Sadler's Lectures
Lectures on classic and contemporary philosophical texts and thinkers by Gregory B. Sadler
I'm that YouTube Philosophy Guy! Find more than 3,000 videos in my main channel. Support my video and podcast work! https://www.patreon.com/sadler or https://www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM
Learn more about this podcast channel - https://youtu.be/qRvL0gqlyrw and https://gregorybsadler.substack.com/p/the-sadlers-lectures-podcast
Due to popular demand - and with the work underwritten by my Patreon supporters - I have been converting my videos into MP3 files listeners can listen to anywhere they want!
I have a second podcast, Mind & Desire, publishing original episodes on a variety of topics in philosophy, which you can find here - https://gregorybsadler.substack.com/podcast
Learn more about this podcast channel - https://youtu.be/qRvL0gqlyrw and https://gregorybsadler.substack.com/p/the-sadlers-lectures-podcast
Due to popular demand - and with the work underwritten by my Patreon supporters - I have been converting my videos into MP3 files listeners can listen to anywhere they want!
I have a second podcast, Mind & Desire, publishing original episodes on a variety of topics in philosophy, which you can find here - https://gregorybsadler.substack.com/podcast
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 17, 2026 • 14min
Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologiae - Union As An Effect Of Love - Sadler's Lectures
This lecture discusses key ideas from the medieval Christian philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologiae, 1st part of the 2nd part, question 28 "The Effects Of Love", and examines his discussions in article 1, which centers on the question whether union is or is not an effect of love. Thomas considers several arguments against union being an effect of love, and then clarifies the ways in which love does produce union between the one loving and the one loved in some respect
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 BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM
You can find over 3500 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler
Purchase Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologiae - amzn.to/2ITcKYQ

Jan 15, 2026 • 21min
Motive, Moral Discourse, and Conflict in George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire
This is the recording of my presentation at the Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association 2011 conference, applying Aristotelian moral theory to reading George R.R. Martin's series Song of Ice and Fire.
In it, I argue that Martin articulates a essentially neo-Aristotelian view of human nature, characters, development, ethos and moral qualities, referencing selected events, characters, dialogues, monologues, and decisions from the narrative,
I focus upon four aspects of a neo-Aristotelian view of moral life, character, and discourse, namely:
community as sharing (koinonia) but also locus of conflict over moral qualities and judgments
motivational interplays between interests, desires, loyalties, and common goods
ethos reflected in both individual characters and houses
characters’ choice and development as matters of better or worse practical reasoning towards and about the variety of human goods.
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 BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM
You can find over 3,500 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler
You can get Martin's 5 volumes of the Song of Ice and Fire here - https://amzn.to/4sNAaRC

Jan 14, 2026 • 21min
David Hume, The Natural History Of Religion - Comparison Of Polytheism and Monotheism
This lecture discusses key ideas from the 18th century philosopher and essayist David Hume's essay The Natural History Of Religion.
It focuses specifically on sections 9-15, where Hume brings his work to a close by comparing polytheism and monotheism, as he understands them, against each other, not just in terms of their belief systems but their effects upon cultures and societies in which they play important roles.
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 BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM
You can find over 3,500 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler
You can get Hume's Natural History Of Religion here - https://amzn.to/49oomNH

Jan 12, 2026 • 10min
David Hume, The Natural History Of Religion - The Development Of Monotheism
This lecture discusses key ideas from the 18th century philosopher and essayist David Hume's essay The Natural History Of Religion.
It focuses specifically on sections 6-8, where he discusses the development of monotheism (which he calls "theism") out of polytheism, attempting to provide a naturalist perspective on the matters.
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 BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM
You can find over 3,500 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler
You can get Hume's Natural History Of Religion here - https://amzn.to/49oomNH

Jan 11, 2026 • 15min
David Hume, The Natural History Of Religion - The Development Of Polytheism
This lecture discusses key ideas from the 18th century philosopher and essayist David Hume's essay The Natural History Of Religion.
It focuses specifically on the development of what he classifies as "polytheism" (contrasting that with "theism", i.e. monotheism). Hume provides an account that views all of the ancient and contemporary polytheistic religions as derived from natural psychological processes of human beings, developed within their cultures.
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 BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM
You can find over 3,500 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler
You can get Hume's Natural History Of Religion here - https://amzn.to/49oomNH

