Sadler's Lectures

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century fantasy and science fiction writer, Philip Jose Farmer's novella The Lovers (which can be found anthologized in his Strange Relations It discusses the narrative setting for the novella, specifically the aftermath of the "Apocalyptic War", in which a virus killed most of humanity globally. After the pandemic, communities of survivors repopulate...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century fantasy and science fiction writer, Philip Jose Farmer's novella The Lovers (which can be found anthologized in his Strange Relations It discusses whether and how that work "broke the taboo" on sex in science fiction when it was published in 1952. To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the modern philosopher Thomas Hobbes' work Leviathan It focuses specifically on his discussion in chapters 15 and 26. In chapter 15, after having enumerated and explained the majority of the "laws of nature", which Hobbes notes correspond to various virtues, he claims that the science of the laws of nature, of virtue and vice, and of good and bad, is the "true...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century philosophical short story writer, essayist, and poet Jorge Luis Borges's story "Pierre Menard, Author Of The Quixote" which can be found in Collected Fictions. If focuses specifically on the main portion of the story, where the author discusses Pierre Menard's "other, subterranean, interminably heroic production", namely that of writing the Do...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century philosophical short story writer, essayist, and poet Jorge Luis Borges's story "Pierre Menard, Author Of The Quixote" which can be found in Collected Fictions. It focuses specifically on the first portion of the story, where the author discusses Pierre Menard's visible work, of which he provides a definitive and chonological listing, supplemen...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century philosophical short story writer, essayist, and poet Jorge Luis Borges's story "Emma Zunz" which can be found in Collected Fictions. It provides an interesting tale of revenge to which Borges gives his usual narrative depth and twists. Emma finds out that her father, who was slandered and sent to prison by the genuine embezzler, Loewenthal, wh...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century philosophical short story writer, essayist, and poet Jorge Luis Borges's story "The Shape Of The Sword" which can be found in Collected Fictions. Borges listens to a story told by a former Irish revolutionary, marked by a scar across his face. the narrative centers on a physically cowardly and intellectually arrogant comrade, John Vincent Moon...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century philosophical short story writer, essayist, and poet Jorge Luis Borges's story "The Theologians" which can be found in Collected Fictions. It centers on a (perhaps one-way) rivalry between two Christian theologians, Aurelian and John of Pannonia, in a time when the Christian church is struggling with a number of heresies, some opposed to each...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century philosophical short story writer, essayist, and poet Jorge Luis Borges's story "Deutsches Requiem" which can be found in Collected Fictions. The story is narrated in the voice of an unrepentant Nazi about to be executed for war crimes, Otto Dietrich zur Linde. He claims to be inspired in his life and in his activity within the Nazi party by gr...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century philosophical short story writer, essayist, and poet Jorge Luis Borges's story "The Writing Of The God" which can be found in Collected Fictions. It centers on a priest Tzinacán, previously serving at the pyramid of Qaholom, now imprisoned for the rest of his life in a dark cell. There is a jaguar on the other side. Inspired by a legend about...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century philosophical short story writer, essayist, and poet Jorge Luis Borges's story "Death And The Compass" which can be found in Collected Fictions. It takes the form of a detective tale, where the legendary, highly intelligent detective, Eric Lönnrot, does not figure out all of the aspects of the pattern of crimes, including the fact that he is t...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the early medieval philosopher and theologian, Augustine of Hippo's work, The Confessions. It focuses specifically on his discussion in book 11 focused on what time is, where he examines our usual way of understanding it in terms of past, present, and future. This raises some issues, given that the present only exists at and for a moment, the past no longer is...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the early medieval philosopher and theologian, Augustine of Hippo's work, The Confessions. It focuses specifically on his discussion in book 11 bearing upon how we can measure time. It seems a bit paradoxical when we examine it, since past and present don't really exist as the present does, and the present is just a moment. Augustine's solution is to say that...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the early medieval philosopher and theologian, Augustine of Hippo's work, The Confessions. It focuses specifically on his discussion in book 11 of how God and time are related to each other, starting from questions raised by considering creation out of nothing and what God was doing or thinking before that creation. As it turns out, there is no time before cre...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the early medieval philosopher and theologian, Augustine of Hippo's work, The Confessions. It focuses specifically on his discussion in book 10 of the type of temptation that is called "the pride of life", or (due to an alternate translation from the Latin Vulgate) the "ambition of the world". This has to do with our desire to feared or loved by others, to set...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the early medieval philosopher and theologian, Augustine of Hippo's work, The Confessions. It focuses specifically on his discussion in book 10 of the temptations involved in the "concupiscence of the eyes", namely our tendency to take delight or interest in the things that we see with this sense, and the drive of curiosity, the desire to know things that are...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the early medieval philosopher and theologian, Augustine of Hippo's work, The Confessions. It focuses specifically on his discussion of the temptations caused by the "concupiscence of the flesh" discussed in book 10, which Augustine says that he still has to struggle with to some degree even after his full conversion to Christianity. To support my ongoing work...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the early medieval philosopher and theologian, Augustine of Hippo's work, The Confessions. It focuses specifically on his discussion of the childhood, adulthood, and final days of his mother Monica in book 9 of the work. She prayer for Augustine throughout his life, and got to see him eventually convert to Christianity and join the church. Her own life was mar...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the early medieval philosopher and theologian, Augustine of Hippo's work, The Confessions. It focuses specifically on his discussion of his friend Alypius in book 8, who was from Augustine's home town of Thagaste, attended Augustine's lectures, where he heard Augustine touch upon a moral failing of his, namely his strong interest in the circus spectacles. Alyp...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century philosopher, novelist, and essayist Albert Camus' four Letters To A German Friend (anthologized in Resistance, Rebellion, and Death: Essays) Specifically it examines the fourth and final letter, which looks at the importance of attending to the demands of justice but also human happiness when considering what one owes to one's country, and whe...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century philosopher, novelist, and essayist Albert Camus' four Letters To A German Friend (anthologized in Resistance, Rebellion, and Death: Essays) Specifically it examines the third letter, which elaborates the theme of the meaning of Europe, a matter where fascists and nationalists like the Nazis view matters one way and other Europeans view matter...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century philosopher, novelist, and essayist Albert Camus' four Letters To A German Friend (anthologized in Resistance, Rebellion, and Death: Essays) Specifically it examines the second letter, which builds upon and expands themes from the first letter, specifically holding one's country to standards. This is connected with a refusal to subordinate or...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century philosopher, novelist, and essayist Albert Camus' four Letters To A German Friend (anthologized in Resistance, Rebellion, and Death: Essays) Specifically it examines the first letter, which elaborates the theme of love for one's country. He makes a distinction between two different conceptions of love for one's country, one which subordinates...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 18th century philosopher and essayist David Hume's essay "The Skeptic", found in his Essays Moral, Political, and Literary, the first of his four essays that bear names of members of philosophical schools, about which he tells us: "The intention . . . is not so much to explain accurately the sentiments of the ancient sects of philosophy, as to deliver the...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 18th century philosopher and essayist David Hume's essay "The Platonist", found in his Essays Moral, Political, and Literary, the first of his four essays that bear names of members of philosophical schools, about which he tells us: "The intention . . . is not so much to explain accurately the sentiments of the ancient sects of philosophy, as to deliver th...