Main letstalkphilosophy channel

Regarded as one of the most influential English figures of the 17th century, Thomas Hobbes undoubtedly helped to shape the western philosophic tradition, most notably in the realm of politics with his seminal work "The Leviathan". I would be remis...

Here we will travel back to the year 1150 of the common era in order that we may illuminate one who is perhaps the most influential figure of Islamic philosophy. He was known to his people as Abu al-Walid Muhammad ibn Rushd and to the western phil...

The philosophy of Giordano Bruno was unique for the Neoplatonic and Aristotelian dominated era during which it was conceived. Its uniqueness derives from its ability to combine metaphysics, physics, psychology, and ethics into a philosophy that, w...

There were many memorable names among the Presocratic philosophers; Democritus, Heraclitus, Pythagoras, Parmenides, Empedocles; to name a few, but first among them, we are told, is Thales. Who is the "First European Philosopher", and what set him ...

The legacy and influence of Aristotle has been almost without comparison in the history of European philosophy, so much so that deviating from his thought during the Middle Ages would have been met with animosity and ridicule. His reign of “over a...

My apologies for the faulty frame size of the video, though I hope you are able to enjoy it regardless. I hope to bring some advice from "Seneca's Letters From a Stoic" regarding adversity and what might be done to overcome it. Much, but not al...

What would a largely deterministic society look and behave like? Would it be, as some imagine, a more merciful and just society, or as some others suppose, a veritable wasteland where lawless immorality, cruelty, and hopelessness reign supreme? In...

What did a great and wise man such as Spinoza think of human suffering? There are many complexities in the philosophy of Spinoza which can make understanding this question difficult at times, and I am sure after this video more reading will be nec...

Who was the most memorable man around during the Golden Age of Athens? Should we name "the artist" Plato or maybe even "the encyclopedia" Aristotle, no, It can be only one, the outlandish Diogenes of Sinope otherwise known by the moniker "Diogenes...

When European Philosophy emerged from the 18th century it was enveloped in what can only be called a metaphysical fog. Adrift, and perhaps way off course, there came a light, one which gave hope of one day returning from our long voyage on this sp...

"De te fabula narratur" --- "Of you the story is told" as was said by the Roman poet Horace. If we would like to understand the endless flow of daily events, determine their significance, and come to feel “the basic currents underlying surface mov...

In 1933 there was an address given by the Pulitzer Prize winning historian and philosopher Will Durant, and any of you who have seen much of the videos I’ve published will know the admiration I hold for this great mind. He seemed to be speaking on...

For John Dewey there was nothing as important as education, not only on an individual level, but also on the societal. He was a champion of democracy and longed to see it thrive, but in order for this to occur he knew that we must first take the n...

Among the great philosophers of history Baruch Spinoza is perhaps the most lovable, this because not only was he a gifted philosopher, but also a saint who thoroughly lived the Ethics that he wrote. This begs the question, why was he so reviled th...

William James came into the American Philosophical tradition during a time period where it yearned for an intellectual voice which it could call its own. It’s not that there were no other great philosophic minds present at the time of his ascensio...

While the 18th century most certainly belonged to the likes of Voltaire and Hume, the 19th belonged to the immensely influential philosophy of Immanuel Kant. I will not attempt to cover all of this man’s immensely complex philosophy in just one...

There are, in the history of philosophy, very few who have reached the level of notoriety as Niccolo Machiavelli. Here was a man who failed in just about everything throughout his lifetime, but succeeded, nonetheless, in adding his name to the lis...

The Presocratic philosopher Democritus couldn't help but laugh at the follies of mankind, this propensity would gain him the moniker "the laughing philosopher." Join me in discovering perhaps the most profound philosopher prior to Pericelan Greece...

Voltaire, the man whose pen defined the French revolution, the philosophy that brought the masses out of the ignorance and superstition that engulfed the 18th century. Voltaire was many things during his life (1694-1778). This video will focus on ...