Robert Putnam on Darwin, Tocqueville, and Rabbi Sacks
How two voyages of discovery in 1831 are astonishingly relevant today: An unexpected encounter with Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
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In January 2023, Bar-Ilan University held an international conference entitled Rabbi, Professor, Lord: A Conference in Honour of Jonathan Sacks. With renowned academic speakers, the conference focused on the theme of Jewish Philosophy.
The keynote speaker was Professor Robert D. Putnam from Harvard University. He addressed over 1000 people, noting something he and Rabbi Sacks independently discovered and shared in the past: the parallel voyages of Alexis de Tocqueville and Charles Darwin in 1831, and the impact of those journeys on the world, even to this day.
Professor Putnam shared that we he first began examining the link between these two voyages, he discovered that the only other person ever to explore this was Rabbi Sacks himself. Yet the impact of these two journeys, and the fascinating parallels between them, offer fascinating insights into understanding our world today.
View the full programme here:

More Bar-Ilan 2023 Lectures

Tova Ganzel's Lecture at the Bar-Ilan Conference

Yafit Clymer at the Bar-Ilan Conference

Jessica Sacks’ Lecture at the Bar-Ilan Conference

Raphael Zarum at the Bar-Ilan Conference

Avinoam Rosenak at the Bar-Ilan Conference

Tanya White on Rabbi Sacks' Jewish Philosophy

Daniel Rynhold on Rabbi Sacks' Jewish Philosophy

Alon Goshen Gottstein at the Bar-Ilan Conference

President Yitzhak Herzog introduces the Bar-Ilan Conference

A Welcome by Miriam Feldmann Kaye

Zehavit Gross at the Bar-Ilan Conference

Micha Goodman's Concluding Lecture at the Rabbi Sacks Bar-Ilan Conference

Moshe Hellinger on Rabbi Sacks' Jewish Philosophy

Reuven Leigh's Lecture at the Bar-Ilan Conference

Ruth Halperin-Kaddari on Rabbi Sacks' Jewish Philosophy

Barbara Meir at the Bar-Ilan Conference

Ephraim Meir at the Bar-Ilan Conference

Eugene Korn on Rabbi Sacks' Jewish Philosophy

Tzachi Cohen on Rabbi Sacks' Jewish Philosophy

Lawrence Kaplan on Rabbi Sacks' Jewish Philosophy

Miri Freud Kandel on Rabbi Sacks' Jewish Philosophy

Hava Tirosh Samuelson's Lecture at the Bar-Ilan Conference
