Seneca - On The Happy Life

Friend of the show Greg Sadler joined us for a look at Frank Herbert's Dune series. We discuss nomadology, war machines, imperceptibility, eternal recurrence, materialism, and much more.

Dr. Sadler is currently an adjunct professor at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Editor of Stoicism Today, the producer of the Half Hour Hegel series, and the president of our local SOPHIA (Society of Philosophers in America) chapter. but you might be more familiar with his YouTube channel, Gregory B. Sadler, with over 120k subscribers.

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Greg Sadler - Speculative Heretics of Dune

In this panel discussion Michael Ly, Burlington CFO, and Dr. Denise Dunbar, Faculty Member Oplerno, talk about the Future Of Higher Education

Moderator: Gregory B. Sadler, Ph.D

Woodblock: Panel Discussion On Future Of Higher Education

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca's work, On The Happy Life

It focuses specifically on he Stoic definitions of the greatest goods that he provides early on in the work.  Seneca writes;

"Happy, therefore, is the life in agreement with its own nature. And there is no other way for this to come about than if the intellect is, first, healthy and in unending possession of its own health; next, strong and energetic; then, enduring most nobly, fitted to the times, caring for its body, and for the things that pertain to the body, without anxiety; then, attentive to the other things that equip life, without admiring any of them, and ready to use the gifts of fortune and not be their slave . . .  

Our good can also be defined in a different way—that is, the same proposition can be grasped with different words. Just as one and the same army is spread out more widely one moment and compacted more tightly the next, and it either arcs with the middle part curving out into wings or is arranged in a straight front, but no matter how it has been ordered it has the same strength and the same will to stand up for the same cause—so the definition of the highest good can sometimes be spread out and extended, and at other times be compressed and collected into itself. 

It will be the same thing, then, if I say, “The highest good is the mind looking down on the things of fortune, joyous in virtue,” or, “the mind’s undefeated strength, well versed in the ways of the world, calm in action, with much humanity and concern for those with whom it has contact.” One may also define it in such a way as to say that that human being is happy to whom nothing is good or bad except a good or bad mind; who is a cultivator of the morally good,” content with virtue; who is neither buoyed up nor broken by changes in fortune; who knows that there is no greater good than that which he can give to himself;  to whom true pleasure will be scorning pleasures. 

One may, if you wish to range further, translate it into one and another form, without endangering or damaging its power. After all, what prevents us from saying that the happy life is a free, upright, fearless, and stable mind, placed beyond fear and beyond desire, to whom the only good is what is morally good, the only bad thing, disgrace, and the rest are a worthless swarm of things that neither subtract anything from the happy life nor add anything to it, coming and going without any increase or diminution of the highest good?"

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Seneca, On The Happy Life - Defining The Greatest Good - Sadler's Lectures

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca's work, On The Happy Life

It focuses specifically on the distinction between pleasure and virtue as possible means to human happiness.  Stoics think that virtue not only is the means to happiness, but is also one of the main components in human happiness.

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Seneca, On The Happy Life - Pleasure, Virtue, And Happiness - Sadler's Lectures

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca's work, On The Happy Life

It focuses specifically on the mistaken views the many or the crowd have about the nature of human happiness. Seneca notes that when they make and reproduce mistakes, they don't simply affect themselves negatively, but also other people who end up falling into error. He also notes that many elites, particularly those who are superior to other people in terms of wealth, power, or status, are just as prone to these mistaken views on the happy life, and should also be regarded as part of the crowd

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Purchase Seneca's On The Happy Life - https://amzn.to/3BrQD7T

Seneca, On The Happy Life - Errors Of The Many - Sadler's Lectures

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca's work, On The Happy Life

It focuses specifically on the joy, tranquility, and happiness that, in his view, result from pursuing, possessing, and acting in accordance with the virtues, as the Stoics understand them.  These states are something distinct from the pleasure that hedonistic philosophical approaches make the measure for human happiness.

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 3000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler

Purchase Seneca's On The Happy Life - https://amzn.to/3BrQD7T

Seneca, On The Happy Life - Joy, Tranquility, And Happiness - Sadler's Lectures

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca's work, On The Happy Life

It focuses specifically on his qualified defense of Epicurus' version of hedonism, which he views as different in those respects from other forms of hedonism, which often use Epicureanism as a cover for their indulgence. 

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 3000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler

Purchase Seneca's On The Happy Life - amzn.to/3BrQD7T

Seneca, On The Happy Life - Epicureanism vs Other Hedonisms - Sadler's Lectures

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca's work, On The Happy Life

It focuses specifically on the responses to criticisms people tend to make against philosophers, mostly centered on the largely true fact that philosophers don't entirely measure up to the ideals they espouse.

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

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Seneca, On The Happy Life - Responses To Critics - Sadler's Lectures

Dr. Gregory Sadler joined me in the studio and we attempted a discussion about philosophy.   It turns out that it's good for you.  get a hold of some ideas ad take them for a spin.  After we shut off the microphones Dr. Sadler revealed that it's impossible to understand every idea in philosophy, and that's okay.

