Books
Cosmopolitan Man and the Political Community: An Interpretation of Othello
– "Cosmopolitan Man and the Political Community: An Interpretation of Othello," The American Political Science Review, Vol. 54, No. 1 (March 1960), pp. 130-157.Excerpt: Shakespeare’s explicit treatment of the possibility of an interracial, inter-faith society is given its most detailed development in his two Venetian plays, two plays which… More
The Failure of the University
– "The Failure of the University," Daedalus, Vol. 103, No. 4, American Education: Toward an Uncertain Future, Volume I (Fall, 1974), pp. 58-66.Excerpt: Tocqueville, democracy’s great friend and admirer, reminds us in this passage of the Platonic tripartite division of the soul?desire, spiritedness, and reason. Accord ing to… More
Justice: John Rawls Vs. The Tradition of Political Philosophy
– "Justice: John Rawls Vs. The Tradition of Political Philosophy," review of A Theory of Justice, by John Rawls, The American Political Science Review, Vol. 69, No. 2 (June 1975), pp. 648-662.Excerpt: John Rawls’s A Theory of Justice has attracted more attention in the Anglo-Saxon world than any work of its kind in a generation. Its vogue results from two facts: It is the… More
The Education of Democratic Man: Emile
– "The Education of Democratic Man: Emile," Daedalus, Vol. 107, No. 3, Rousseau for Our Time (Summer 1978), pp. 135-153.Excerpt: Thus Emile is one of those rare total or synoptic books, a book with which one can live and which becomes deeper as one becomes deeper, a book comparable to Plato’s Republic,… More
Rousseau’s Emile
– Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile: or On Education, translated with notes and an introduction by Allan Bloom, Basic Books, 1979.Excerpt: Here then we have Rousseau’s response to Plato. Plato said that all men always begin by being prisoners in the cave. The cave is civil society considered in its effect on the… More
Our Listless Universities
– "Our Listless Universities," Change, Vol. 15, No. 3 (Apr. 1983), pp. 29-35.Excerpt: I begin with my conclusion: students in our best universities do not believe in anything, and those universities are do-ing nothing about it, nor can they. An easy-going American… More
Allan Bloom on Nietzsche
– "Allan Bloom on Nietzsche," Lecture delivered at Boston College, 1983.The Crisis of American Democracy and Liberal Education
– The Crisis of American Democracy and Liberal Education: Collected Essays, 1986.Excerpt: Therefore a truly political judgment is maintained so long as the issues are matters of life and death. Policy orientation helps keep the focus which we are too likely to lose. It… More
Higher Education Has Failed Democracy
– "Higher Education Has Failed Democracy," Firing Line with William F. Buckley, Jr., 15 Apr. 1987.The Closing of the American Mind
– The Closing of the American Mind: How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today's Students, with a foreword by Saul Bellow, Simon & Schuster, 1987. Reprint, Simon & Schuster, 2012.Excerpt: I used to think that young Americans began whatever education they were to get at the age of eighteen, that their early lives were spiritually empty and that they arrived at the… More
How Nietzsche Conquered America
– "How Nietzsche Conquered America," The Wilson Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Summer 1987), pp. 80-93.Excerpt: Modern democracy was, of course, the target of Nietzsche’s criticism.A s he saw it, rationalisma nd its egalitarianismw ere the contrary of creativity; daily life was for him… More
Giants and Dwarfs
– Giants and Dwarfs: Essays, 1960-1990, Simon and Schuster, 1990.Excerpt: And we may further suppose that Gulliver has certain hidden thoughts and intentions which are only to be revealed by closely cross-examining him. He indicates this himself at the… More
The Historical Context of Allan Bloom
– "The Historical Context of Allan Bloom," panel discussion with James Ceaser, James Miller, John Tomasi and John McWhorter, hosted by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, C-SPAN, 3 October 2007.Conference on the 25th Anniversary of The Closing of the American Mind
– Conference on the 25th anniversary of Allan Bloom's bestseller The Closing of the American Mind, hosted by the Program on Constitutional Government at Harvard University, 21 Sept. 2012. The first panel is on Students and is chaired by Arthur Melzer, with Kathryn Sensen, James Hankins, and Paul Cantor as speakers. The second panel is on the University and is chaired by R. Shep Melnick, with Nannerl Keohane, Rita Koganzon, and James Piereson. The third panel is chaired by William Kristol and features Margaret Soltan, Michael Davis and Nasser Behnegar as speakers.Essays
