The Closing of the Western Mind

argues that the rise of Christianity in the late Roman Empire led to a suppression of rational inquiry, marking a decline in the intellectual traditions of classical Greece and Rome. Freeman, a historian of ancient culture, traces this shift from the 4th to the 6th centuries, focusing on the interplay of religious dogma and political power.

he book begins with the vibrant intellectual culture of ancient Greece, where philosophers like Plato and Aristotle prioritized reason, skepticism, and empirical inquiry. This tradition continued under Rome, despite political upheavals, until Christianity’s rise.

reeman argues that this “closing” peaked with the condemnation of classical philosophy—seen as heretical—and the destruction of libraries, such as the Serapeum in Alexandria (391 CE). By the 6th century, Emperor Justinian’s closure of Plato’s Academy in Athens (529 CE) symbolized the end of independent philosophical schools. The book contrasts this with the preservation of Greek knowledge in the Islamic world, suggesting Europe’s intellectual recovery began only with the Renaissance.

Freeman’s thesis—that Christian dogma stifled reason—has sparked debate. While he provides evidence of suppressed texts (e.g., Porphyry’s works) and intellectual purges, critics argue he overstates the decline, ignoring continuities in Roman administration and early Christian engagement with Greek thought (e.g., Origen’s synthesis of Platonism). The narrative aligns with an establishment view of a “Dark Ages” caused by religious dominance, but revisionist historians (e.g., Peter Brown) highlight vibrant late antique cultures and argue the shift was more gradual, driven by socioeconomic factors like the fall of the Western Roman Empire (476 CE). Freeman’s focus on elite theology may also overlook grassroots intellectual life, such as monastic preservation of texts.