Sadler's Lectures

This lecture discusses the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle' work, the Poetics, focusing on his short history of the development of tragedy as a dramatic form until its main potential has been realized, focusing on multiple aspects of its ongoing development across generations of tragedians To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a direct...

This lecture discusses the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle' work, the Poetics, focusing on his discussion of the development of modes of poetic works, including comedy, tragedy, epic, dithyramb, among others. Aristotle explains that these develop out of the human capacity for mimesis or imitation, an aspect in which human beings excel other animals To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the mid-20th century symposium on falsification and theology called the "University Discussion" which can be found in the volume New Essays in Philosophical Theology It focuses specifically on Flew's last contribution to the symposium, in which he discusses whether Hare's and Mitchell's suggested parables and interpretations really do provide an adequate respo...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the mid-20th century symposium on falsification and theology called the "University Discussion" which can be found in the volume New Essays in Philosophical Theology It focuses specifically on a third parable, the agent who the resistance fighter meets, that Mitchell offers as an analogy to what goes on with religious believers when they encounter situations t...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the mid-20th century symposium on falsification and theology called the "University Discussion" which can be found in the volume New Essays in Philosophical Theology It focuses specifically on Hare's response to the challenge that Flew articulated about the "death by a thousand qualifications" when people make statements using religious language. Hare proposes...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the mid-20th century symposium on falsification and theology called the "University Discussion" which can be found in the volume New Essays in Philosophical Theology It focuses specifically on Anthony Flew's first contribution to the discussion, which starts with a revised version of John Wisdom's parable of the invisible gardener from his article Gods. Flew a...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century philosopher Karl Popper's article "Towards A Rational Theory Of Tradition", found in his book Conjectures and Refutations. It focuses specifically on his discussion of the various social functions that traditions play in human life, a significant part of which is to provide predictability. Popper also discusses why utopian and idealist plans t...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century philosopher Karl Popper's article "Towards A Rational Theory Of Tradition", found in his book Conjectures and Refutations. It focuses specifically on his distinction between traditions and institutions within social life, and how individuals interact with and are often conditioned by both of them To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon si...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century philosopher Karl Popper's article "Towards A Rational Theory Of Tradition", found in his book Conjectures and Refutations. It focuses specifically on what he thinks the key tasks of social science or theory are. Among these are studying the unintended and often undesired consequences of human choices, actions, and policies. Another important t...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century philosopher Karl Popper's article "Towards A Rational Theory Of Tradition", found in his book Conjectures and Refutations. It focuses specifically on his discussion of how science develops historically. Popper does not think that observation and the "scientific method" taught in classes and textbooks is really at the core of what science is an...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century philosopher Karl Popper's article "Towards A Rational Theory Of Tradition", found in his book Conjectures and Refutations. It focuses specifically on the differing attitudes towards tradition that he distinguishes. These include an uncritical acceptance and advocacy of tradition but also a type of rationalism uncritically hostile to tradition...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca's work, On Anger, book 3 It focuses specifically on his advice that, if we want to better deal with our emotional response of anger, place it into perspective by considering our own mortality as human beings. To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a direct contributi...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca's work, On Anger, book 2 It focuses specifically on his discussion of famous people who showed restraint and thoughtfulness in relation to their own anger, keeping it under rational control. These include statesmen and political leaders like Antigonus and Philip of Macedon, Augustus Caesar, and Cato the younger, and philoso...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca's work, On Anger, book 2 It focuses specifically on his discussion of famous people who manage their anger badly, providing us with examples of how not to behave. These include Persian kings like Cyrus, Cambyses, Darius, and Xerxes, Greeks such as Alexander of Macedon, and Romans like Sulla and Caligula To support my ongoin...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca's work, On Anger, book 3 It focuses specifically on his advice that, when we start getting angry, we pay attention to our bodily expression of that emotion, and deliberately lessen or restrict that expression, with the result that we will become less angry To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca's work, On Anger, book 2 and 3 It focuses specifically on his discussions in books 2 and 3 about using delay or postponement to head off anger in oneself or in others. To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a direct contribution, you can do so here - www.paypal.me/Re...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca's work, On Anger, book 2 It focuses specifically on how children can be raised so that they will not get angry as easily or perhaps even not at all To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a direct contribution, you can do so here - www.paypal.me/ReasonIO - or at BuyMe...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca's work, On Anger, book 2 It focuses specifically on a practice he thinks can be used to restrain anger, namely considering the ugliness of the emotion of anger, as shown in our faces, voices, and bodies. Here are some of the passages mentioned: To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If yo...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca's work, On Anger, book 2 It focuses specifically on his discussion of petty and trivial matters that tend to make people angry, and why we should not allow these to get to us. To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a direct contribution, you can do so here - www.payp...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca's work, On Anger, book 2 It focuses specifically on his discussion of how the perception of unfairness or injustice of harm to us can easily lead us into getting angry, and what we can do to counter this. To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a direct contribution,...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca's work, On Anger, book 1 It focuses specifically on on whether the emotion of anger is a sign or effect of the virtue of great-spiritedness or magnanimity, which Stoics consider to be one of the sub-virtues of courage To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a direct c...

This lecture discusses the essay by the science fiction and fantasy author, Ursula K. Leguin, "About Anger, found in her book No Time To Spare: Thinking About What Matters. It discusses Leguin's reflections on the conditions in which anger can be a useful emotion in public, political, and private life, and on the dangers of treating anger uncritically as if it is always something good for dealing...

This lecture discusses the science fiction and fantasy author, Ursula K. Leguin's short story, "The Word of Unbinding", which can be found in her book The Wind's Twelve Quarters The Rule of Names takes place in her Earthsea narrative universe. We discuss the characters, the plot, and several key aspects of the Earthsea setting. To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sa...

This lecture discusses the science fiction and fantasy author, Ursula K. Leguin's short story, "The Rule of Names", which can be found in her book The Wind's Twelve Quarters The Rule of Names takes place in her Earthsea narrative universe. We discuss the characters, the plot, and several key aspects of the Earthsea setting. To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century philosophical short story writer, essayist, and poet Jorge Luis Borges's story "The Secret Miracle" which can be found in Collected Fictions. It focuses on the author Jaromir Hladík who is captured by the Nazis in their invasion of Czechoslovakia, and sentenced to death. Desiring to finish his play The Enemies, which he hopes will vindicate hi...