Cosmopolitan Man and the Political Community: An Interpretation of Othello
– "Cosmopolitan Man and the Political Community: An Interpretation of Othello," The American Political Science Review, Vol. 54, No. 1 (March 1960), pp. 130-157.Excerpt: Shakespeare’s explicit treatment of the possibility of an interracial, inter-faith society is given its most detailed development in his two Venetian plays, two plays which… More
The Failure of the University
– "The Failure of the University," Daedalus, Vol. 103, No. 4, American Education: Toward an Uncertain Future, Volume I (Fall, 1974), pp. 58-66.Excerpt: Tocqueville, democracy’s great friend and admirer, reminds us in this passage of the Platonic tripartite division of the soul?desire, spiritedness, and reason. Accord ing to… More
Justice: John Rawls Vs. The Tradition of Political Philosophy
– "Justice: John Rawls Vs. The Tradition of Political Philosophy," review of A Theory of Justice, by John Rawls, The American Political Science Review, Vol. 69, No. 2 (June 1975), pp. 648-662.Excerpt: John Rawls’s A Theory of Justice has attracted more attention in the Anglo-Saxon world than any work of its kind in a generation. Its vogue results from two facts: It is the… More
The Education of Democratic Man: Emile
– "The Education of Democratic Man: Emile," Daedalus, Vol. 107, No. 3, Rousseau for Our Time (Summer 1978), pp. 135-153.Excerpt: Thus Emile is one of those rare total or synoptic books, a book with which one can live and which becomes deeper as one becomes deeper, a book comparable to Plato’s Republic,… More
Rousseau’s Emile
– Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile: or On Education, translated with notes and an introduction by Allan Bloom, Basic Books, 1979.Excerpt: Here then we have Rousseau’s response to Plato. Plato said that all men always begin by being prisoners in the cave. The cave is civil society considered in its effect on the… More
Our Listless Universities
– "Our Listless Universities," Change, Vol. 15, No. 3 (Apr. 1983), pp. 29-35.Excerpt: I begin with my conclusion: students in our best universities do not believe in anything, and those universities are do-ing nothing about it, nor can they. An easy-going American… More
Allan Bloom on Nietzsche
– "Allan Bloom on Nietzsche," Lecture delivered at Boston College, 1983.The Crisis of American Democracy and Liberal Education
– The Crisis of American Democracy and Liberal Education: Collected Essays, 1986.Excerpt: Therefore a truly political judgment is maintained so long as the issues are matters of life and death. Policy orientation helps keep the focus which we are too likely to lose. It… More
Higher Education Has Failed Democracy
– "Higher Education Has Failed Democracy," Firing Line with William F. Buckley, Jr., 15 Apr. 1987.The Closing of the American Mind
– The Closing of the American Mind: How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today's Students, with a foreword by Saul Bellow, Simon & Schuster, 1987. Reprint, Simon & Schuster, 2012.Excerpt: I used to think that young Americans began whatever education they were to get at the age of eighteen, that their early lives were spiritually empty and that they arrived at the… More
How Nietzsche Conquered America
– "How Nietzsche Conquered America," The Wilson Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Summer 1987), pp. 80-93.Excerpt: Modern democracy was, of course, the target of Nietzsche’s criticism.A s he saw it, rationalisma nd its egalitarianismw ere the contrary of creativity; daily life was for him… More
Giants and Dwarfs
– Giants and Dwarfs: Essays, 1960-1990, Simon and Schuster, 1990.Excerpt: And we may further suppose that Gulliver has certain hidden thoughts and intentions which are only to be revealed by closely cross-examining him. He indicates this himself at the… More
The Historical Context of Allan Bloom
– "The Historical Context of Allan Bloom," panel discussion with James Ceaser, James Miller, John Tomasi and John McWhorter, hosted by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, C-SPAN, 3 October 2007.Conference on the 25th Anniversary of The Closing of the American Mind
