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

  1. William Clifford, The Ethics Of Belief - Beliefs and Traditions - Sadler's Lectures

    1d ago

    William Clifford, The Ethics Of Belief - Beliefs and Traditions - Sadler's Lectures

    This lecture discusses the William Clifford's 1877 essay "The Ethics Of Belief", in which he makes and argued for the central claim "it is wrong always, everywhere, and for any one, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence." It focuses on portion of part 2 of the essay that is devoted to Clifford's analysis of tradition. He distinguishes between particular traditions, developing within a specific group, culture, or civilization and the "tradition of the human race". He also makes an important distinction with the latter, arguing that any "tradition" that closes off inquiry does not actually serve humanity, and that a robust, useful tradition would actually lead to framing questions and promoting inquiry. 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 You can find over 4,000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler Get Clifford's The Ethics of Belief - https://amzn.to/41WkkYA

    15 min
  2. William Clifford, The Ethics Of Belief - Veracity, Knowledge, and Judgement - Sadler's Lectures

    2d ago

    William Clifford, The Ethics Of Belief - Veracity, Knowledge, and Judgement - Sadler's Lectures

    This lecture discusses the William Clifford's 1877 essay "The Ethics Of Belief", in which he makes and argued for the central claim "it is wrong always, everywhere, and for any one, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence." It focuses on Clifford's criteria for determining when and whether we ought to give credence to the testimony of other people, especially those who have made assertions we cannot directly verify. He identifies three key qualities we can look for in these persons, namely: veracity, knowledge, and judgement, explains what they are, and applies them to some example cases. 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 You can find over 4,000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler Get Clifford's The Ethics of Belief - https://amzn.to/41WkkYA

    15 min
  3. William Clifford, The Ethics Of Belief - Individuals' Beliefs, Society, And Humanity

    5d ago

    William Clifford, The Ethics Of Belief - Individuals' Beliefs, Society, And Humanity

    This lecture discusses the William Clifford's 1877 essay "The Ethics Of Belief", in which he makes and argued for the central claim "it is wrong always, everywhere, and for any one, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence." It focuses on Clifford's contention that the beliefs people hold, even if they seem to be quite trivial, can have significant importance and consequences. His argument is that we inevitably draw upon and share the beliefs of others, not only in the present, but across generations 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 You can find over 4,000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler Get Clifford's The Ethics of Belief - https://amzn.to/41WkkYA

    14 min
  4. William Clifford, The Ethics Of Belief - Belief, Action, and Duty Of Inquiry - Sadler's Lectures

    6d ago

    William Clifford, The Ethics Of Belief - Belief, Action, and Duty Of Inquiry - Sadler's Lectures

    This lecture discusses the William Clifford's 1877 essay "The Ethics Of Belief", in which he makes and argued for the central claim "it is wrong always, everywhere, and for any one, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence." It focuses on the two cases that Clifford's essay uses to illustrate the ethical duty he argues that we have not to believe anything without having gathered and weighed evidence for or against the belief. One example has to do with a ship owner who takes on passengers for a voyage without knowing whether or not the ship is actually seaworthy. The other example has to do with a group of people who persecute another group for engaging in practices they consider harmful without actually finding out whether they are in fact engaged in such practices. Clifford argues that even if it turns out to be as one believes, and that the actions produce good consequences, the person who believes upon insufficient evidence does wrong thereby. 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 You can find over 4,000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler Get Clifford's The Ethics of Belief - https://amzn.to/41WkkYA

    14 min
  5. Seneca, Letter 90 - Philosophy, Technology, And Wisdom - Sadler's Lectures

    May 23

    Seneca, Letter 90 - Philosophy, Technology, And Wisdom - Sadler's Lectures

    This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca's Letters, this one looking at Letter 90 It focuses specifically on Seneca's engagement with another earlier Stoic philosopher, Posidonius, who developed theories about the development of human disciplines and technology (artes), having to do with wisdom and philosophy. Posidonius postulates a golden age in which human beings lived in accordance with nature and were ruled over by the wise, and then a degeneration through greed, self-indulgence, and other vices into a lesser state in which they needed more and more technologies. Seneca argues that these were developed using human reason, but not right reason, from ingenuity rather than wisdom, and that while philosophers might have developed some of them, they did not do so as philosophers. In this letter, Seneca also outlines what the matters that wisdom and philosophy deal with are. 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 Purchase Seneca's Letters - amzn.to/2Myx6os

