The TAC Podcast

The Liberal Arts: Luxury or Essential? | E17 The TAC Podcast

Is a liberal arts education a "luxury item" for the elite, or a necessary foundation for the human soul? In this episode of The TAC Podcast, host John Finley is joined by alumnus and tech veteran Nathan Haggard to tackle the modern objections to a Great Books education. From the "All-In" podcast's criticisms to Elon Musk's focus on first principles, we examine why the world's most successful technologists often miss the mark on what education is truly for. We discuss the "rigor" of the hard sciences within the liberal arts, why the internet can't replace a classroom, and why AI — no matter how powerful — will never be able to grasp the first principles of the "Good Life." In this episode, we discuss: The "BS" Degree Objection: Addressing the student debt crisis and the "tourism" approach to humanities. The Hard Sciences of TAC: Why 4 years of math and science are core to the liberal arts. Scientific Method vs. First Principles: Why even physics rests on metaphysical assumptions. The Trap of Usefulness: How the market economy diminishes our view of human worth. AI and Values: Why machine intelligence has no concept of "The Good." 00:00 – Introduction 01:15 – Addressing the "Liberal Arts BS Degree" Criticism 03:19 – The Hidden Rigor: 4 Years of Math and Science at TAC 05:18 – Engaging with Original Thinkers: Newton, Descartes, and Euclid 08:21 – Is Education Just for the Elite? Addressing the "Ripoff" Claim 10:05 – Information vs. Thinking: Why the Internet isn't a School 12:50 – Aristotle vs. Nietzsche: Searching for Truth in a Group 16:04 – The Meta-Narrative of Science: Its Own Greatest Limitation 18:45 – The "Dark Mist" of Learning: Why Frustration is Progress 23:10 – Challenging Elon Musk: What Do Physics Principles Rest On? 25:55 – The Goal of Life: Why the Scientific Method Can't Tell Us "Why" 32:20 – Bill Gates & the Market Economy: Is Education Only for a Job? 37:25 – The "Lazy River" Problem: Consumerism in Modern Colleges 41:50 – The Hierarchy of Knowledge: Why Your Worldview Controls Everything 47:45 – Lived Experience vs. Intellectual Training 53:00 – Analytical Skills: Why "Critical Thinking" isn't Enough 58:40 – The Author as Professor: The Unique Pedagogy of TAC 1:04:10 – Steve Jobs and the "Heart Singing" Mystery 1:06:10 – What ChatGPT Says About Values and First Principles 1:09:00 – The Risk of Emulating Machines: Why Humans Must Lead

Beyond Opinions: We found Objective Truth in the Great Books | E16 The TAC Podcast

"Who can say what truth is?" In a world of competing ideologies and "brain hacks," is it possible to find solid ground on the most important questions of human existence? In this episode of The TAC Podcast, we dive into TAC's "Great Books" approach to education, where students are immersed in diametrically opposed worldviews — from the virtue ethics of Aristotle to the radical critiques of Nietzsche. We discuss how a liberal arts education, rooted in the Catholic tradition, provides the tools to judge between these perspectives and move from mere opinion to well-grounded conviction. Key highlights include: The difference between a "Great Book" and a modern bestseller. The "Order of Discovery": Why we study scientific theories that were eventually "discarded." How Euclidean geometry builds a student's confidence in human reason. The interplay between the Socratic method and a definitive Catholic vision of reality. Why philosophy isn't just an "intellectual game" but a path to the immortal soul and the existence of God. Join the Conversation: 🔔 Subscribe for more deep dives into the Great Books. 💬 Comment: When two great thinkers disagree, how do you decide who is right? 00:00 – Introduction: Settling the questions of the Soul and God 01:30 – Why original authors? The integrated Liberal Arts degree 02:45 – What makes a "Great Book"? Influence vs. Weighty Questions 05:45 – Bestsellers vs. The Classics: The "Atomic Habits" comparison 07:15 – Why we avoid "Brain Hacks" and seek the core of the issue 09:20 – The test of time: Why contemporary advice is often time-bound 12:00 – The limits of a four-year program: Why we don't read Dickens 14:10 – Math and Science: Why study "discarded" scientific notions? 16:00 – The Order of Discovery: Epistemology vs. Synthetic Textbooks 18:30 – The risk of taking science as "Revelation" 20:00 – The "Rollercoaster" of 19th Century Atomic Theory 22:30 – Being a driver of your own education through Seminar 23:45 – Freshman Math: The rigor of Euclid's Elements 25:50 – Moving beyond "Scanning": Immersion in an author's thought 27:00 – The challenge of Nietzsche: Opposed worldviews at a Catholic College 28:30 – How to take a "deeply mistaken" author seriously 30:30 – The Primacy of St. Thomas Aquinas and Aristotle 33:10 – Ranking Philosophers: The Tutorial vs. The Seminar 35:10 – Is everything a Philosophy class? 37:45 – Comparing disciplines to find a unity of Truth 40:15 – Mathematics as a habituation to objective Truth 41:40 – Intellectual Progress: Why Philosophy is not just a game 43:00 – Conclusion: The joy of well-grounded views on Truth

