“Knowledge, the Enlightenment believed, could protect us from the follies of ideology. But John Ralston Saul maintains that ‘knowing’ has not made us ‘conscious.’ Instead we have become increasingly passive, our society increasingly conformist. There are no easy solutions to this problem, Saul says, but change is still possible.”

In celebration of Massey College’s 60th anniversary, JRS was invited to revisit these ideas from his 1995 CBC Massey Lectures ”The Unconscious Civilization.” His talk was followed by an audience Q&A.

You can listen to all five parts of “The Unconscious Civilization” lectures on CBC Ideas.

“The Unconscious Civilization” was also turned into a book, published through House of Anansi Press.

 

October 17, 2023 – JRS reflects on his 1995 CBC Massey Lectures ”The Unconscious Civilization”