HoP 472 Less Cheer, More Knowledge: Desc...

The “Quietists” Jeanne Guyon and François Fénelon argue that self-love can be overcome by cultivating a “pure love” for God. Their reward: to be accused of heresy. 

How the “neo-classical” tragedies of Racine explore the battle between passion and reason. 

Molière’s famous comedies scandalize Paris and dramatize themes from French moralism, especially the danger of hypocrisy. 

<p>On René Descartes's <em>Discourse on Method</em> (1637), an overview of his work that distills his method, outlines his famous <em>Meditations</em>, presents a provisional (Stoic) ethics, and considers whether he wants to be a public intellectual. This is all meant as a prefac ... Show More

This part of the text is a re-evaluation of what morality is, or can be, for the philosopher of the future. Nietzsche is a bit sneaky here, by implying the free spirit, or philosopher of the future, to be admirable from the perspective of our own moral intuition. Nevertheless, he ... Show More

An examination of Kant's teachings on morality. 

The concept of free will is profoundly important to our self-understanding, our interpersonal relationships, and our moral and legal practices. If it turns out that no one is ever free and morally responsible, what would that mean for society, morality, meaning, and the law? Just ... Show More

One last take on John Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689), covering Book II, ch. 21 and 28. What makes a moral claim true? Do we have free will? What makes us choose the good, or not? In this coda to our long treatment of Locke's opus, we bring together all he has ... Show More

Ryan and Todd examine perhaps the founding text of modern Western philosophy--Rene Descartes' Discourse on the Method. They consider how Descartes articulates an egalitarian philosophy through his conception of radical doubt and examine the influence of this text of subsequent th ... Show More

Nietzsche finishes sketching his vision of a philosophy of the future. True free spiritedness represents a fundamental commitment to hardness and independence of spirit. This makes the philosopher opposite the scholar in terms of his virtues. This total individuality necessitates ... Show More

<p>In this next episode on Beyond Good &amp; Evil, we discuss the simplification of the world out of a psychological need, and the ways in which we have sought for “Being” in the soul, the ego, the will, and in the materialistic atom. All were expressions of the ”one ruling thoug ... Show More

Discussing Spinoza's the Ethics, Books II through V. 

Discussing Spinoza's Ethics (1677), books 1 and 2.