Professor Kozlowski Lectures

Professor Kozlowski wraps up his study of political philosophy by discussing the ups and downs of the project, summarizing some of the most important findings, and musing about the future (which will hopefully contain less Hobbes).If you're interested in Professor Kozlowski's other online projects or want to keep up with his work, visit his website: professorkozlowski.wordpress.comIf you would like to contribute to Professor Kozlowski's work, please visit his Patreon: patreon.com/ProfessorKozlowski Donations are always appreciated, and mean more time devoted to online projects instead of paid classes!If you'd like to contact Professor Kozlowski directly, use: profbkozlowski2@gmail.com

Professor Kozlowski concludes his series on political philosophy with a look at the nature of propaganda and its (often-unnoticed) effect on language. By examining the ideas of George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language," Harry Frankfurt's "On Bullshit," and Jason Stanley's How Propaganda Works, we aspire to reach a deeper understanding of how language can serve, insidiously and invisibly, as propaganda. Finally, by examining some excerpts of Amartya Sen's The Idea of Justice, we can see how we can clarify and combat these efforts to confuse and confound our discussions of justice and political decency.

Today Professor Kozlowski investigates a grab bag of other political perspectives, including the radical Utilitarianism of Peter Singer's "Famine, Affluence, and Morality," the Cosmopolitanism prescribed by Martha Nussbaum, and the Native American perspectives on land, community, and individuality discussed by V. F. Cordova and Ted Jojola in their writings. It may not add up to a cogent perspective, but it should offer some enlightening critique of the dominant systems we've discussed so far.

The Ethics of Care presents one of the most cogent and effective alternatives to liberal government theory current today. It is revolutionary, empathetic, inclusive, and compelling. Today, Professor Kozlowski outlines the theory and practice of the Ethics of Care (as presented in Held's The Ethics of Care and Pirate Care by Graziano et al.) as a culmination of his discussions of liberal theory, anarchism, activism, and contemporary political practice. This is what the future could look like, folks. Don't miss it.Additional readings today include:Graeber, Pirate Enlightenment, or the Real LibertaliaSteinbeck, The Grapes of WrathSilko, Ceremonyand a double video game recommendation - probably two of the greatest politically-minded games ever made:Sid Meier's Alpha CentauriShadowrun: Dragonfall

Professor Kozlowski examines some of the most famous political activists of the twentieth century.Remember that all opinions expressed in this lecture are opinions, both for the speaker and the readings cited, and that you should trust the research, not the authority of the researcher.Today's readings include:Gandhi, Indian Home RuleFanon, The Wretched of the EarthMLK Jr., Letter from Birmingham JailMalcolm X, The Ballot or the BulletMalm, How to Blow Up a PipelineAdditional readings include: bell hooks' Ain't I a Woman?De Beauvoir's The Second SexWarner, The Trouble With NormalFoucault, EthicsKeller, Out of the DarkDuBois, The Souls of Black FolkDeloria, Custer Died for Your SinsMLK Jr., A Gift of LoveDelany, DhalgrenLeGuin, The Left Hand of DarknessButler, The Parable of the SowerGilman, HerlandSchuyler, Black No MoreEllison, Invisible ManKushner, Angels in Americaand for my video game fans:1979: Black Friday

Professor Kozlowski continues testing the limits of algorithmic censorship with a discussion of Communism and Anarchism. No references to the Cookbook here, but we are going to look deeply at some widely varied ideas underlying Anarchist thought, and their justifications for fighting against the state, as well as the underpinning ideas of many 20th century activist movements (which we will discuss in the next lecture).Today's readings are:Lenin's What is to be Done? and The State and RevolutionKropotkin's "Law and Authority"Tolstoy's The Kingdom of God is Within YouGoldman's "Anarchism"Additional Readings include:Thoreau, "On Civil Disobedience"Mills, The Sociological ImaginationFoucault, Discipline and PunishThe Chomsky ReaderOrwell, Homage to CataloniaHemingway, For Whom the Bell TollsHemingway, To Have and Have NotHuxley, IslandSholokhov, And Quiet Flows the DonLeGuin, The DispossessedAnd, of course, the preeminent masterpiece of video games about politics: Disco Elysium

Explore the intricacies of liberalism and its critiques, focusing on John Rawls' ideals of justice and the ethical dilemmas posed by Nozick's libertarianism. Delve into the clash between free market principles and social justice, while questioning the implications of wealth and philanthropy, as highlighted by figures like Bill Gates. Literature and media, such as 'Brave New World' and 'Neuromancer,' provide sharp insights into the failings of neoliberalism. The conversation navigates the duality of capitalism, digging into the responsibilities of global corporations and the pressing need for communal welfare.

