Notes: A general intro to the Great Books - By Adler
Luca Bolognese - Sep 2025
1. Plato, Apology and Crito
Apology
Socrates defends himself against charges of corrupting the youth and impiety.
He recounts the Oracle at Delphi’s claim that no man is wiser than he, which led him on a quest to question others.
He argues that his mission is divine and that an unexamined life is not worth living.
He is found guilty and sentenced to death.
Crito
Crito visits Socrates in prison with a plan to help him escape.
Socrates rejects the offer, arguing that one should only listen to the opinions of the wise.
He personifies the Laws of Athens to argue that he has an implicit social contract with the city, and to escape would be an act of injustice against the laws that have protected him.
2. Plato, The Republic, Books I & II
Book I
Socrates debates the meaning of justice with his friends.
He refutes the definitions of justice given by Cephalus (paying debts) and Polemarchus (helping friends and harming enemies).
He confronts the Sophist Thrasymachus, who claims “justice is nothing else than the interest of the stronger.”
Book II
Glaucon challenges Socrates to prove that justice is good for its own sake using the story of the Ring of Gyges, which grants invisibility.
Socrates proposes they define justice in a city first, then apply the definition to an individual, setting up the central metaphor of the book.
3. Sophocles, Oedipus the King and Antigone
Oedipus the King
Oedipus, king of Thebes, vows to find the murderer of the previous king, Laius, to end a plague.
He consults the prophet Tiresias, who reveals that Oedipus himself is the murderer.
Through a series of revelations, Oedipus discovers he has unknowingly killed his father and married his mother, fulfilling a prophecy.
His mother/wife Jocasta kills herself, and Oedipus blinds himself and goes into exile.
Antigone
Antigone’s brothers die fighting each other. Creon, the new king, decrees that one will be buried while the other is left unburied.
Antigone defies Creon’s law, believing her duty to the gods is a higher law than the state’s.
Creon sentences her to be buried alive.
The prophet Tiresias warns Creon that his pride will lead to tragedy.
Antigone, Creon’s son, and Creon’s wife all die, leaving Creon alone with his grief.
4. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book I
The Highest Good: Aristotle argues that all human actions aim at some good, with the highest good being happiness (eudaimonia), which is pursued for its own sake.
The Function of Man: Happiness is an “activity of the rational soul in accordance with virtue.” To be truly happy, a person must use their unique human capacity for reason.
Virtue and Habit: He distinguishes between intellectual virtue (gained through teaching) and moral virtue (gained through habit).
External Goods: He acknowledges that external goods like wealth and friends are necessary as instruments for a happy life, but not as ends in themselves.
5. Aristotle, Politics, Book I
The Nature of the State: Aristotle argues that the city-state is the highest form of human association, formed to achieve the highest good.
“Political Animal”: He introduces the idea that “man is by nature a political animal” and that the city-state is a natural development from the family and village.
Household Management: He examines the three relationships within a household: master and slave, husband and wife, and parent and child, arguing that understanding these is key to understanding the state.
On Slavery and Acquisition: He discusses the concept of “natural slavery” and contrasts the “art of acquisition” for a household with the unnatural pursuit of wealth for its own sake.
6. Plutarch, The Lives
Lycurgus: He established a new constitution for Sparta, including a system of equal land distribution, the agoge (a rigorous education), and a focus on simplicity and civic virtue.
Numa Pompilius: The second king of Rome, he ruled peacefully by focusing on religious and legal reforms, instilling a sense of piety in the Roman people.
Alexander: Tutored by Aristotle, he conquered the Persian Empire and created a vast Hellenistic empire, remembered as a brilliant but complex leader.
Caesar: Plutarch chronicles Caesar’s rise to power, his military conquests in Gaul, his civil war, and his eventual assassination, which ended the Roman Republic.
7. The Old Testament, The Book of Job
The Wager: God allows Satan to test the piety of Job, a righteous and wealthy man.
The Affliction: Job loses his children, wealth, and health but refuses to curse God.
The Friends’ Challenge: Three friends visit him and argue that his suffering must be a punishment for some sin. Job maintains his innocence and questions God’s justice.
God’s Response: God appears in a whirlwind and speaks of his own power and wisdom, humbling Job, who accepts his own limited understanding.
