The Philosopher's Garden

An invitation to discover the origins of western civilization with the Essential Greeks...

Joel Bowman with a Special Invitation from the End of the World: Buenos Aires, Argentina...

An admission, dear reader. We harbor something of a bias here at Notes. Perhaps you’ve noticed...

In a world forever hurtling headlong into a brave new future, leaning into whatever whizzbang technology, artificial intelligence or anti-social media we can get our trembling digits on...

... we find solace, and guidance, in lessons from a different time. An ancient time.

You see, along with Notes From the End of the World, we are also involved in another business, Classical Wisdom. It is a labor of love... quite literally.

Run by our dear wife, Anya Leonard (who sits not ten feet from us in our home office here in Buenos Aires...) this project is dedicated to “bringing ancient wisdom to modern minds.”

In many ways, the classical world is a refuge, an antidote to the prevailing chaos and disorder of our present times.

It also provides a lens, politically detached, through which we can approach modern dilemmas. After all, there was not much the ancients did not live through...

From tyrannical emperors at home to bloody and protracted wars abroad... from sieges, revolts and mass civil unrest... to periods of fragile peace, during which astounding achievements were made in the fields of philosophy, science and the arts.

Indeed, the history of western civilization rewards a lifetime of contemplation. But where to start?

A dozen or so years ago, Anya and I set out to answer just that question.

Over plenty of unhurried lunches and a few bottles of malbec in our back garden (nicknamed “the philosopher’s garden” by our colleagues), we came up with the idea of presenting the most influential thinkers from Ancient Greece in a single course.

It would be called: The Essential Greeks. And your humble editor… fresh-faced and twelve years younger… would be the presenter.

Over ten individual modules – complete with supplementary reading and test material – we’d cover the philosophers, historians, playwrights, and storytellers who shaped the very foundations of the western world.

From Homer’s twin epics – The Iliad and The Odyssey – to the historical texts of Herodotus and Thucydides... the “Big Three” philosophers of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle to the great tragedian playwrights, Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides...

The Essential Greeks lays the foundational groundwork for an understanding of the Classical World in straight-forward language and easy to follow tutorials.

Over the ensuing dozen years, we’ve presented this course to literally thousands of new and lifelong learners alike.

Our next Essential Greeks course begins... tomorrow: January 15th, 2025.

BUT… no worries if you can’t make it on the day!

You can either follow along with the full six weeks in order, or take the individual classes at your own pace, as life allows.

If you’d like to join us, feel free to take advantage of our $50 discount, which lasts for the next 24 hours...

We’ll be back with your regularly scheduled Notes From the End of the World later today.

Cheers,

Joel Bowman

P.S. Once you have access to The Essential Greeks, you’ll have it forever. So whether or not you’re able to join us for the start date tomorrow, you’ll still be able to access all the materials – including the ten modules with video tutorials and supplementary reading material – at your convenience.

But… the $50 discount only lasts until tomorrow, when the course begins. After that it goes back to the regular price.