released 8/27/2026
In this July 2026 lecture, Darrell Falconbourg explains the tensions inherent in the word “revolution,” which in the classical sense meant a return to an origin and in modernity means a total rupture with the past. Falconbourg argues that the founding of the American republic must be understood in the former sense, a revolution that aimed at the restoration of freedoms already possessed and which was ordered by reality and virtue. He contrasts this with the French Revolution, which destroyed its institutions and social bonds in the name of an abstract freedom. Drawing on the thought of Russell Kirk, Falconbourg explains why this understanding is important for educators, who are concerned with passing on “the permanent things.”
The full title of this lecture is “To Preserve an Inheritance: The Meanings of Revolution and the Teacher’s Task.” It is provided courtesy of the CiRCE Institute.
41 minutes
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