608Z Fall 2026 Six Exceptional Human Beings For Us to Get to Know Better

This course will focus in depth on the lives and historic/philosophical impacts of six famous yet not-so-well-known historical figures: explorer-naturalist Alexander von Humboldt; pacifist-activist Mohandas Gandhi; poet-philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche along with composer-collaborator Frederick Delius; and naturalist-activists John Muir and Aldo Leopold. The aim of the course is to focus in depth on the original works of these brilliant minds and ponder how much their ideas may or may not have permeated our culture today. These lectures were originally presented as Sunday platform talks at the Northern Virginia Ethical Society.

David Roberts holds BA, Ph.D., and MPH degrees. He has taught and done chemistry at Rutgers, Fordham, and Howard universities. His primary focus was peptide synthesis. He also worked at nonprofit companies MITRE and Noblis here in the D.C. area for 39 years.