Jan 10, 2026 • 12min
David Hume, The Natural History Of Religion - Hume's Argumentative Strategy
This lecture discusses key ideas from the 18th century philosopher and essayist David Hume's essay The Natural History Of Religion.
It focuses specifically on the overall structure, arguments, and the assumptions of the work, as well as some of the distinctions Hume relies upon in his text. We also examine what Hume means by the term "natural history" and how it can be applied to religion, in his view.
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 BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM
You can find over 3,500 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler
You can get Hume's Natural History Of Religion here - https://amzn.to/49oomNH

Jan 8, 2026 • 26min
Jeremy Bentham, Introduction to Principles - Utilitarianism And The Hedonic Calculus
This lecture discusses key ideas from the Utilitarian philosopher, Jeremy Bentham's work, Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation
Here we examine his discussion of what he calls the "hedonic calculus", which is how a utilitarian applies the principle of utility in practice for moral decision-making. We look at each of the seven factors Bentham includes in this calculus, and apply them to some everyday examples.
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 BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM
You can find over 1500 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler
Purchase Bentham's Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation -https://amzn.to/2Z470Bq

Jan 7, 2026 • 13min
A Perfectly Simple God and Our Complicated Lives - The 2008 St. Anselm Lecture, part 3
This is part 3 of the the recording of my invited Saint Anselm Lecture, given in 2008 at Saint Anselm College. Here is the abstract of the paper:
One important divine attribute Saint Anselm examines and treats is that of simplicity. His treatment brings out some surprising features of simplicity itself which escape the frameworks of the logic of created being, providing us a fuller, albeit still very partial, understanding of the true nature of that attribute. A deep problem can then arise for the created human being in the course of such speculations and investigations: How can a complex, complicated, composite created being more closely approach a perfectly simple divine being? In both our thought and in our practice, it seems that our attempts to approach God simply introduce even more complexity into things. My paper addresses that problem. The first section of the paper presents five short Anselmian lessons about the divine attribute of simplicity. The second section then frames and explores the problem. The third and final section provides an Anselmian resolution to the problem.
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 BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM
You can find over 3,500 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler
You can get Anselm's Complete Treatises: with Selected Letters and Prayers here - https://amzn.to/3YqF74L

Jan 6, 2026 • 14min
A Perfectly Simple God and Our Complicated Lives - The 2008 St. Anselm Lecture, part 2
This is part 2 of the the recording of my invited Saint Anselm Lecture, given in 2008 at Saint Anselm College. Here is the abstract of the paper:
One important divine attribute Saint Anselm examines and treats is that of simplicity. His treatment brings out some surprising features of simplicity itself which escape the frameworks of the logic of created being, providing us a fuller, albeit still very partial, understanding of the true nature of that attribute. A deep problem can then arise for the created human being in the course of such speculations and investigations: How can a complex, complicated, composite created being more closely approach a perfectly simple divine being? In both our thought and in our practice, it seems that our attempts to approach God simply introduce even more complexity into things. My paper addresses that problem. The first section of the paper presents five short Anselmian lessons about the divine attribute of simplicity. The second section then frames and explores the problem. The third and final section provides an Anselmian resolution to the problem.
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 BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM
You can find over 3,500 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler
You can get Anselm's Complete Treatises: with Selected Letters and Prayers here - https://amzn.to/3YqF74L

Jan 4, 2026 • 21min
A Perfectly Simple God and Our Complicated Lives - The 2008 St. Anselm Lecture, part 1
This is part 1 of the the recording of my invited Saint Anselm Lecture, given in 2008 at Saint Anselm College. Here is the abstract of the paper:
One important divine attribute Saint Anselm examines and treats is that of simplicity. His treatment brings out some surprising features of simplicity itself which escape the frameworks of the logic of created being, providing us a fuller, albeit still very partial, understanding of the true nature of that attribute. A deep problem can then arise for the created human being in the course of such speculations and investigations: How can a complex, complicated, composite created being more closely approach a perfectly simple divine being? In both our thought and in our practice, it seems that our attempts to approach God simply introduce even more complexity into things. My paper addresses that problem. The first section of the paper presents five short Anselmian lessons about the divine attribute of simplicity. The second section then frames and explores the problem. The third and final section provides an Anselmian resolution to the problem.
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 BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM
You can find over 3,500 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler
You can get Anselm's Complete Treatises: with Selected Letters and Prayers here - https://amzn.to/3YqF74L


