Food for Thought Policy Lecture Series - Babylonian Modes of Thought and the Scientific Imagination
From concepts of time to astronomy, mathematics, and technology, ancient Babylonians have long been considered pioneers of the ancient world. But what distinguished ancient Babylonian thinking from that of other cultures?
In this talk, we will explore the unusual history of how and why Babylonian knowledge—or, a creative rendering of a “Babylonian mode of thought”—manifested in the works of John Maynard Keynes, Jorge Luis Borges, and Richard Feynman, among others. Using letters, lectures, and short stories from these 20th century figures we will recount the vivid history of how a "Babylonian mode of thought” inspired the scientific and literary imagination.
Zoom link will be emailed upon registration.
