Early Modern Philosophy

Today we began our discussion of Pragmatism with James and Peirce. In fact the quiz question was why did Peirce have to leave John Hopkins? The video is posted here.

Introduction to Philosophy lecture 18

Today we discussed Hume and Kant. The video is posted here. The quiz question is what is your favorite scientific theory?

Friday evening Intro to Philosophy

This evening the first part of our discussions was on Plato and Aquinas and the Summa. The video is posted here. The quiz question was how does evolution design things? The second half was on Hume and Kant. The video is posted here. The quiz question was If you are appointed to run a government agency but don’t know what the agency does, is it good for the agency?

Wednesday and Thursday

For Wednesday in Introduction to Philosophy we discussed the source of everything. Plato, Aquinas, and even Flourishing according to Volf and Brooks. The video is posted here. The quiz question was how do you think evolution designs things? Or something like that. For Thursday Early Modern Philosophy we discussed Heidegger and Sartre, and existence. The videos are here and here. The quiz question was do you think Sartre was authentic?

Early Modern Philosophy lecture 17

Today we discussed Kierkegaard and Nietzsche. Existentialism was the topic. The video is posted here. The quiz question was what do you think is the cause of loneliness?

Introduction to Philosophy lecture 16

Today we discussed Mill and Utilitarianism. The video is posted here. The quiz question was a fill in the blank. Better to be a dissatisfied Socrates than a ....satisfied.

Introduction to Philosophy lecture 15 and 16 evening Friday

Friday evening we discussed Conservatism in the first half though using Locke along with Roger Scruton as examples. (Locke was not a conservative in his day but those who use his philosophy today most likely would be.) The quiz question was how many slaves are there in the US today? The video is posted here. And a second part here. The second half we discussed Freedom. John Stewart Mill and Zizek were the two examples. The quiz question was a fill in the blank. Better to be a dissatisfied human than a pig satisfied. Better to be a dissatisfied Socrates than a satisfied .....? The video is posted here.

Wednesday and Thursday

Wednesday in Introduction to Philosophy we discussed conservatism. The video is posted here and here. The quiz question was how many illegal slaves are there in the US? On Thursday in Early Modern Philosophy we discussed Marx. I forgot to make a vido'but we started watching Stephanie Flanders BBC video on Marx which I recommend. Then you might watch Thomas Piketty's TED talk on Capital. The quiz question was what do you think of Marx' poems to his wife Jenny?

Early Modern Philosophy lecture 15

Today we discussed Mill. The video is posted here. The quiz question was a fill in the blank. Better to be a dissatisfied human than a happy pig, Better to be a dissatisfied Socrates than a happy blank.

Introduction to Philosophy lecture 14

Today we discussed equality. The video is posted here. The quiz question is how does reality push back against our socially constructed reality?

Introduction to Philosophy Friday evening lecture 13 and 14

This Friday evening we first discussed Hobbes and Marx with a little Fukuyama thrown in. The quiz question was are there any of the ten points at the end of the Communist Manifesto that you consider worthy ofbeing used in our society? The video is posted here. The second half we spoke about women's equality with Mary Wollstonecraft and Helena Cronin. The quiz question was how does reality push back against the socially constructed reality? The video is posted here.

Early Modern Philosophy lecture 14

Today we discussed Schopenhauer. The video is posted here. The quiz question was do you think it should be illegal to watch the film The Triumph of the Will? (It is in some countries.)

Introduction to Philosophy lecture 13

Today we discussed Hobbes and Marx. The video is posted here. The quiz question was if you had an extra large pizza and were in a tent camp of 100 migrants who were all hungry would you eat the pizza in your tent by yourself or would you share the pizza?

Early Modern Philosophy lecture 13

Today we did more on Hegel. The videos are posted here and here. The quiz question was how does reality contrain the socially constructed reality?

Introduction to Philosophy lecture 12

Today we discussed Free Will. The video is posted here. I know you won't watch it. The quiz question was have you ever eaten half a candy bar?

Introduction to Philosophy lecture 11 and 12 evening

This evening we discussed Ontology first and Free Will second. Videos are posted here and here. The first quiz question was regarding the Beethoven 9th symphony we watched on screen - is that the real symphony? The second quiz question is the famous one regarding a tree falling in the forest with no one there to hear it does it make a sound?

Early Modern Philosophy lecture 12

Today we discussed Hegel. The video is posted here. The quiz question was what do you think of Frances Fukuyama's thesis in his book Identity that issues like the anger that women feel in the Metoo movement stem from Identity issues as those that Hegel describes?

Introduction to Philosophy lecture 11

Today we discussed Ontology. The video is posted here.And here. The quiz question is the famous one - if a tree falls in the forest and there is nobody there to hear it does it make a sound?

Early Modern Philosophy lecture 11

Today we discussed Kant. The video is posted here. The quiz question was do you think there is anything about human nature that is universal? (That is that all humans share?)

Introduction to Philosophy lecture 10

Today we discussed Anselm's argument - the Ontological - and other Medievalists. The video is posted here. The quiz question was is there an Oreo Cookie than which no great Oreo Cookie can be conceived?