20 episodes

Our lives are not simply given to us, Socrates used to maintain, but also something we make. As we examine the circumstances of our existence, recognizing certain facts as immutable and others as subject to our control, we all face the challenge of fashioning out of them a way of living that is both meaningful and justifiable. "The Art of Living" explores different ways to think about the nature of that challenge -- how to accommodate conflicting demands and values, how to make our choices "artfully," how to use works of imaginative literature to inspire us. Should we regulate our behavior socratically, according to rigorous standards of reason? Must we seek to conform ourselves to God's wishes? Should we fashion values for ourselves through our own artistic activity? Or could we follow some other strategy altogether? To take a stand on these questions, to decide how to live well and beautifully, is at the same time to answer why we live at all.

The Literature of Crisis Martin Evans and Marsh McCall

    • Arts
    • 2.0 • 1 Rating

Our lives are not simply given to us, Socrates used to maintain, but also something we make. As we examine the circumstances of our existence, recognizing certain facts as immutable and others as subject to our control, we all face the challenge of fashioning out of them a way of living that is both meaningful and justifiable. "The Art of Living" explores different ways to think about the nature of that challenge -- how to accommodate conflicting demands and values, how to make our choices "artfully," how to use works of imaginative literature to inspire us. Should we regulate our behavior socratically, according to rigorous standards of reason? Must we seek to conform ourselves to God's wishes? Should we fashion values for ourselves through our own artistic activity? Or could we follow some other strategy altogether? To take a stand on these questions, to decide how to live well and beautifully, is at the same time to answer why we live at all.

    Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy Day II

    Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy Day II

    The collapse of the Western empire and the transfer of the capital from Rome to Ravenna. Lady Philosophy's role and Boethius's arguments concerning predestination versus free will and the nature of the good.

    • 1 sec
    Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy Day III

    Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy Day III

    The collapse of the Western empire and the transfer of the capital from Rome to Ravenna. Lady Philosophy's role and Boethius's arguments concerning predestination versus free will and the nature of the good.

    • 2 sec
    Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy

    Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy

    The collapse of the Western empire and the transfer of the capital from Rome to Ravenna. Lady Philosophy's role and Boethius's arguments concerning predestination versus free will and the nature of the good.

    • 2 sec
    Course Ideas Overview

    Course Ideas Overview

    The nature of Humanities in general and the role of literary studies in particular. The historical origins of the Humanist movement. Theories concerning the unchanging human heart. Seeing the world from a new emotional and intellectual center.

    • 2 sec
    Literature of Crisis Syllabus

    Literature of Crisis Syllabus

    Plato, The Apology, Crito Day II

    Plato, The Apology, Crito Day II

    Introduction to early Greek philosophy and education. The sophists. The career of Socrates. The Peloponnesian War. Socrates' trial and defense speech. Socrates' imprisonment. What do you owe to the laws of your country? Socrates' view of death.

    • 2 sec

Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5
1 Rating

1 Rating

Top Podcasts In Arts

The Bookshelf with Ryan Tubridy
Ryan Tubridy
Changing Times - The Allenwood Conversations
Mary McAleese & Mary Kennedy - Dundara Television and Media
Dish
S:E Creative Studio
Sunday Miscellany
RTÉ Radio 1
Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware
Jessie Ware
99% Invisible
Roman Mars

More by Stanford

The Future of Everything
Stanford Engineering
Human Behavioral Biology
Robert Sapolsky
Modern Physics: Classical Mechanics (Fall 2011)
Leonard Susskind
Virgil's Aeneid
Susanna Braund
Modern Physics: Quantum Mechanics (Winter 2012)
Leonard Susskind
Modern Physics: The Theoretical Minimum - Classical Mechanics
Stanford Continuing Studies Program