    20 min
  6. William Gass, The Case Of The Obliging Stranger - Moral Philosophers & Principles

    May 22

    William Gass, The Case Of The Obliging Stranger - Moral Philosophers & Principles

    This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century philosopher and novelist William Gass' article "The Case Of The Obliging Stranger", which begins with a case that runs: "Imagine I approach a stranger on the street and say to him, "If you please, sir, I desire to perform an experiment with your aid." The stranger is obliging, and I lead him away. In a dark place conveniently by, I strike his head with the broad of an axe and cart him home. I place him, buttered and trussed, in an ample electric oven. The thermostat reads 4500 F. Thereupon I go off to play poker with friends and forget all about the obliging stranger in the stove. When I return, I realize I have overbaked my specimen, and the experiment, alas, is ruined. Something has been done wrong. Or something wrong has been done" It focuses specifically on the applicability of moral theories and principles to deciding cases, whether clear or unclear, in our moral decision-making. Gass' view is that both are less useful than ethicists and even some ordinary people make them out to be. 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

    12 min
  7. William Gass, The Case Of The Obliging Stranger - Clear Cases And Unclear Cases - Sadler's Lectures

    May 20

    William Gass, The Case Of The Obliging Stranger - Clear Cases And Unclear Cases - Sadler's Lectures

    This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century philosopher and novelist William Gass' article "The Case Of The Obliging Stranger", which begins with a case that runs: "Imagine I approach a stranger on the street and say to him, "If you please, sir, I desire to perform an experiment with your aid." The stranger is obliging, and I lead him away. In a dark place conveniently by, I strike his head with the broad of an axe and cart him home. I place him, buttered and trussed, in an ample electric oven. The thermostat reads 4500 F. Thereupon I go off to play poker with friends and forget all about the obliging stranger in the stove. When I return, I realize I have overbaked my specimen, and the experiment, alas, is ruined. Something has been done wrong. Or something wrong has been done" It focuses specifically on his distinction between what he terms "clear cases" and "unclear cases". With clear cases, like that of the obliging stranger, their rightness or wrongness, goodness or badness should be clear to anyone looking at them, and we don't need moral theories in order to make those judgements. With unclear cases, we have differing ways to try to make them more clear, but surprisingly, according to Gass, moral theories turn out not to be helpful in the ways that we expect them to in those cases either. 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

    15 min
  8. William Gass, The Case Of The Obliging Stranger - The Case and Moral Theories - Sadler's Lectures

    May 19

    William Gass, The Case Of The Obliging Stranger - The Case and Moral Theories - Sadler's Lectures

    This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century philosopher and novelist William Gass' article "The Case Of The Obliging Stranger", which begins with a case that runs: "Imagine I approach a stranger on the street and say to him, "If you please, sir, I desire to perform an experiment with your aid." The stranger is obliging, and I lead him away. In a dark place conveniently by, I strike his head with the broad of an axe and cart him home. I place him, buttered and trussed, in an ample electric oven. The thermostat reads 4500 F. Thereupon I go off to play poker with friends and forget all about the obliging stranger in the stove. When I return, I realize I have overbaked my specimen, and the experiment, alas, is ruined. Something has been done wrong. Or something wrong has been done" It focuses specifically on Gass' contentions that moral theories and moral philosophers who don't condemn what was done to the stranger are vicious, and that the wrong is not really clarified well by introducing moral theories and principles. He examines several different ways that people develop, articulate, and argue for their moral theories, and notes that they aren't entirely off-base or useless, but that they often get in the way with what he calls "clear cases". 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

    15 min
See All (515)

4.9
out of 5
76 Ratings

About

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

Information

  • Creator
    Lectures on classic and contemporary philosophical texts and thinkers by Gregory B. Sadler
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    515
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    Sadler's Lectures

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