HeyJaredThe Golden Thread
Revitalizing the Western Tradition as a lived source of meaning.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 16
- Latest publication
- Sep 28, 2026
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- Aug 10, 2026
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The Revival of Dialectic, 1000-1200 – Part 3 (opens the original)
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This is Part 3 of a three-part essay.Read Part 2The problem of universals had been around ever since Plato. But the medieval dialecticians argued over this matter to such fine degrees that it has often been thoughtlessly treated as an example of how arid medieval theology and philosophy could become – which is not true, especially if we consider the practical implications of the use of universals.Think of it this way: suppose we say that particulars
The Revival of Dialectic, 1000-1200 – Part 2 (opens the original)
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This is Part 2 of a three-part essay.Read Part 1Just how rapidly dialectic won the hearts-and-minds contest of the eleventh century can be seen in the schools attached to the cathedrals at Rheims and Chartres. Gerbert of Aurillac served as the master of the school at Rheims until 999, when he became Pope Sylvester II, and in all of his teaching, there was very little excitement about logic beyond what could be had from Boethius and his versions of Aristotle’s Categorie
The Revival of Dialectic, 1000-1200, or, How the Western Tradition Fell in Love with Logic – Part 1 (opens the original)
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When history is done by shortcuts, what is usually produced is shortchanges, and never was that more in evidence than when we talk about the intellectual milieu of the Middle Ages. Floating out there amid the jumble of images of knights in armor and inquisitors in hoods is a disbelief that anything particularly thoughtful occurred in Western Christendom before the great floriation of the Renaissance.Which, of course, is not true. Otherwise, we would have to assume that people had forgotten how t
Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey, Part 4: Progress through Tradition (opens the original)
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Read Part ThreeThe master said: The gentleman has nothing to compete over. If he must, it is in archery. They bow and yield as they ascend, then descend and drink together. Even in competition they remain gentlemen.—Analects of Confucius 3.7Can a civilization make moral progress through ‘noble rivalry’?The previous installment of this extended essay on Christopher
The Antidote to Power, Cynicism, and Barbarism (opens the original)
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James Hankins and Allen C. Guelzo recently sat down with Rick Graber, president and CEO of the Bradley Foundation, on the Voices of Freedom podcast. In addition to discussing their book, The Golden Thread: A History of the Western Tradition, they focused on the broader issue of virtue and civilization vs. power, cynicism, and barbarism. What follows is a typescript of a portion of their conversation. A link to the full episode, which originally aired on September 10, 2026, appears at the end.Ric
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