Why the Ortelian Society?
“Alles, was tief ist, liebt die Maske.” — Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil
Classical Education breeds human flourishing. Since the Ancients, Western Civilization’s greatest leaders and thinkers held the Classical understanding of humanity as the foundation for their broader education. A Classical Education is a precondition for the cultivation of virtuous individuals, individuals who might lead our world through a transformative moment. By creating the Ortelian Society (OS), we provide the next generation of minds with a platform for furthering their own Classical Education within the context of a pre-professional institution like Northeastern University.
While our namesake Abraham Ortelius helped the Early Moderns navigate the world by creating the first global map, we are creating and disseminating an intellectual compass for the Late Modern Era. We found ourselves dissatisfied with the assumptions and scope of the curricula supported by the liberal arts programs. However, we recognize many of these disciplines—in their original conception—are essential to a responsible understanding of humanity.
The OS devotes itself to the investigation of the heterodox ideas underexplored or altogether ignored by the wider liberal arts programs (including both the sciences and humanities; Darwin and climate change deserve as much opposition as the progressive orthodoxy underlying the humanities). Our aim is to cultivate genuinely independent thinkers who will grow into virtuous leaders.
