Alain de Botton has mastered the art of popularizing great philosophy. His books, lectures, televised programs and the London-based School of Life – they all help de Botton get great ideas “out there.” And now he turns to Twitter. On Friday, @AlaindeBotton tweeted a short course in political philosophy in seven parts. The course, with each lesson presented in 140 characters or less, begins like this:
1: Plato: We should be ruled not by leaders chosen by a majority, but by those who are most intelligent.
2. St Augustine: We should not try to build paradise on earth. Aim for tolerable government, true government only possible in the next life.
3. Machiavelli: Politician must choose between serving the interests of country and the interests of Christian morality. Can’t have both.
You can finish the course here, and start following us on Twitter here, where we post a steady flow of cultural goodies throughout the day. If you like Open Culture, you will love our Twitter stream (and our Facebook page)…
Thanks for the write-up Dan!