– Conference on the 25th anniversary of Allan Bloom's bestseller The Closing of the American Mind, hosted by the Program on Constitutional Government at Harvard University, 21 Sept. 2012. The first panel is on Students and is chaired by Arthur Melzer, with Kathryn Sensen, James Hankins, and Paul Cantor as speakers. The second panel is on the University and is chaired by R. Shep Melnick, with Nannerl Keohane, Rita Koganzon, and James Piereson. The third panel is chaired by William Kristol and features Margaret Soltan, Michael Davis and Nasser Behnegar as speakers.Commentary
Cosmopolitan Man and the Political Community: An Interpretation of Othello
– "Cosmopolitan Man and the Political Community: An Interpretation of Othello," The American Political Science Review, Vol. 54, No. 1 (March 1960), pp. 130-157.Excerpt: Shakespeare’s explicit treatment of the possibility of an interracial, inter-faith society is given its most detailed development in his two Venetian plays, two plays which… More
The Failure of the University
– "The Failure of the University," Daedalus, Vol. 103, No. 4, American Education: Toward an Uncertain Future, Volume I (Fall, 1974), pp. 58-66.Excerpt: Tocqueville, democracy’s great friend and admirer, reminds us in this passage of the Platonic tripartite division of the soul?desire, spiritedness, and reason. Accord ing to… More
Justice: John Rawls Vs. The Tradition of Political Philosophy
– "Justice: John Rawls Vs. The Tradition of Political Philosophy," review of A Theory of Justice, by John Rawls, The American Political Science Review, Vol. 69, No. 2 (June 1975), pp. 648-662.Excerpt: John Rawls’s A Theory of Justice has attracted more attention in the Anglo-Saxon world than any work of its kind in a generation. Its vogue results from two facts: It is the… More
The Education of Democratic Man: Emile
– "The Education of Democratic Man: Emile," Daedalus, Vol. 107, No. 3, Rousseau for Our Time (Summer 1978), pp. 135-153.Excerpt: Thus Emile is one of those rare total or synoptic books, a book with which one can live and which becomes deeper as one becomes deeper, a book comparable to Plato’s Republic,… More
Rousseau’s Emile
– Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile: or On Education, translated with notes and an introduction by Allan Bloom, Basic Books, 1979.Excerpt: Here then we have Rousseau’s response to Plato. Plato said that all men always begin by being prisoners in the cave. The cave is civil society considered in its effect on the… More
Our Listless Universities
– "Our Listless Universities," Change, Vol. 15, No. 3 (Apr. 1983), pp. 29-35.Excerpt: I begin with my conclusion: students in our best universities do not believe in anything, and those universities are do-ing nothing about it, nor can they. An easy-going American… More
Allan Bloom on Nietzsche
– "Allan Bloom on Nietzsche," Lecture delivered at Boston College, 1983.The Crisis of American Democracy and Liberal Education
– The Crisis of American Democracy and Liberal Education: Collected Essays, 1986.Excerpt: Therefore a truly political judgment is maintained so long as the issues are matters of life and death. Policy orientation helps keep the focus which we are too likely to lose. It… More
Higher Education Has Failed Democracy
– "Higher Education Has Failed Democracy," Firing Line with William F. Buckley, Jr., 15 Apr. 1987.The Closing of the American Mind
– The Closing of the American Mind: How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today's Students, with a foreword by Saul Bellow, Simon & Schuster, 1987. Reprint, Simon & Schuster, 2012.Excerpt: I used to think that young Americans began whatever education they were to get at the age of eighteen, that their early lives were spiritually empty and that they arrived at the… More
How Nietzsche Conquered America
– "How Nietzsche Conquered America," The Wilson Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Summer 1987), pp. 80-93.Excerpt: Modern democracy was, of course, the target of Nietzsche’s criticism.A s he saw it, rationalisma nd its egalitarianismw ere the contrary of creativity; daily life was for him… More
Giants and Dwarfs
– Giants and Dwarfs: Essays, 1960-1990, Simon and Schuster, 1990.Excerpt: And we may further suppose that Gulliver has certain hidden thoughts and intentions which are only to be revealed by closely cross-examining him. He indicates this himself at the… More
The Historical Context of Allan Bloom
– "The Historical Context of Allan Bloom," panel discussion with James Ceaser, James Miller, John Tomasi and John McWhorter, hosted by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, C-SPAN, 3 October 2007.Conference on the 25th Anniversary of The Closing of the American Mind
