Community Great Ideas Seminar
Following a half-century Aspen Institute tradition, this seminar will employ informed, Socratic dialogue to explore some of the core ideas and values that have arisen over 2500 years of human history. By better understanding our civilization’s underlying values and ideas – and how these evolved – we often clarify our own direction in life…and we become more effective as leaders.
This four-day seminar incorporates the discussion and analysis of excerpts from the Great Books with the practice of applicable leadership and problem solving skills. The method of Socratic dialogue and the emphasis of discussion and debate allow the course to delve into the core of human values of our culture, the origins of American democracy, and what it means to pursue Aristotle’s concept of “the good life”.
We hope you can join us for this stimulating and exciting four-day seminar!
Moderator:
Lee T. Bycel is the rabbi of Congregation Beth Shalom in Napa, California, and adjunct professor of religious studies and social justice at the University of San Francisco. Lee has held numerous leadership positions including founder and CEO of CedarStreet Leadership; executive director of the Redford Center; dean of the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles; and served as president of the Brandeis-Bardin Institute. Lee has moderated leadership and values seminars at the Aspen Institute for over 15 years. Lee holds a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of California at Berkeley and a doctorate from Claremont School of Theology.
Reading List for the Great Ideas Seminar:
Readings will be provided in a booklet produced by the Aspen Institute, and will include the following selections in addition to other important texts.
- “The Declaration of Independence”
- Plato: “The Republic,” selections
- Aristotle: “Nicomachean Ethics,” selections
- Thomas Hobbes: “Leviathan,” selections
- Confucius: “Analects”
- Virginia Woolf: “A Room of One’s Own,” selections
- Aung San Suu Kyi: “A Culture of Peace, Democracy, and Human Rights”
- Mary Midgley: “Heart and Mind,” “Trying Out One’s New Sword”
- Jean Jacques Rousseau: “The Social Contract,” selections
- Milton Friedman: “Capitalism and Freedom”
- Arthur M. Okun: “Equality and Efficiency: “The Big Tradeoff”
- Thucydides: “The Peloponnesian War,” “The Melian Conference”
- Vaclav Havel: “In our Postmodern World, a Search for Self-Transcendence”
Fee and Registration
The fee for this four-day seminar, including materials, daily refreshments, and the opening reception and dinner, is $500. The schedule begins with an afternoon session followed by an opening dinner plus three half-day morning sessions. Thanks to our generous donors for their underwriting of this seminar.
Registration is now closed.
Schedule
Sunday, October 25
12:45 pm – 1:00 pm Registration (Lunch will not be served, but refreshments will be served)
1:00 pm – 6:00 pm Seminar Discussion (Includes breaks)
6:30 pm – 8 pm Reception and Dinner, Aspen Meadows Restaurant
Monday, October 26
8:30 am – 12:30 pm Seminar Discussion (Includes breaks)
Tuesday, October 27
8:30 am – 12:30 pm Seminar Discussion (Includes breaks)
Wednesday, October 28
8:30 am – 12:30 pm Seminar Discussion (Includes breaks)
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm Closing Lunch
This four-day seminar incorporates the discussion and analysis of excerpts from the Great Books with the practice of applicable leadership and problem solving skills. The method of Socratic dialogue and the emphasis of discussion and debate allow the course to delve into the core of human values of our culture, the origins of American democracy, and what it means to pursue Aristotle’s concept of “the good life”.