Modern Ruin: Decoding T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land

In this episode of The TAC Podcast, we explore one of the most influential and challenging works of modern literature: T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land." Written in the aftermath of the First World War, the poem presents a kaleidoscopic vision of a society in decay, mirroring the fragmentation of the Western tradition. We discuss the recurring themes of sterility, the breakdown of relationships between men and women, and the haunting presence of the "Unreal City." From the "cruelest month" of April to the final Sanskrit calls for peace, we examine how Eliot uses fragments of the past to shore against his ruins — and what that reveals about our own cultural landscape today. Timecode Chapters 00:00 - Introduction to T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land" 01:50 - Structure and the Five Principal Parts 02:21 - The Theme of Fragmentation and Unity 04:21 - Recurring Images: London, the Thames, and Tyreseius 06:19 - Dysfunctional Relationships and Modern Sterility 07:45 - Analysis: "April is the Cruelest Month" 10:20 - The Absence of God and the Empty Chapel 12:50 - The Fire Sermon: Rats, Decay, and Casualness 15:00 - Tyreseius as the Principle of Unity 19:50 - Intellectual Elitism vs. the Western Canon 24:20 - The Medium as the Message: Imitating Reality 28:30 - Madame Sosostris and the Tarot Cards 33:50 - St. Augustine, Carthage, and the Burning of Lust 37:10 - What the Thunder Said: The Search for Water 43:55 - The Three Commands: Datta, Dayadhvam, Damyata 50:50 - Final Thoughts: Modernity and the Value of Poetry

Slavery's Final Defeat: Race and America's Promise with Dr. Adam Seagrave | E12 The TAC Podcast

Are the writings of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass merely American, or do they belong among the great texts of the Western tradition? Dr. Adam Seagrave joins us to explore how the American founding contributes to the perennial questions of justice, freedom, and human dignity. At the center of the conversation is slavery—not only as a historical reality, but as a contradiction within the American project itself. Rather than being resolved by force alone, we examine how it was ultimately confronted at the level of principle, rooted in the claims of the Declaration of Independence. We also consider the role of divine providence in the thought of Lincoln, Douglass, and John Brown, and how their ideas about God and history helped shape the course of the nation. About the Show: The TAC Podcast offers a window into the intellectual life of Thomas Aquinas College, where students and faculty engage the great books and first principles in pursuit of truth.

Why Ancient Greeks Understood Happiness and We Don't | E11 The TAC Podcast

In this episode of The TAC Podcast, we begin our journey through one of the most influential works in Western philosophy: Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. We start at the very beginning—Book One—where Aristotle sets an extraordinary aim: to define the "human good" and discover what it is that all human beings are truly aiming at. Is happiness just a feeling, or is it something more? We discuss Aristotle's famous definition of happiness as "rational activity in accordance with virtue" and explore why he believes that living well is a practice, not just a product. We also tackle the "political" nature of man and the sobering reality of how much of our happiness is within our control—and how much is left to chance. In this episode, we cover: 00:00 – The most controversial question: What is human happiness? 04:30 – Aristotle vs. Plato: Practical goods vs. the "Good itself." 07:30 – Why the "human" part of the "human good" matters. 09:50 – Candidates for happiness: Pleasure, Wealth, Honor, and Virtue. 15:00 – Why a good upbringing is a prerequisite for ethics. 20:30 – The Function Argument: What is the "work" of a human being? 31:10 – Happiness as self-sufficient and the social nature of man. 45:10 – The role of luck and "happenstance" in a good life. Key Takeaway: "Happiness is not a state of mind, but a way of living. It is the fulfillment of our nature as rational beings, perfected through activity and virtue." If you enjoyed this deep dive into the roots of moral philosophy, make sure to Subscribe to The TAC Podcast and hit the notification bell for our upcoming episodes!