– Conference on the 25th anniversary of Allan Bloom's bestseller The Closing of the American Mind, hosted by the Program on Constitutional Government at Harvard University, 21 Sept. 2012. The first panel is on Students and is chaired by Arthur Melzer, with Kathryn Sensen, James Hankins, and Paul Cantor as speakers. The second panel is on the University and is chaired by R. Shep Melnick, with Nannerl Keohane, Rita Koganzon, and James Piereson. The third panel is chaired by William Kristol and features Margaret Soltan, Michael Davis and Nasser Behnegar as speakers.Multimedia
Cosmopolitan Man and the Political Community: An Interpretation of Othello
– "Cosmopolitan Man and the Political Community: An Interpretation of Othello," The American Political Science Review, Vol. 54, No. 1 (March 1960), pp. 130-157.Excerpt: Shakespeare’s explicit treatment of the possibility of an interracial, inter-faith society is given its most detailed development in his two Venetian plays, two plays which… More
The Failure of the University
– "The Failure of the University," Daedalus, Vol. 103, No. 4, American Education: Toward an Uncertain Future, Volume I (Fall, 1974), pp. 58-66.Excerpt: Tocqueville, democracy’s great friend and admirer, reminds us in this passage of the Platonic tripartite division of the soul?desire, spiritedness, and reason. Accord ing to… More
Justice: John Rawls Vs. The Tradition of Political Philosophy
– "Justice: John Rawls Vs. The Tradition of Political Philosophy," review of A Theory of Justice, by John Rawls, The American Political Science Review, Vol. 69, No. 2 (June 1975), pp. 648-662.Excerpt: John Rawls’s A Theory of Justice has attracted more attention in the Anglo-Saxon world than any work of its kind in a generation. Its vogue results from two facts: It is the… More
The Education of Democratic Man: Emile
– "The Education of Democratic Man: Emile," Daedalus, Vol. 107, No. 3, Rousseau for Our Time (Summer 1978), pp. 135-153.Excerpt: Thus Emile is one of those rare total or synoptic books, a book with which one can live and which becomes deeper as one becomes deeper, a book comparable to Plato’s Republic,… More
Rousseau’s Emile
– Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile: or On Education, translated with notes and an introduction by Allan Bloom, Basic Books, 1979.Excerpt: Here then we have Rousseau’s response to Plato. Plato said that all men always begin by being prisoners in the cave. The cave is civil society considered in its effect on the… More
Our Listless Universities
– "Our Listless Universities," Change, Vol. 15, No. 3 (Apr. 1983), pp. 29-35.Excerpt: I begin with my conclusion: students in our best universities do not believe in anything, and those universities are do-ing nothing about it, nor can they. An easy-going American… More
Allan Bloom on Nietzsche
– "Allan Bloom on Nietzsche," Lecture delivered at Boston College, 1983.The Crisis of American Democracy and Liberal Education
– The Crisis of American Democracy and Liberal Education: Collected Essays, 1986.Excerpt: Therefore a truly political judgment is maintained so long as the issues are matters of life and death. Policy orientation helps keep the focus which we are too likely to lose. It… More
Higher Education Has Failed Democracy
– "Higher Education Has Failed Democracy," Firing Line with William F. Buckley, Jr., 15 Apr. 1987.The Closing of the American Mind
– The Closing of the American Mind: How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today's Students, with a foreword by Saul Bellow, Simon & Schuster, 1987. Reprint, Simon & Schuster, 2012.Excerpt: I used to think that young Americans began whatever education they were to get at the age of eighteen, that their early lives were spiritually empty and that they arrived at the… More
How Nietzsche Conquered America
– "How Nietzsche Conquered America," The Wilson Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Summer 1987), pp. 80-93.Excerpt: Modern democracy was, of course, the target of Nietzsche’s criticism.A s he saw it, rationalisma nd its egalitarianismw ere the contrary of creativity; daily life was for him… More
Giants and Dwarfs
– Giants and Dwarfs: Essays, 1960-1990, Simon and Schuster, 1990.Excerpt: And we may further suppose that Gulliver has certain hidden thoughts and intentions which are only to be revealed by closely cross-examining him. He indicates this himself at the… More
The Historical Context of Allan Bloom