Restoration: God restores Job’s health and wealth, and gives him a new family.
8. St. Augustine, The Confessions, Books I–VIII
Spiritual Journey: Written as a prayer to God, Augustine’s work is a spiritual autobiography recounting his early life and struggles.
Early Sins: He reflects on the nature of evil, confessing to minor sins of his youth, and sees his own lusts and worldly ambitions as a primary barrier to his faith.
Intellectual Crisis: He recounts his long adherence to the Manichaean religion and his eventual embrace of Neoplatonism, which helped him see evil as the absence of good.
The Garden Conversion: His spiritual journey climaxes in a garden when he hears a voice telling him to “Take up and read!” He opens a book of Paul’s Epistles and is immediately convinced to give up his sinful life.
9. Montaigne, The Essays
The Essay: Montaigne pioneered the essay genre, writing personal, reflective pieces that explore a wide range of topics.
Self-Examination: His main focus is on the study of the self, reflecting his skeptical motto, “Que sçay-je?” (“What do I know?”).
Human Nature: He presents a complex view of human nature, critiquing human arrogance and advocating for humility and a healthy skepticism.
On Death: He famously argues that to philosophize is to learn how to die and that facing one’s mortality can help one to live more fully.
Specific Essays:
“Of Pedantry”: Montaigne criticizes the pedants of his time for valuing book learning and memorization over true wisdom and judgment. He argues that knowledge is useless if not integrated and applied to life.
“That It Is Folly to Measure Truth and Error by Our Own Capacity”: He argues against intellectual arrogance and dogmatism, suggesting that we should not assume our own limited reason is the measure of all things. He emphasizes the vastness of the unknown and the diversity of human beliefs.
“Of Cannibals”: He uses the example of a “savage” tribe to critique the barbarism and ethnocentrism of European society.
“That the Relish of Good and Evil Depends in a Great measure upon the Opinion we Have of Them”: Montaigne explores the power of our minds to shape our experience of the world. He argues that our opinions, attitudes, and imaginings have a greater impact on our happiness and suffering than external events themselves.
“Of the Education of Children”: He advocates for an education that emphasizes reason and judgment over rote memorization and encourages exposure to different cultures.
10. Shakespeare, Hamlet
The Plot: The ghost of Prince Hamlet’s father appears, revealing he was murdered by his brother, Claudius, who has now married the queen and seized the throne.
Feigned Madness: Hamlet feigns madness to investigate the crime, leading to a series of tragic misunderstandings and events.
The Play-Within-a-Play: Hamlet stages a play to confirm Claudius’s guilt.
Tragedy: His indecision and delay lead to the deaths of Polonius, Ophelia, Gertrude, Laertes, Claudius, and himself in the final duel.
11. John Locke, Concerning Civil Government
State of Nature: Locke argues that in the state of nature, individuals are free and equal, with natural rights to life, liberty, and property.
Social Contract: To protect these rights, people enter a social contract to create a government.
Consent and Tyranny: Legitimate government is based on the consent of the governed. If a government becomes tyrannical and infringes on these rights, the people have a right to revolt.
Separation of Powers: He advocates for a separation of powers, primarily between the legislative and executive branches, to prevent tyranny.
12. Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels
Satire: The book is a satirical critique of human nature and European society.
The Voyages:
In Lilliput, a land of tiny people, Swift satirizes the pettiness of political and religious conflicts.
In Brobdingnag, a land of giants, Gulliver is small, and the king’s disgust at English society highlights its moral corruption.
In Laputa, a flying island populated by people obsessed with mathematics and music but lacking common sense, he satirizes abstract and impractical thinking.
In the land of the Houyhnhnms, rational horses rule over the brutish, human-like Yahoos. Gulliver becomes so disgusted with humanity that he longs to be a horse.
13. Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
The Scope: The reading selection focuses on Gibbon’s controversial analysis of Christianity’s role in the fall of the empire.
Chapter 15: The Progress of the Christian Religion: Gibbon investigates the “five secondary causes” for the rapid spread of Christianity, beyond divine intervention. These include the zeal of the early Christians, their doctrine of a future life (including the concept of heaven and hell), the claim to miraculous powers, the pure and austere morals of the believers, and the tight-knit union and discipline of the Christian Church.
