Bruce Thornton
Encyclopedia
Bruce S. Thornton is a classicist
at California State University, Fresno
. He has written for many publications, published several books, and appeared at numerous media venues. He lives in Fresno
with his wife and two sons. He is currently a research fellow and W. Glenn Campbell and Rita Ricardo-Campbell National Fellow (2009-2010 and 2010-2011) at Stanford University
's Hoover Institution
.
in Latin
from the University of California at Los Angeles
in 1975. He received a PhD
in Comparative Literature
from the University of California at Los Angeles
in 1983. He had studied Greek, Latin, and English literature for his doctorate.
Thornton is a frequent guest on talk radio shows across the United States. He has lectured at the Smithsonian Institution
in Washington, D.C.
He also appeared regularly on ABC
's Politically Incorrect
with Bill Maher
. Thornton is a regular contributor to the conservative website CaliforniaRepublic.org as well.
He has written for numerous publications such as National Review Online, Heterodoxy, The National Herald, The Washington Times
, The Los Angeles Times, Helios Magazine, Arion
, The Jewish Press
, The San Francisco Examiner
, The American Enterprise
, The University Bookman, Religious Studies Review
, Intercollegiate Review, The American Journal of Philology, City Journal
, and FrontPage Magazine. Thornton has also written several well received books.
. He is an admirer of historian and author Christopher Dawson
. He also subscribes to the 'Athens versus Jerusalem' thesis of Leo Strauss
, in which the interplay between classical Greek
ideologies of rationality
and the Judaeo-Christian spiritual philosophies resulted in the creation of Western civilization.
Thornton believes that the declining belief in interpersonal ideals such as national pride
and in religious ideals such as Christianity
has led non-American Westerners
to either substitute "political religions" such as communism
and fascism
into their lives or abandon having moral ideals altogether. This, in his opinion, weakens them against pressure from threats such as increasing immigration to Europe by Muslims that have higher birth rates than native Europeans. He has said, "If all of their goods are material, right, what material good is worth dying for and what material good is worth killing for?"
Thornton is a strong critic of the Obama administration
. He wrote on February 10, 2009:
Classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...
at California State University, Fresno
California State University, Fresno
California State University, Fresno, often referred to as Fresno State University and synonymously known in athletics as Fresno State , is one of the leading campuses of the California State University system, located at the northeast edge of Fresno, California, USA.The campus sits at the foot of...
. He has written for many publications, published several books, and appeared at numerous media venues. He lives in Fresno
Fresno
Fresno is the fifth largest city in California.Fresno may also refer to:-Places:Colombia* Fresno, TolimaSpain* Fresno, a ghost village in Nidáliga, Valle de Sedano, Burgos* Aldea del Fresno, Madrid* Fresno de la Vega, Ribera del Esla, León...
with his wife and two sons. He is currently a research fellow and W. Glenn Campbell and Rita Ricardo-Campbell National Fellow (2009-2010 and 2010-2011) at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
's Hoover Institution
Hoover Institution
The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace is a public policy think tank and library founded in 1919 by then future U.S. president, Herbert Hoover, an early alumnus of Stanford....
.
Career
Thornton received a Bachelor of ArtsBachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
from the University of California at Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
in 1975. He received a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Comparative Literature
Comparative literature
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups...
from the University of California at Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
in 1983. He had studied Greek, Latin, and English literature for his doctorate.
Thornton is a frequent guest on talk radio shows across the United States. He has lectured at the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
He also appeared regularly on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Politically Incorrect
Politically Incorrect
Politically Incorrect is a late-night, half-hour political talk show hosted by Bill Maher that ran from 1993 to 2002. It premiered on Comedy Central from 1993 to 1997, and later on ABC in 1997, which cancelled it in 2002....
with Bill Maher
Bill Maher
William "Bill" Maher, Jr. is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author and actor. Before his current role as the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called Politically Incorrect originally on Comedy Central and...
. Thornton is a regular contributor to the conservative website CaliforniaRepublic.org as well.
He has written for numerous publications such as National Review Online, Heterodoxy, The National Herald, The Washington Times
The Washington Times
The Washington Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, and until 2010 was owned by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate associated with the...
, The Los Angeles Times, Helios Magazine, Arion
Arion (journal)
Arion is a journal of humanities and the classics published at Boston University. The editor-in-chief is Herbert Golder, a professor of classics at BU.Originally founded in the 1960s at the University of Texas, Arion was revived by Golder in 1990...
