Order vs. Centralized Control
- Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (excerpts)
- F.A. Hayek, "The Use of Knowledge in Society"
- Davidson & Rees-Mogg, The Sovereign Individual (excerpts)
August 26: Social Technology and Civilizational Collapse
- Samo Burja, "Social Technology"
- Samo Burja, "Intellectual Dark Matter"
September 2: Exploration of Core Themes in The New Atlantis
- Francis Bacon, The New Atlantis (Weinberger ed.)
September 9: Exploration of Core Themes in The New Atlantis (cont.)
- Francis Bacon, The New Atlantis (Weinberger ed.)
September 16: The Future of Western Civilization: Progress or Return?
- Ross Douthat, “The Age of Extinction”
- Marc Andreessen, “The Techno-Optimist Manifesto”
Schedule: Tuesdays, 12:00pm-1:45pm, July 22nd through September 16
Location: Highland City Club, 885 Arapahoe Ave, Boulder, CO 80302
Price: $600 (lunch included)
Readings:
- Various excerpts, which we will provide (see above)
- Francis Bacon, The New Atlantis (Weinberger ed; Amazon)
Registration:
Why choose to study with Parnassus House? First and foremost, studying with capable teachers will allow you to more fully access the depth and meaning of the text. Secondly, meeting in person and engaging in dialogue will bring the ideas to life in ways that are hard to achieve otherwise. Lastly, you will meet new friends, and enjoy a delicious lunch every seminar on the beautiful grounds of the Highland City Club in downtown Boulder.
If you have any questions, please reach out to founders@parnassus.house.