Vital Remnants

Episode Summary McConnell Center  Director  Dr. Gary L. Gregg II  offers his thoughts on how to make the most of our time during this crisis.  Links Mentioned Dr. Gregg's op-ed pieces, including "The Gift of Solitude and Time" can be found here:  https://www.theepochtimes.com/author-gary-l-gregg  Stay Connected Visit us at McConnellcenter.org Subscribe to our newsletter   Facebook: @mcconnellcente...

In this episode of  Vital Remnants,  Dr. Gary Gregg reveals his final great leadership lesson of Machiavelli's  The Prince. We hope you have enjoyed this series and are looking forward to next season!   Target 9 Reading: Chapters 24-26 pp. 96-105 of Niccolò Machiavelli,  The Prince , Second Edition, Translated and with an Introduction by Harvey C. Mansfield (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1...

In this episode of  Vital Remnants,  Dr. Gary Gregg shares the next five great leadership lessons of Machiavelli's The Prince.  These lessons include how to strategically approach conflict, manage those under your supervision, and select trusted advisors.   Target 8 Reading: Chapters 21-23, pp. 87-95 of Niccolò Machiavelli,  The Prince , Second Edition, Translated and with an Introduction by Harve...

How does one become great? Should a leader be the bearer of bad news to his/her people? Dr. Gary Gregg, McConnell Center Director, shares Machiavelli's answers to these questions and more as he presents the next four great lessons of  The Prince.  Target 7 Reading: Chapters 19-20, pp. 71-87 of Niccolò Machiavelli,  The Prince , Second Edition, Translated and with an Introduction by Harvey C. Mansf...

In today's episode, Dr. Gregg pulls out six great lessons of leadership from the text, including one of Machiavelli's most famous assertions: "It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both." Target 6 Reading: Chapters 16-18, pp. 62-71 of Niccolò Machiavelli,  The Prince , Second Edition, Translated and with an Introduction by Harvey C. Mansfield (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,...

In today's episode, Dr. Gary Gregg covers the next five great leadership lessons of Niccolo Machiavelli's  The Prince . These lessons include the following: money alone will not incentivize men to make great sacrifices; leaders should care only for war (prepare for war during peace in order to be ready when future troubles arise); leaders should learn how not to be good; it is impossible to obtain...

In today's episode, Dr. Gary Gregg distills four great leadership lessons from chapters 9-10 of Niccolo Machiavelli's  The Prince . Dr. Gregg's lessons include the following: leaders find great benefit in doing good when their followers expect evil; leaders must make themselves indispensable; peace is achieved through strength; and the loyalty of the people relies as much on what they give, as wha...

In this installment of the Vital Remnants Podcast, Dr. Gary Gregg guides listeners through chapters six and seven of Niccolo Machiavelli's  The Prince , identifying seven lessons for modern leaders. Those lessons include warnings about founding new enterprises, a caution to grow your enterprise slowly rather than quickly, and a core lesson for contemporary political leaders about the importance of...

In this installment of the Vital Remnants Podcast, Dr. Gary Gregg guides readers through the first five chapters of  The Prince , identifying eight keys to leadership from the reading. These include lessons on assuming roles of power, learning before you lose and engaging problems before they become too large to remedy. Dr. Gregg also wrestles with the modern-day application of Machiavelli's ideas...

For the second season of Vital Remnants, Dr. Gary L. Gregg II will walk listeners through one of the most famous texts on political leadership, Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince . In this first episode, Dr. Gregg briefly details Machiavelli's historical significance and his approach to reading The Prince . He then shares the first key lesson–to learn from contemporaries and the ancients–and ends by...

In this introductory episode of the Vital Remnants podcast, producer Connor Tracy sits down with show host Dr. Gary L. Gregg II to discuss the inspiration, overall vision, and structure of the podcast.  Subscribe to our newsletter and receive McConnell Center updates directly in your mailbox Please share any thoughts, questions, comments, or concerns with us via email at  connor.tracy@louisville.e...

Target 8 Reading Recommendation: Arthur Herman, The Cave and the Light: Plato Versus Aristotle, and the Struggle for the Soul of Western Civilization (Random House, 2013) In this bonus episode, Dr. Gary Gregg recommends a variety of books and authors for listeners to read after finishing up The Republic . Dr. Gregg focuses mainly on Arthur Herman's book, The Cave and the Light: Plato Versus Aristo...

In this episode of Vital Remnants, Dr. Gary Gregg guides listeners through the final book of The Republic. He first discusses the opening of Book X, in which Plato presents the conflict between poetry and philosophy and spends a significant amount of time criticizing the poets–Homer in particular. Once again we are reminded of the tripartite soul and are challenged to consider how the types of ent...

After considering the other types of governments and individuals in last month's installment, Dr. Gary Gregg takes a deeper dive into Plato's outline of the mind and government of the tyrant. He then discusses a new image Plato provides of the human soul in book IX, and concludes by considering the idea of the proper cultivation of one's soul.   Target 6 Reading: Book IX, pp. 251-275 of "The Repub...

Having now arrived at one of the most important sections of The Republic, Dr. Gary Gregg discusses Plato's types of governments and how they decline from the best to the worst. Spoiler alert–democracy is certainly not the best in his view. Listeners are encouraged to consider Plato's strong indictment of democracy and to take a hard look at our American system through this lens to see how closely...

In this episode, Dr. Gary Gregg outlines Plato's views on political leadership and uses this framework to consider today's institutions and public figures. He walks us through the Allegory of the Ship and the famous Allegory of the Cave. Lastly, Connor Tracy joins Dr. Gregg to discuss Plato's concept of the "Divided Line." Target 4 Reading: Books V, VI & VII, pp. 153-220 of "The Republic of Plato"...

In this episode of Vital Remnants, Dr. Gary Gregg discusses Plato's call for the combination of political power and philosophy within our leaders (1:34), the three parts of society (5:00), Plato's tests for leadership (7:31), and the "Myth of the Metals" (15:41). He then revisits education (22:28), the four parts of virtue (26:07), Plato's definition of justice (32:05) and the burden of leadership...

In the second episode of this season of Vital Remnants, Dr. Gary Gregg begins by comparing Plato's philosophical assumptions about the origin of communities with those that have shaped the modern understanding, including the views of Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau (5:11). Gregg then dives into the creation of Plato's city and discusses the origins of war (13:20), the need for guardians, and the questi...

In this inaugural episode of our walk through Plato's Republic , Dr. Gary Gregg introduces listeners to the importance of "The Republic" and lays out a few key concepts of Platonic thought that will help inform the modern reader's understanding as they work through the text. He then walks through the various definitions of Justice presented throughout the dialogue and discusses the implications of...