Being the sort of person whose summer employment occupies the hands while leaving the mind and ears unoccupied, it appears that I will be listening to dozens of the ISI online lectures over the summer.

Thank you, ISI, for posting these. I've listened to quite a few already.

I find that after listening to these lectures, I often have questions. There is much more I would like to know. Perhaps, if there are a number of ISI junkies like me listening to these, a forum for discussion of them would be appropriate. Say, I have a question about Kirk's fiction from hearing his recording Ghost Story- someone else may have listened to the same and can answer. Or the casual forum reader may be able to answer or comment based upon my post.

In an effort to begin dialogue upon these lectures, I propose a discussion board for the same.

Here are some of my favorite lectures on ISI to date that I have listened to:

Ghost Story and The Purpose of a University, and Russell Kirk
England, An Elegy Roger Scruton
George Washington, Brookhiser


Really, every one of the many, many Russell Kirk lectures is valuable. It's sort of sad to hear him age in his voice. It's good to put a person with the august writing and thought of this great thinker and for that, the lectures give a great personal connection.

Now, for a question to begin discussion:

Russell Kirk in Ghost Story and in Fiction and the Armed Doctrine, discusses fiction in the light of moral purpose. His story online is theological, written with many Catholic themes. Ideas of repentence, purgatory, sin, family, and love run through the tale. In his lecture on fiction, Dr. Kirk speaks of how stories reflect viewpoints and advocate for various changes. The most extreme case he cites is a play about violence inspiring the violence of the French Revolution.

I would be interested to know what others think about the moral purpose of literature. It reflects a great unity of the person in terms of letting religion influence life. Also, should anyone wish to elaborate on the relationship between moral literature and the concepts of the moral and historical imagination, I would be eager to listen.

Many thanks.