Study Circle

JANUARY 2026 PROGRAM

Tuesdays, 7:30 PM PT
Institute of World Culture, Concord House
1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA

In-Person and via Zoom*

GOVERNMENT AND SELF-GOVERNMENT

“Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil . . . For were the impulses of conscience clear, uniform and irresistibly obeyed, man would need no other law-giver.”  – Thomas Paine

Jan 6, 2006 Hieros Logos, The Golden Verses of Pythagoras

We will begin our year with the wise, one could say axiomatic, council of Pythagoras, so that our voyage does not veer from its true course.

“Consult and deliberate before thou act, that thou may’st not commit foolish actions, for it is the part of a miserable man to speak and to act without reflection.”

Jan 13, 2026 Individuation

Chapter 6 of Parapolitics by Raghavan Iyer

“Man who man would be must rule the empire of himself.” P.B. Shelley

Jan 20, 2026   On the Decline of Society, the State, and Character

The Republic of Plato, Books VIII-IX

“Do you see, then, that there must be as many types of human character as there are forms of government? . . . So, if there are five forms of government, there must be five kinds of mental constitution among individuals.”

Jan 27, 2026 The Generous Spirit

Poetry of William Wordsworth.

“Who, with a natural instinct to discern what knowledge can perform, is diligent to learn; abides by this resolve, and stops not there, but makes his moral being his prime care.”

*Contact donna@worldculture.org for a link to join via Zoom