Sadler's Lectures
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
Episodes
January 12, 2026 • 10 mins
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 dir...
Mark as Played
January 11, 2026 • 14 mins
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 ...
Mark as Played
January 10, 2026 • 12 mins
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,...
Mark as Played
January 8, 2026 • 25 mins
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.
T...
Mark as Played
January 7, 2026 • 13 mins
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 ...
Mark as Played
January 6, 2026 • 13 mins
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 ...
Mark as Played
January 4, 2026 • 21 mins
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 ...
Mark as Played
January 2, 2026 • 13 mins
This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th and 21st century philosopher and moral theorist, Alasdair MacIntyre's work After Virtue
It focuses upon chapter 3, specifically on his discussion of on the types of "characters" - social roles emblematic of a culture -- typical of late modern Emotivist culture. These are the rich aesthete, the manager, and the therapist.
To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon...
Mark as Played
January 1, 2026 • 13 mins
This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th and 21st century philosopher and moral theorist, Alasdair MacIntyre's work After Virtue
It focuses upon chapter 3, specifically on his discussion of MacIntyre's analysis of the key and distinctive aspects of Emotivism as a moral theory. Emotivism was presented originally as a meta-ethical theory, but as MacIntyre notes, it develops into its own ethical stance that rules out the possib...
Mark as Played
December 30, 2025 • 6 mins
This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th and 21st century philosopher and moral theorist, Alasdair MacIntyre's work After Virtue
It focuses upon chapter 2, specifically on his discussion of the distinction between the meaning and the use of moral language, using several examples. This will become particularly important in his analysis of Emotivism as a moral theory in the following chapter.
To support my ongoing work, go to...
Mark as Played
December 27, 2025 • 20 mins
This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century African-American philosopher, theologian, and civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr.'s work "Letter From A Birmingham Jail"
This episode examines King's conception of "racial justice" as a goal or end for non-violent action.
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.p...
Mark as Played
December 26, 2025 • 25 mins
This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century African-American philosopher, theologian, and civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr.'s work "Letter From A Birmingham Jail"
This episode examines King's discussion of how non-violent direct action is supposed to work, and what effects it is intended to have on aggressors, the larger public, and the oppressed community
To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - w...
Mark as Played
December 23, 2025 • 27 mins
This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century African-American philosopher, theologian, and civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr.'s work "Letter From A Birmingham Jail".
This episode examines King's discussion and reinterpretation of the classical distinction between just and unjust laws.
To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler
If you'd like to make a direct contribution, you ca...
Mark as Played
December 22, 2025 • 19 mins
This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century African-American philosopher, theologian, and civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr.'s work "Letter From A Birmingham Jail"
This episode examines King's depiction and analysis of racism and segregation as fundamentally wrong and illegitimate forms of inequality in America
To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler
If you'd like to make a ...
Mark as Played
December 21, 2025 • 16 mins
This is the recording from my invited talk on philosophical resources for understanding and managing anger, which was part of my alma mater Lakeland University's Thinkhaus talk series, given up at the Mead Public Library in Sheboygan, WI. The original recording from 2017 was made by a local high school AV club, which unfortunately didn't do a great job with sound, lighting, video, or editing, so I didn't release it at the time, but...
Mark as Played
December 19, 2025 • 18 mins
This is my relatively short talk given during the 2025 Plato's Academy multidisciplinary conference: The Philosophy of Love And Relationships. I was invited to approach the topic of the difficulties involved in the highest, fullest, and most paradigmatic form of friendship that Aristotle
In the course of my presentation, I discuss the importance and influence of the distinction between three different kinds of friendship based on...
Mark as Played
December 17, 2025 • 20 mins
This lecture, discussing the nature of "moral choice" or "deliberate choice" in Aristotle's moral theory, was delivered during the 7th Felician Ethics Conference at Felician College (Rutherford, NJ). In it, I discuss what I label the "Standard Interpretation" of prohairesis, which ties it explicitly to deliberation about means towards ends -- an interpretation stemming from focusing on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics book 3 discuss...
Mark as Played
December 15, 2025 • 24 mins
This is the invited presentation I provided for the attendees of the Stoicon-X Brisbane conference in Australia held in October 2019. It discusses Epictetus' advice to remind ourselves that we want to maintain or keep our "prohairesis" - our faculty of choice - in accordance with nature.
For those who would like more information about Epictetus' conception of prohairesis, or about the Stoic notion of "in accordance with nature", ...
Mark as Played
December 14, 2025 • 20 mins
This is the recording of my short presentation and the Q&A at the second Conversations With Modern Stoicism event, hosted in June 2025 by Phil Yanov. Asked to give a short and provocative presentation about an issue that arises in the everyday applications of Stoicism, we decided on the topic of grief and grieving
I first discuss what we can call a "standard Stoic take" on grief, which they understand as belonging to the broader e...
Mark as Played
December 12, 2025 • 26 mins
This is the talk I was invited to provide for Stoicon-X New England 2020. I take the recent case of a fired Lidl communications worker who claimed that he was unjustly fired on account of his Stoicism. I use this case as a starting point to discuss what sorts of conduct would actually be characteristic of a follower of Stoicism in the workplace, and what resources and advice Stoic philosophy can provide us.
Texts mentioned in th...
Mark as Played
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!