Today, Professor Kozlowski tackles the preeminent development in political philosophy of the twentieth century - and spectre overhanging the twenty-first: Fascism and Totalitarianism. We'll examine Italian Fascism with Mussolini's own "The Doctrine of Fascism" as well as Umberto Eco's 2001 essay "Ur-Fascism"; Nazism with the Extra History video series Nazi Occultism and Folding Ideas' video essay "Triumph of the Will and the Cinematic Language of Propaganda"; and, finally, we'll read an excerpt of Hannah Arendt's compendious The Origins of Totalitarianism. Along the way we'll discuss how to recognize signs and symptoms of Fascism (including those in the Trump administration), its allure and its techniques for staying in power, its reliance on irrationality, mythology, and mysticism, its fundamental flaws as a system of government and its tendency toward self-destructiveness, as well as what we might do to fight it when it arises.Additional readings include:Quotations from Chairman MaoArendt - Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of EvilStanley - How Propagada WorksKoestler - Darkness at NoonOrwell - 1984Zamyatin - WeBulgakov - The Master and MargaritaLiu - The Three-Body ProblemThe Great Dictator (1940)Papers, PleaseIf you're considering dedicating your whole life and well-being to my charismatic leadership, why not start by visiting my website: professorkozlowski.wordpress.com?

Professor Kozlowski invites the wrath of the Internet by proposing to discuss Conservatism. To do that, we'll explore the history of conservative thinking (and American Conservatism in particular) from Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France and Romanticism (including Nietzsche's perspective in On the Genealogy of Morals), to the 20th and 21st centuries. We'll touch on major developments throughout history, including the New Deal, the Cold War, the Civil Rights movement, the Christian Evangelical Right, and Neoconservatism (including Irving Kristol's "The Neoconservative Persuasion), all the way up to the MAGA movement and Project 2025. It's a massive lecture for a massive topic, but how else were we going to introduce the 20th century?Besides the required readings linked above, the 20th century lectures will include many more additional readings. For our Conservatism discussion, they include:Nietzsche - Thus Spake ZarathustraSpencer - The Study of SociologyTagore - NationalismStelzer - The NeoCon ReaderWallace - Consider the LobsterPeterson - 12 Rules for LifeSandifer - Neoreaction: A BasiliskInnuendo Studios - The Alt-Right PlaybookContrapoints - CONSPIRACYRand - Atlas ShruggedHeinlein - The Moon is a Harsh MistressInvasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)BioshockCall of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)Spec Ops: The Line - good luck finding it!If you are incensed by this lecture and would like to vandalize Professor Kozlowski's other Internet projects, check out his website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠professorkozlowski.wordpress.com

The Communist Manifesto is one of the most influential and divisive works of political philosophy. Yet it almost seems quaint and harmless in a modern world of global Capitalist reach, and more rhetorical than scientific compared to the more systematic and explanatory Capital. Is Marx's theory of capitalist greed and social upheaval still relevant in a post Cold War world? Or is this a harmless historical phenomenon, relevant only in its time?Additional readings include: Bakunin's God and the State, Bernstein's Evolutionary Socialism, Sorel's Reflections on Violence, Chernyshevsky's What is to Be Done?, Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground, and Morris' News from Nowhere. And while I suspect I should be able to find a better mechanical representation of political revolution in video game history, I'm stuck instead with Red Faction: Guerrilla, which is a smarter game then it first seems, but is still pretty dang dumb.If you would rather check out Professor Kozlowski's other online projects than immediately rise up against your oppressors (all you have to lose are your chains!), check out his website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠professorkozlowski.wordpress.com