Sadler's Lectures

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca's Letters, this one looking at Letter 59, in which Seneca distinguishes between the senses that ordinary people and Stoics give to the terms pleasure (voluptas) and joy (gaudium), and discusses why it is that most people go wrong in the views they have about what will produce genuine joy for them, by contrast to the Stoic sage, who is able to enjoy lasting joy. 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 3000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler Purchase Seneca's Letters - amzn.to/2Myx6os

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca's Letters, this one looking at Letter 47, in which Seneca discusses how masters in the ancient would should regard and treat their slaves, namely in a familiar manner, as fellow human beings, housemates, lowborn friends, and even fellow slaves. He suggests that masters ought to remember that which people happen to be in the position of slaves is a matter of chance not merit, and that masters themselves can easily be slaves. 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 3000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler Purchase Seneca's Letters - amzn.to/2Myx6os

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca's Letters, this one looking at Letter 30, in which Seneca uses the example of an aged friend Bassus who is approaching his own death in a good manner, as an opportunity to set out some ideas about how we can regard and prepare for our own inevitable death in a Stoic manner. 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 3000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler Purchase Seneca's Letters - amzn.to/2Myx6os

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca's Letters, this one looking at Letter 23, in which Seneca tells Lucilius that he wants him to learn how to attain and feel genuine lasting joy, which Stoicism teaches that we can do by focusing on what is actually within the scope of our control and agency, rather than on externals. 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 3000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler Purchase Seneca's Letters - amzn.to/2Myx6os

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th and 21st century philosopher and moral theorist, Alasdair MacIntyre's essay "Plain Persons and Moral Theory" It focuses upon a generalized narrative that MacIntyre calls "the story of the decline and fall of the plain person", with four main "episodes". 1. The protagonist strives to answer the question "what is my good", but doesn't develop a temperateness needed toward less than supreme goods 2. A "radical discrepancy develops between rules needed for pursuit of the good and the multiplicity of goods 3. The discrepancy gets resolved in one of two incompatible ways. Either rules take priority or goods do. The protagonist learns that they cannot avoid taking sides 4. The protagonist discovers that the major issues at stake cannot be rationally resolved MacIntyre also maintains that this is not just a story of individuals but of our moral culture from the 16th-20th centuries, as set out in his book After Virtue 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 3,000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler You can find MacIntyre's essay "Plain Persons and Moral Theory" here - https://amzn.to/3KUbXVf

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th and 21st century philosopher and moral theorist, Alasdair MacIntyre's essay "Plain Persons and Moral Theory" It focuses upon the relationships outlined between Goods, Rules, and Virtues -- as well as practices, inclinations, and the natural law -- in that text. 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 3,000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler You can find MacIntyre's essay "Plain Persons and Moral Theory" here - https://amzn.to/3KUbXVf

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca's Letters, this one looking at Letter 9, in which Seneca discusses why a Stoic would deliberately seek out friends, if it is really the case that virtue is sufficient for happiness. Seneca argues that even the legendary sage or perfectly wise person, while not needing friends for happiness, will still seek out friends when possible 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 3000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler Purchase Seneca's Letters - amzn.to/2Myx6os

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 19th century novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky's work,The Brothers Karamazov, focusing on the theme articulated by the Grand Inquisitor, namely that he is part of a movement of the "intelligent people" in league with the "intelligent spirit" who aim to "correct the deed" or "work" of God. They choose to take on the hardship and trouble of managing matters in order to someday provide happiness to the majority of humanity Specifically it examines This lecture discusses key ideas from the 19th century novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky's work,The Brothers Karamazov, focusing on the fifth chapter of the fifth book, titled "The Grand Inquisitor", during which Ivan and Alyosha are engaged in philosophical discussion. Specifically it examines the Grand Inquisitor's explanation to Christ about how he and his colleagues have decided to free humanity of the burden of freedom. 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 3000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler Purchase Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov - amzn.to/2LDGKdg

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca's Letters, this one looking at Letter 7, in which Seneca advises his interlocutor, using his own example, that we ought to avid and minimize our exposure to crowds, large groups, and the general public, because unless our characters are entirely secure, we not only put our moral development at risk but often enough backslide, morally speaking. 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 3000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th Century American science-fiction short story writer and novelist, Philip K. Dick's novel The Man In The High Castle It focuses specifically on the discussion of and engagement with the Oracle (aka the Book of Changes or the I Jing) on the part of Juliana Frink and the Abendsens. Juliana is able to determine that Hawthorne Abendsen used the Oracle to write his alternate history novel The Grasshopper Lies Heavy. This then raises a question: Why would the Oracle choose to write a book? The answer is that through that, it reveals the truth about the world that is the setting for the novel, namely that the world in which the Axis powers won World War II is not the true or real world 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 3000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler You can get a copy of Man In The High Castle here - https://amzn.to/45yJ2ie