Chapter 16: The Conduct of the Roman Government toward the Christians: This chapter details the various persecutions of the Christians. Gibbon argues that the Roman government’s intolerance was rooted in the Christians’ refusal to participate in the traditional pagan rites, which the Romans viewed as a civic duty. He contrasts the Roman policy of general religious tolerance with their harshness toward the Christians’ “inflexible obstinacy.” He also controversially estimates the number of Christian martyrs to be far lower than traditional Christian accounts, and attributes their willingness to face death to fanaticism rather than pure faith.
14. American State Papers and The Federalist
Declaration of Independence: This document asserts the unalienable rights to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” and states that governments derive their power from the consent of the governed.
The Constitution of the United States of America: This establishes the framework for the U.S. government, including the three branches of government (legislative, executive, and judicial), the system of checks and balances, and the division of powers between the federal government and the states.
The Federalist Papers: A collection of 85 essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay to persuade citizens to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
No. 1 (Hamilton): An introduction to the series, outlining the need for a new Constitution and the topics to be covered.
No. 2 (Jay): Argues that the United States should remain a single nation and not be broken up into separate confederacies.
No. 3 (Jay): Argues that a united nation is better equipped to protect against foreign threats and avoid wars.
No. 4 (Jay): Continues the argument from No. 3, focusing on the ability of a strong central government to raise and maintain a unified military.
No. 5 (Jay): Argues that if the states were divided into separate confederacies, they would likely fall into conflict with each other.
No. 6 (Hamilton): Warns against the potential for civil war and disputes between the states if they do not unite under a strong government.
No. 7 (Hamilton): Discusses specific causes of conflict among the states if they were not united, such as disputes over territory and commerce.
No. 8 (Hamilton): Argues that a standing army, which would be necessary for separate states, poses a greater threat to liberty than a unified federal government.
No. 9 (Hamilton): Advocates for a strong union as a safeguard against domestic faction and insurrection.
No. 10 (Madison): Famously argues that a large republic is the best way to control the negative effects of factions.
No. 15 (Hamilton): Outlines the fundamental weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and the need for a stronger federal government with the power to enforce its laws directly.
No. 31 (Hamilton): Argues that the federal government must have an unlimited power to tax and raise revenue to function effectively.
No. 47 (Madison): Defends the separation of powers by citing Montesquieu and clarifying that the branches are not entirely distinct but have a partial agency in the others’ affairs to prevent tyranny.
No. 51 (Madison): Explains the system of checks and balances and argues that “ambition must be made to counteract ambition.”
No. 62 (Madison): Describes the Senate, its purpose as a check on the House of Representatives, and the qualifications and election process for senators.
No. 63 (Madison): Continues the defense of the Senate, arguing for the necessity of a stable body that can provide a sense of national character and policy continuity.
No. 64 (Jay): Explains the Senate’s role in treaty-making, arguing that it is best suited for this task due to its small size and longer terms.
No. 65 (Hamilton): Explains the Senate’s power to conduct impeachment trials, arguing it is the proper body for such a solemn and political function.
No. 66 (Hamilton): Defends the impeachment power of the Senate against various objections.
No. 68 (Hamilton): Explains the process for electing the President through the Electoral College, arguing it protects against corruption and foreign influence.
No. 69 (Hamilton): Contrasts the powers of the American President with those of the British monarch and a New York governor, showing the president’s powers are more limited.
No. 70 (Hamilton): Argues for a single, energetic executive as essential for good governance, national defense, and the administration of law.
No. 71 (Hamilton): Defends the four-year term for the president, arguing it provides stability and allows the executive to act with firmness.
No. 72 (Hamilton): Justifies the re-eligibility of the President, arguing it encourages good behavior and allows for experienced leadership.
15. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party
Class Struggle: The Manifesto presents a history of society as a history of class struggle, simplified under capitalism into two classes: the bourgeoisie (owners) and the proletariat (workers).
The Revolution: It argues that the exploitation of the proletariat will inevitably lead to a revolution in which the workers overthrow the bourgeoisie and seize control of the means of production.
The Program: It outlines a ten-point program for a new, communist society, including the abolition of private property and a heavy progressive income tax.
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