Josh Bowman welcomes Albert Norton back to the show. Bert is a practicing attorney and author of several books on the tension between religion and postmodernism. Today, we specifically consider how understanding this tension might inform the life of modern churches and intellectual discipleship.

His most recent book is The Discovered Self, concerning what he regards as a dangerous inward turn to the therapeutic worldview. We previously discussed his 2023 book, The Mountain and the River: Genesis, Postmodernism, and the Machine, in Episode 40. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXdva8y7ghs&list=PL1B7f66VCvfZnkwh_UjXjhXEg5P8dUq0q&index=32

Our conversation addresses themes of postmodernism, universals and particulars, ideology, totalitarianism, fascism, epistemology, Christian intellectuals in the church, and much more.

Bert’s substack, “Sir Toast” - https://albertnorton.substack.com/

The Mountain and the River - https://www.amazon.com/Mountain-River-Genesis-Postmodernism-Machine/dp/1943003815?ref_=ast_author_dp

The Discovered Self - https://www.amazon.com/Discovered-Self-Identity-Therapeutic-Age-ebook/dp/B0F1V4LL7B?ref_=ast_author_dp

Check out Bert’s reflections on the 2025 Ciceronian Society conference here: https://albertnorton.substack.com/p/the-ciceronian-society

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The 2026 Ciceronian Society Conference will be held March 12-14 at Creighton University in Omaha, NE.

To learn more about us, our events, this Podcast, our journal, Pietas, to sign up for our newsletter, and to make your tax deductible gift, please go to https://ciceroniansociety.org/

This special episode is an excerpt from a panel at our 2025 annual conference in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

The panel title was "Philip Rieff: Cultural Conflict, Religion and the Self." After a prayer and brief introduction, we hear the following speakers.

First, Michael Harding of Montgomery College, with "Rieff’s Use of Nietzsche in Deathworks."

Second, William Batchelder of Waynesburg University, on "The Impossibility of Charisma in the Modern Context."

Third, Ethan Alexander-Davey of Campbell University, with "The Role of Elites in Formation and Deformation."

Fourth, Albert Norton, independent scholar, on "Identity in the Therapeutic Age."

Following the fourth speaker is a 13 minute question and answer period.

Mr. Norton was interviewed in Episode 40 of The Sower, and Drs. Harding and Batchelder most recently appeared in Episode 69, an introduction to the work of Philip Rieff. Dr. Alexander-Davey is an occasional host of The Sower. Dr. Anadale's YouTube channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/@ChristopherAnadale

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider attending our March 2026 annual conference, in Omaha, Nebraska. For details, go to https://ciceroniansociety.org/.

0:00 Episode Introduction (Anadale)
2:17 Panel Introduction (Batchelder)
5:38 Nietzsche (Harding)
31:52 Charisma (Batchelder)
50:34 Elites (Alexander-Davey)
1:05:02 Identity (Norton)
1:19:01 Q&A

• (00:00:00) - Episode Introduction (Anadale)
• (00:02:17) - Panel Introduction (Batchelder)
• (00:05:38) - Nietzsche (Harding)
• (00:31:52) - Charisma (Batchelder)
• (00:50:34) - Elites (Alexander-Davey)
• (01:05:02) - Identity (Norton)
• (01:19:01) - Q&A

Еthan Alexander-Davey and Glenn Cronin discuss the life and work of Lev Tikhomirov, who, in his mid thirties, abandoned revolutionary terrorism to become one of the most prominent defenders of the Russian Monarchy and Orthodox Christianity. The conversation focuses on Dr. Cronin’s recent book The Enduring Enigma of Lev Tikhomirov, which surveys the writer’s major works on revolutionary ideology, monarchical government, and the theological roots of the horrors of the 20th century.

Books (in English) mentioned in the podcast:

Works by Glenn Cronin

The Enduring Enigma of Lev Tikhomirov, https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501783449/the-enduring-enigma-of-lev-tikhomirov/#bookTabs=1

Disenchanted Wanderer:The Apocalyptic Vision of Konstantin Leontiev, https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501760181/disenchanted-wanderer/

Works (in English translation) by Lev Tikhomirov

Why I Ceased to be a Revolutionary | Beginnings and Ends, trans. by K. Benois, https://www.amazon.com/Why-Ceased-Revolutionary-Beginnings-Ends/dp/B08LNJKZ96/

That’s it so far. If anyone would like to pay Dr. Cronin or Dr. Alexander-Davey a lot of money to translate Tikhomirov’s major works on monarchy and history, please reach out.

Other books mentioned:

Fatal Purity: Robespierre and the French Revolution, https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781466805781/fatalpurity/

Thomas Hobbes, Behemoth: Or the Long Parliament, https://archive.org/details/cu31924028063893/page/n156/mode/2up

Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon: A brief view and survey of the dangerous and pernicious errors to church and state, in Mr. Hobbes's book, entitled Leviathan, https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A33236.0001.001/1:5?rgn=div1&view=fulltext

History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, https://archive.org/details/historyofrebelli01clar/page/n19/mode/2up

Herbert Spencer, Man versus the State, chapter 2, “The Coming Slavery”, https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/spencer-the-man-versus-the-state-1885-ed