The Lamp Magazine | The Practical Wisdom of Eva Brann

The writings of Plato and Aristotle are haunted by a figure who seeks wisdom of the highest things and who thereby gains practical wisdom, knowledge of how to govern. The first philosopher, Thales, fell into a well while looking at the stars, possessed by knowledge Aristotle called “wondrous, difficult and divine—but useless.” Yet Socrates fought c... See more

At the Morningside conference she presented the criterion for a great book she had learned from her classics professor at Brooklyn College, Alice Kober. “You know a great book,” Kober had said, “when the hair stands up on the back of your neck.”