, The Jewish Press
The Jewish Press
The Jewish Press is an American weekly newspaper, geared toward the Modern Orthodox Jewish community. It describes itself as "America's Largest Independent Jewish Weekly." The newspaper has a politically conservative viewpoint and editorial policy....
, The San Francisco Examiner
The San Francisco Examiner
The San Francisco Examiner is a U.S. daily newspaper. It has been published continuously in San Francisco, California, since the late 19th century.-19th century:...
, The American Enterprise
The American Enterprise
The American Enterprise was a public policy magazine published by the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. Its editorial stance was politically conservative, generally advocating free-market economics and a neoconservative U.S. foreign policy.The magazine was published approximately...
, The University Bookman, Religious Studies Review
Religious Studies Review
Religious Studies Review is the journal of the Council of Societies for the Study of Religion , which is based at Rice University. The journal is published quarterly by Wiley-Blackwell....
, Intercollegiate Review, The American Journal of Philology, City Journal
City Journal
City Journal is a quarterly magazine, published by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, a conservative think tank based in New York City. Its current editor is Brian C. Anderson. Myron Magnet, its editor from 1994 to 2006, is now editor-at-large. Many City Journal articles focus on urban...
, and FrontPage Magazine. Thornton has also written several well received books.
Personal views
Thornton has described his opinions as opposed to the dominant, mainstream historical tradition about the EnlightenmentAge of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
. He is an admirer of historian and author Christopher Dawson
Christopher Dawson
Christopher Henry Dawson was a British independent scholar, who wrote many books on cultural history and Christendom. Christopher H. Dawson has been called "the greatest English-speaking Catholic historian of the twentieth century".-Life:...
. He also subscribes to the 'Athens versus Jerusalem' thesis of Leo Strauss
Leo Strauss
Leo Strauss was a political philosopher and classicist who specialized in classical political philosophy. He was born in Germany to Jewish parents and later emigrated to the United States...
, in which the interplay between classical Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
ideologies of rationality
Rationality
In philosophy, rationality is the exercise of reason. It is the manner in which people derive conclusions when considering things deliberately. It also refers to the conformity of one's beliefs with one's reasons for belief, or with one's actions with one's reasons for action...
and the Judaeo-Christian spiritual philosophies resulted in the creation of Western civilization.
Thornton believes that the declining belief in interpersonal ideals such as national pride
Patriotism
Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...
and in religious ideals such as Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
has led non-American Westerners
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
to either substitute "political religions" such as communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
into their lives or abandon having moral ideals altogether. This, in his opinion, weakens them against pressure from threats such as increasing immigration to Europe by Muslims that have higher birth rates than native Europeans. He has said, "If all of their goods are material, right, what material good is worth dying for and what material good is worth killing for?"
Thornton is a strong critic of the Obama administration
Presidency of Barack Obama
The Presidency of Barack Obama began at noon EST on January 20, 2009 when he became the 44th President of the United States. Obama was a United States Senator from Illinois at the time of his victory over Arizona Senator John McCain in the 2008 presidential election...
. He wrote on February 10, 2009:
Books
- Eros: The Myth of Ancient Greek Sexuality (Westview Press, 1997)
- Plagues of the Mind: The New Epidemic of False Knowledge (ISI Books, 1999)
- Greek Ways: How the Greeks Created Western Civilization (Encounter Books, 2000)
- Humanities Handbook (Prentice-Hall, 2000)
- Bonfire of the Humanities. Rescuing the Classics in an Impoverished Age, with John Heath and Victor Davis HansonVictor Davis HansonVictor Davis Hanson is an American military historian, columnist, political essayist and former classics professor, notable as a scholar of ancient warfare. He has been a commentator on modern warfare and contemporary politics for National Review and other media outlets...
(ISI Books, 2001) - Searching for Joaquin: Myth and History in California (Encounter Books, 2003)
- Decline and Fall: Europe's Slow Motion Suicide (Encounter Books, 2008)
- The Wages of Appeasement: Ancient Athens, Munich, and Obama’s America (Encounter Books, 2011) ISBN 1594035199
External links
- "An interview with Bruce S. Thornton". My Greek Odyssey. Posted 20 March 2007.