Site • RSS • Apple PodcastsDescription (podcaster-provided):
I will discuss some of the great philosophers and their ideas on ethics and metaphysics. Classcial philosphy is always my starting point; Plato and Aristotle will start things, but I will discuss various Hellenistic schools, and more modern thinker such as Mill , Kany, Nietzsche, and Whitehead.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Classical philosophy lectures • Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Plotinus • Hellenistic schools: Stoicism, Epicureanism • Ethics: utilitarianism, Kantian duty • Metaphysics: forms, substance, soul • Logic, critical thinking, syllogisms • Rhetoric and persuasion theory • Greek myth seers, divinationThis podcast presents short, lecture-style discussions designed to support introductory university coursework in philosophy, with an emphasis on both ethics and core topics in classical metaphysics. Across the feed, the host works primarily from major figures in ancient Greek philosophy—especially Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle—then moves through influential later schools and thinkers from the Hellenistic and Roman worlds, including Stoicism and Epicureanism (with attention to Lucretius), and into late antiquity with Plotinus and themes of rational mysticism.
A recurring thread is ethical theory and the way moral reasoning connects to larger metaphysical commitments. Listeners are introduced to major approaches such as utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics, with sustained attention to the utilitarian tradition (Bentham’s principle of utility and hedonic calculus, and Mill’s attempt to distinguish “higher” pleasures) and to Kant’s critique of consequentialism through the idea of duty, the good will, and the categorical imperative. The podcast also situates Kant historically by discussing how Hume’s empiricism raises challenges about causality and moral claims. Alongside these frameworks, the show addresses debates like moral relativism and why some philosophers regard it as problematic.
Another major focus is building analytical skills for philosophy. Several installments function as primers in logic and critical thinking—clarifying statements versus propositions, distinguishing validity from soundness, and practicing formal patterns such as syllogisms, propositional “if…then” arguments, and categorical statement forms and negations.
In addition, the podcast includes material on rhetoric and persuasion, drawing on Aristotle’s modes of appeal and later rhetorical theory (including concepts such as the rhetorical situation, exigence, audience, constraints, and the balance of appeals). Interwoven with the more systematic philosophy are forays into Greek religious and mythic themes—especially divination and the role of seers—used to explore how ancient cultures understood knowledge, authority, and the will of the gods.