In this episode we discussed:
Micheal Moorcock
Chronicles of Cornelius
Philip K. Dick
Tank (rock band)
Seneca and the Stoic Opposition
Cicero
Fundamentalism
Eclecticism
weddings
Anher management
Dostoevsky Versus Nietzsche
Shestov - "All Things Are Possible"
The Two Minute History of Philosophy
University Problems
Aristotle's Categories

Image for Hire - 2018-04-17 - Freelance philosopher Dr. Gregory Sadler

In the studio with The Skrauss, Renegade scholar and Speculative Fiction Expert, Gregory Sadler.
Topics discussed:
Imagination
"On Truth and Lies" by Nietzsche
Dick realism
"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep"
Emanuel Kant's Copernican Turn
Stick with your Existential Crisis and See Where it Goes
"Zapgun"
"Perelandra"
"The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldridge"
"Flow My Tears, The  Policeman Said"
"Through a Scanner Darkly"
Dickish Themes:
1)Insect Mind
2) reality unraveling
3) seeing the break in reality and figuring out what to do about it
4) transcendence
"The Man in the High Castle"
I-Ching
Pot in our times
"Radio Free Albumeth"
Dick's "Exegesis"
Robert Crumb
Nag Hammadi Library
Find the blessed Doctor at:
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Image for Hire - 2018-08-14 Doc Gregory Sadlerand The Skrauss  talk SF (Speculative Fiction)

I explore some of the contours of what a BLR (Beyond Left and Right) political philosophy might look like, and in particular try to answer the charge that it is a (potentially) reactionary philosophy ("reactionary" is not good, if you haven't heard the term).

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Ep. 16: Is BLR Reactionary?

: In this ninth episode of the Wisdom for Life radio show, hosts Dan Hayes and Greg Sadler examine a common image of concentric circles used to understand relationships with other people towards whom we might have affection, care, or moral obligations.  The smallest circle is that of close friends and family, while the largest extends to all humanity, and potentially beyond.

They discuss how differing philosophical and wisdom traditions, including Stoicism, Buddhism, and Utilitarianism have used this image, and developed practices designed to help us develop attitudes of justice and benevolence towards other beyond the circles we most typically focus upon.

They also examine a common issue that arises when considering circles of community - to what extent should a person focus on their nation or political community as the most important?  Should their focus instead be on all people, or on people closer to them?

They end the show by introducing a very helpful philosophical practice derived from several schools of Buddhism, Metta or "loving-kindness" meditation, which employs the conception of circles.

Show Music is by Scott Tarulli

Wisdom for Life: Circles of Care and Concern

In this tenth episode of the Wisdom for Life radio show, hosts Dan Hayes and Greg Sadler examine a common matter in everyday life - lying. What is a lie, and what counts as "lying"?  Can lying ever be something good, right, required, or even just all right?

They discuss different ways we can classify and understand lies, including the distinction between white, black, and blue lies.  Moral theories help us to understand and evaluate the rightness or wrongness of lies - and why they are right or wrong, good or bad - and they examine lying through the rigorous deontological lens of Immanuel Kant, and the more forgiving utilitarian lens of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill.

They also examine a common issue that frequently arises.  What about people who embellish stories?  Are they lying?  And is that embellishment morally bad, or is it something that contributes to enjoyable communication

They end the show by introducing a very helpful philosophical practice designed to help people develop an understanding of what kinds of lies or deception they engage in, and why they do it, so they can make better choices about these matters 

Show Music is by Scott Tarulli

Wisdom for Life:  Is Lying Ever Good?  2020-05-23

In this thirteenth episode of the Wisdom for Life radio show, hosts Dan Hayes and Greg Sadler discuss the Social Contract, a classic philosophical concept that plays a key role in American politics and everyday ethics, and which also bears on recent nationwide protests over police misconduct and aggression.

They discuss first what the social contract is and whether or not it has been broken for many Americans, referencing the recent short talk given by Kimberly Jones.  They also look at what ideas from classical social contract theory - found in Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and John Rawls can be useful for understanding our present situation

They also discuss who has been systematically excluded from the social contract, examine a few of the key points that Charles Mills discusses in The Racial Contract, and look at the features Nicholas A Christakis outlines for a better social contract.

They end the show by discussing a practice that listeners could engage in - trying to imagine a new social contract that would be equitable and just for all.

Kimberly Jones "How We Can Win" video - https://youtu.be/llci8MVh8J4
Charles Mills, The Racial Contract - https://amzn.to/3ea6rM1
Nicholas A Christakis, Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society - https://amzn.to/2BZj9id

Show Music is by Scott Tarulli - https://www.scotttarulli.com/

Wisdom for Life: The Social Contract Today

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Seneca, On The Happy Life - Responses To Critics - Sadler's Lectures

Sadler's Lectures

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