An expert on political theory spoke about the development of modern thought Wednesday in the Gilbert Cyber Cafe.

Carl Pletsch is a GSIS adjunct professor and professor of history at CU-Denver. He lectured on three political theorists of the 17th century, John Locke, Baruch Spinoza and Thomas Hobbes.

He explained how each theorist created a revolution and how ancient and authoritative texts, such as the works of Aristotle and the Bible, were read and understood during the time.

“There’s a quote by Galileo that goes along the lines that the hand of God is only obscurely evident in authoritative texts,” said Pletsch. “Meanwhile, it’s extremely evident in nature.”

“These men encouraged people to not just read the texts, but observe nature,” he added. “Nature was like a book for them.”

Pletsch emphasized that at the time, texts of authority were read and interpreted, but nature was largely ignored.

He said that Locke, Hobbes and Spinoza were integral in bringing about trends wherein nature was regarded as highly as these authoritative texts.

“Ironically, these men all wrote books about this,” said Pletsch. “And today, we read those books and ignore nature.”

In all, about 15 people attended, including faculty and students.

“This is the first in a series of lectures,” said second year Ph.D student Joel Pruce, who is currently studying political theory and human rights at GSIS. Pruce also helped to organize the event.

“We plan to have similar lectures once a month for the rest of the school year.”

This series, originally conceived by GSIS professor Micheline Ishay, is intended to ignite political awareness and curiosity across the campus.

“We want to spark interest among students,” said Pruce. “We’ll be featuring in-house scholar, adjunct professors, and faculty throughout the year.”

“We really want to develop connections between students and faculty in this field,” Pruce added.

In attendance at the event were not only students, but also many faculty members involved in similar fields.

The lecture series is slated to take place in the Gilbert Cyber Cafe on the third Wednesday of every month, with the exception of November due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

Snacks will be made available to those attending, as will wine for those of age.