Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

---

We read part of The Dialectic of Enlightenment (1944), specifically the parts about Homer's epic as an allegory for the merely apparent triumph of modernism (capitalism, instrumental reason) over myth (savagery, magical thinking).

Read along with us: archive.org/details/pdfy-TJ7HxrAly-MtUP4B/page/n9/mode/2up: The "Excursus" on Odysseus starts on p. 35, but we quickly backtrack to the first mention of him on p. 25.

Subscribe to Closereads: Philosophy with Mark and Wes at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy, where you can get further discussions about this reading and everything else we've recorded.