– "The Historical Context of Allan Bloom," panel discussion with James Ceaser, James Miller, John Tomasi and John McWhorter, hosted by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, C-SPAN, 3 October 2007.Conference on the 25th Anniversary of The Closing of the American Mind
– Conference on the 25th anniversary of Allan Bloom's bestseller The Closing of the American Mind, hosted by the Program on Constitutional Government at Harvard University, 21 Sept. 2012. The first panel is on Students and is chaired by Arthur Melzer, with Kathryn Sensen, James Hankins, and Paul Cantor as speakers. The second panel is on the University and is chaired by R. Shep Melnick, with Nannerl Keohane, Rita Koganzon, and James Piereson. The third panel is chaired by William Kristol and features Margaret Soltan, Michael Davis and Nasser Behnegar as speakers.Teaching
Cosmopolitan Man and the Political Community: An Interpretation of Othello
– "Cosmopolitan Man and the Political Community: An Interpretation of Othello," The American Political Science Review, Vol. 54, No. 1 (March 1960), pp. 130-157.Excerpt: Shakespeare’s explicit treatment of the possibility of an interracial, inter-faith society is given its most detailed development in his two Venetian plays, two plays which… More
The Failure of the University
– "The Failure of the University," Daedalus, Vol. 103, No. 4, American Education: Toward an Uncertain Future, Volume I (Fall, 1974), pp. 58-66.Excerpt: Tocqueville, democracy’s great friend and admirer, reminds us in this passage of the Platonic tripartite division of the soul?desire, spiritedness, and reason. Accord ing to… More
Justice: John Rawls Vs. The Tradition of Political Philosophy
– "Justice: John Rawls Vs. The Tradition of Political Philosophy," review of A Theory of Justice, by John Rawls, The American Political Science Review, Vol. 69, No. 2 (June 1975), pp. 648-662.Excerpt: John Rawls’s A Theory of Justice has attracted more attention in the Anglo-Saxon world than any work of its kind in a generation. Its vogue results from two facts: It is the… More
The Education of Democratic Man: Emile
– "The Education of Democratic Man: Emile," Daedalus, Vol. 107, No. 3, Rousseau for Our Time (Summer 1978), pp. 135-153.Excerpt: Thus Emile is one of those rare total or synoptic books, a book with which one can live and which becomes deeper as one becomes deeper, a book comparable to Plato’s Republic,… More
Rousseau’s Emile
– Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile: or On Education, translated with notes and an introduction by Allan Bloom, Basic Books, 1979.Excerpt: Here then we have Rousseau’s response to Plato. Plato said that all men always begin by being prisoners in the cave. The cave is civil society considered in its effect on the… More
Our Listless Universities
– "Our Listless Universities," Change, Vol. 15, No. 3 (Apr. 1983), pp. 29-35.Excerpt: I begin with my conclusion: students in our best universities do not believe in anything, and those universities are do-ing nothing about it, nor can they. An easy-going American… More
Allan Bloom on Nietzsche
– "Allan Bloom on Nietzsche," Lecture delivered at Boston College, 1983.The Crisis of American Democracy and Liberal Education
– The Crisis of American Democracy and Liberal Education: Collected Essays, 1986.Excerpt: Therefore a truly political judgment is maintained so long as the issues are matters of life and death. Policy orientation helps keep the focus which we are too likely to lose. It… More
Higher Education Has Failed Democracy
– "Higher Education Has Failed Democracy," Firing Line with William F. Buckley, Jr., 15 Apr. 1987.The Closing of the American Mind
– The Closing of the American Mind: How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today's Students, with a foreword by Saul Bellow, Simon & Schuster, 1987. Reprint, Simon & Schuster, 2012.Excerpt: I used to think that young Americans began whatever education they were to get at the age of eighteen, that their early lives were spiritually empty and that they arrived at the… More
How Nietzsche Conquered America
– "How Nietzsche Conquered America," The Wilson Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Summer 1987), pp. 80-93.Excerpt: Modern democracy was, of course, the target of Nietzsche’s criticism.A s he saw it, rationalisma nd its egalitarianismw ere the contrary of creativity; daily life was for him… More
Giants and Dwarfs
– Giants and Dwarfs: Essays, 1960-1990, Simon and Schuster, 1990.Excerpt: And we may further suppose that Gulliver has certain hidden thoughts and intentions which are only to be revealed by closely cross-examining him. He indicates this himself at the… More