This past October, we had the profound honor of accepting the 2024 Oswald Spengler Prize alongside co-winner Culture Critic and joining the esteemed ranks of past winners: Jordan Peterson, Walter Scheidel, and Michel Houellebecq. The prize is awarded every two years by the Oswald Spengler Society to recognize work promoting the study of culture and civilizations. At the ceremony in the Eifel region of Germany, we gave the below speech, centered on the necessity of societal gratitude for a healthy culture.
Good evening,
First we extend our great thanks to the society for hosting this memorable event. We are thrilled to be here among such distinguished members and guests.
For a little background on ThinkingWest, we started this project a few years ago when we discovered a set of books called the Great Books of the Western World – a book set published in the 1950s that introduced readers to the vast richness of the western canon. We were inspired by its editors’ vision for a dedicated study of the great ideas of the past.
Thus, ThinkingWest was born as a humble blog to both encourage others to reach back to the great books and as a creative outlet for our thoughts on the culture. As we stepped into the world of X and YouTube, we found that our mission expanded to rekindling interest in the minds and ideas that built the West. And that message, we have found, has resonated with many around the world.
We thank the society for recognizing our work, and it’s been a pleasure getting to know many of you in the room today. We’re honored to receive the Oswald Spengler Prize alongside Culture Critic, whose work has influenced our own. To be counted among the cohort of previous winners is truly humbling. We’d like to offer some brief reflections on the state of Western education, the Classical Tradition, and the role of gratitude at the societal level.
Spengler’s work reminds us that understanding our present and future requires a profound appreciation of history and culture—an appreciation that is unfortunately lacking in the current zeitgeist. Therefore, it’s our mission to bring about a new appreciation of western tradition — further, to revive a gratitude for its fundamental cultural institutions.
Some might interpret those who think we live in challenging times and write them off as great pessimists. They are not in fact pessimists, but merely critics of the times. In fact, criticism itself implies a sort of hopefulness for the future — because they understand that our current state of affairs may not be the pinnacle in the development of the culture.
Critics of society’s path are really tapping into the thought of the 20th century writer G.K. Chesterton on the necessary love/hate relationship to their world. In his great work Orthodoxy, Chesterton writes:
“Can he hate it enough to change it, and yet love it enough to think it worth changing? Can he look up at its colossal good without once feeling acquiescence? Can he look up at its colossal evil without once feeling despair?”
We must recognize the imperfections of western civilization as it stands today, while still valuing it enough to work for its betterment.
On the other hand, there are many movements that seek to change the culture without loving the core western ideals. Then there are those who may love their culture, but relegate their fascination to passive commentary. It’s only by holding these dichotomous feelings toward the culture that we find the genuine motivation to realign its institutions with its values.
Gratitude lies at the root of any concern for one’s culture. To be grateful is to appreciate the things passed down to us by our ancestors.
As the late Sir Roger Scruton pointed out, we inherit our past, and now culture lies in our trusteeship. In the political sphere we see the effects of movements that have no gratitude – they aim only to remake society without heeding the whys behind the institutions they inherit. A society that is not grateful for its past eventually eats itself.
Gratitude is a central value of the West. This begs the question of what we are grateful for? What constitutes the West in the first place? And the answer will vary depending on who is asked. According to historian Christopher Dawson, Western Civilization is rooted in 3 elements: First, Judeo-Christian values; second, the Greek philosophical and scientific spirit; and finally, the Classical Tradition – the Great Conversation across history.
It’s in this third element of the Classical Tradition that gratitude is embedded in the West. We would not constantly look back to the great thinkers of our past if we did not believe them worth listening to. And now, our modern era offers universal access to these great thinkers – the great libraries of the world have been opened for all.
The Classical Tradition has entered the modern, internet connected world in a new way: that of democratized media. Social media enables the great conversation to happen in real time across the globe.
The Classical Tradition has moved from the lofty pages of treatises and novels to social media and video; hence, the success of those here today, many other X accounts, YouTube channels, and podcasts, who are now seeing the growth that comes when an information-hungry culture finds a new printing press.
But Classical Tradition cannot survive in a culture that does not first respect tradition – in a culture that is not grateful. Today the past is viewed as something to get away from rather than something to learn from.
Even the great institutions tasked with upholding the core principles of our culture often not only fail but actively subvert their own founding ideals.
For example, schools and universities – hosting many of the world’s great libraries – once acted as stewards of the great western canon. Now, these great works are often relegated to the margins. Homer, Dante, and Milton have become foreign to the average “educated” student.
So the question remains, what can we do in a culture that fails to appreciate the cornerstones of our civilization?
I’m reminded of the 6th century monk named Cassiodorus who occupied a pivotal time in history during the decline of the western Roman Empire. At a time when the future seemed uncertain, Cassiodorus endeavored to create a system of education that would ensure future generations had access to the same Greek and Roman classics that he had been given. He insisted that the great texts of the past were the best teachers, laying the foundations for classical education during the Medieval age — and that classical tradition continued on until modern times and was only abandoned recently.
Additionally, Cassiodorus understood the practical demands of his mission. It was not enough to merely preach the worthiness of the great works, it was essential to make these works tangibly widespread. Thus, he instituted a regimen for the mass production of texts—ensuring the education of future generations and the survival of many great works of antiquity.
Our task is not unlike Cassiodorus’. We too believe the minds of the past are instrumental to forming the minds of the future. Just as he sought to safeguard the best of Roman culture during chaotic times, so too must we strive to protect the riches of our heritage from forces intent on replacing gratitude with resentment.
Though today the great works of the world are in no danger of being lost, they are in danger of losing their influence. The challenge now in our digital age is to rekindle an interest in the great works and instill a gratitude to our past.
ThinkingWest aims to meet this challenge through our efforts on social media and YouTube by introducing the common man to the great books, ideas, and figures of the western tradition. We believe the goals of the Spengler Society align with our own in that a profound appreciation of our past will better guide us through the turbulent times ahead.
We appreciate your time today and we thank you once again for this profound honor.
ThinkingWest is continuing onward with its mission. We encourage you to join us by checking out our X account for daily content or on YouTube for our videos.
I’m standing and applauding.