Sadler's Lectures

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient philosopher Aristotle's work of moral theory, the Nicomachean Ethics Specifically it focuses on book 5 of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (and there is a parallel discussion in book 1 of the Rhetoric), where Aristotle distinguishes degrees of responsibility for bad or harmful actions (between mischances, errors, and actually unjust acts) and discuss...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient philosopher Aristotle's work of moral theory, the Nicomachean Ethics Specifically it focuses on book 3 of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, where he discusses five states or conditions that resemble courage, but which are not genuine courage, in book 3. To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a...

This lecture discusses the science fiction and fantasy author, Ursula K. Leguin's essay, From Elfland To Poughkeepsie, found in her essay collection The Language of the Night It discusses the nature of genuinely valuable fantasy literature, particularly in relation to style, as opposed to literature that while it might be classified as "fantasy" doesn't measure up. To support my ongoing work, go t...

This lecture discusses the science fiction and fantasy author, Ursula K. Leguin's book, Tales From Earthsea, the fifth of six Earthsea books It focuses specifically on the story "The Finder", and focuses specifically on the decision by the Women of the Hand at Roke Isle to end their strategy of seclusion and to seek out worthy students of magic from the other isles of Earthsea To support my ongoin...

This lecture discusses the science fiction and fantasy author, Ursula K. Leguin's book, Tales From Earthsea, the fifth of six Earthsea books It focuses specifically on the story "The Finder," and examines the development of the community of mostly women magic users on the Isle of Roke, which has isolated itself from the rest of Earthsea, leaving behind the remnants of the Hand outside of Roke. To...

This lecture discusses the science fiction and fantasy author, Ursula K. Leguin's book, Tales From Earthsea, the fifth of six Earthsea books It focuses specifically on the story "The Finder", specifically Otter/Medra's and Anieb's escape from the mercury mining and refining complex, and from its ruler, the evil wizard Gelluk. Anieb helps Medra resist and trick Gelluk, and gives the last of her str...

This lecture discusses the science fiction and fantasy author, Ursula K. Leguin's book, Tales From Earthsea, the fifth of six Earthsea books It focuses specifically on the story "The Finder", specifically how Medra/Otter is taken from his parents and placed as a slave in the service of the evil, and insane wizard Gelluk, who thinks mercury is the key to all magic. To support my ongoing work, go to...

This lecture discusses the science fiction and fantasy author, Ursula K. Leguin's book, Tales From Earthsea, the fifth of six Earthsea books It focuses specifically on the story "The Finder," and focuses on Leguin's depiction of Earthsea in its "dark times" hundreds of years before the narratives of the first four books, when Earthsea was divided politically, and the strong preyed upon and exploit...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the modern empiricist philosopher David Hume' Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding It focuses specifically on his discussion in section 1 of the work, specifically the range of matters that moral philosophy, as Hume understands it, studies, which includes not just ethics, but also human psychology, motivations, the emotions, and ways in which we acquire and...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the modern empiricist philosopher David Hume' Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding It focuses specifically on his discussion in section 1 of the work, specifically where Hume notes that too many people in his time wish to reject "metaphysics" entirely, leading him to plead the case of metaphysics, providing justifications for why at least some people ought t...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the modern empiricist philosopher David Hume' Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding It focuses specifically on his discussion in section 1 of the work, specifically the distinction Hume makes from the very first paragraph between two different modes of engaging in moral philosophy. One of these is what he calls "easy" and "obvious" philosophy, intended for th...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero's work, On The Nature Of The Gods, which critically examines Epicurean, Stoic, and Skeptic perspectives on matters of theology and cosmology Specifically it examines the academic skeptic Cotta's criticism of the Epicurean position on the gods, which he charges not only with being wrong about them, but...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero's work, On The Nature Of The Gods, which critically examines Epicurean, Stoic, and Skeptic perspectives on matters of theology and cosmology Specifically it examines the criticisms made in book 1 by the academic skeptic Cotta against the Epicurean argument from common consent made earlier by Velleius....

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero's work, On The Nature Of The Gods, which critically examines Epicurean, Stoic, and Skeptic perspectives on matters of theology and cosmology Specifically it examines the academic skeptic Cotta's criticisms of the Epicurean position on the gods as being incoherent, holding to a metaphysical atomism and...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero's work, On The Nature Of The Gods, which critically examines Epicurean, Stoic, and Skeptic perspectives on matters of theology and cosmology Specifically it examines the academic skeptic Cotta's criticisms of the Epicurean perspective on the divine, which claim and argue that the gods must have a form...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero's work, On The Nature Of The Gods, which critically examines Epicurean, Stoic, and Skeptic perspectives on matters of theology and cosmology Specifically it examines the Epicurean Velleius' contention that Epicureanism provides the correct view on the gods and religion without superstition, and the ac...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero's work, On The Nature Of The Gods, which critically examines Epicurean, Stoic, and Skeptic perspectives on matters of theology and cosmology Specifically it examines the presentation of the Epicurean position on the divine by Velleius, who develops this in part by examining the preconceptions (proleip...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero's work, On The Nature Of The Gods, which critically examines Epicurean, Stoic, and Skeptic perspectives on matters of theology and cosmology Specifically it examines the argument that the Epicurean Velleius puts forward for the existence of the gods, often called the "argument from common consent". Th...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero's work, On The Nature Of The Gods, which critically examines Epicurean, Stoic, and Skeptic perspectives on matters of theology and cosmology Specifically it examines the Epicurean Velleius' criticisms of the Stoic school's viewpoints on the divine, specifically mentioning Zeno (the founder of the scho...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero's work, On The Nature Of The Gods, which critically examines Epicurean, Stoic, and Skeptic perspectives on matters of theology and cosmology Specifically it the Epicurean Velleius' criticisms of various ancient philosophers viewpoints on the divine. These include a number of pre-Socratics, such as: Th...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero's work, On The Nature Of The Gods, which critically examines Epicurean, Stoic, and Skeptic perspectives on matters of theology and cosmology Specifically it examines the very first parts of the work in book 1, where Cicero discusses his own motivations for writing this work, and the larger project he...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero's work, On The Nature Of The Gods, which critically examines Epicurean, Stoic, and Skeptic perspectives on matters of theology and cosmology Specifically it examines the overall structure of the dialogue, and the characters involved, who are representatives of three important schools of ancient philos...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the Medieval philosopher, theologian, and Benedictine monk Anselm of Canterbury's dialogue, On Freedom of Choice (the second work in a trilogy including On Truth and On The Fall of the Devil) It focuses specifically on his discussion in chapter 5 of the work, explaining how a person can choose something both willingly and unwillingly. To support my ongoing wor...

This lecture discusses the medieval Christian thinker, monk, and bishop, Anselm of Canterbury's work, the Proslogion, and focuses on his exploration in the final three chapters the work (the first of which he calls a "speculation" or "conjectatio"), of what the ultimate good would be for human beings, and the components of that ultimate good. These include beauty, swiftness or strength of the body...

This lecture discusses the medieval Christian thinker, monk, and bishop, Anselm of Canterbury's work, the Proslogion, and focuses on his discussion in chapters 19, 20, and 21 in which he continues his examination of God's eternity, which he contrasts against that of other eternal things. To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a direct contr...