Tag: philosophy
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Mengzi: The Second Sage and the Goodness of Human Nature
Slide 1: Who Was Mengzi? Alright, let’s start with something that might surprise you: the person we’re about to study believed something almost nobody in power wanted to hear. And he spent his entire life traveling from kingdom to kingdom, trying to convince rulers of it anyway. His name was Mengzi – you might know…
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Iamblichus: The Architect of Theurgical Neoplatonism
Slide 1: Origins and Context Alright, let’s talk about someone who doesn’t get nearly enough attention in philosophy courses, but who absolutely deserves it. Iamblichus of Chalcis. And I want to start by really situating you in his world, because understanding the context is crucial for understanding why his philosophy took the shape it did.…
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Plotinus: The Architect of Neoplatonism
Slide 1: Title Slide – Plotinus: The Architect of Neoplatonism Alright, let’s talk about one of the most mind-bending philosophers you’ve probably never heard of. Plotinus. Third century CE. And here’s what’s wild about this guy – he took Plato’s already abstract ideas about reality and said, “You know what? We can go deeper.” Think…
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The Philosophy of Confucius: Foundations of Harmony and Virtue
Slides 1-2 (Who Was Confucius + Historical Context) Intro we are stepping back over 2,500 years to a time of profound turbulence. Imagine a China fractured into warring states, where the old social contracts had dissolved, and violence was the primary language of politics. It was the Spring and Autumn period—a time when the very…
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Aristotle: The Architect of Western Thought
Slide 1: Aristotle – The Architect of Western Thought Okay, here’s something that should blow your mind right from the start: we’re about to talk about someone who basically invented how we think. Not what we think about this or that topic, but the actual structure of rational thought itself. Aristotle. 384 to 322 BCE.…
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Plato: The Architect of Western Philosophy
The Dawn of Philosophy (Slides 1-2) Slide 1: Opening – “The Architect of Western Philosophy” Alright, here’s a question that should bother you: Why are we still reading a guy who died 2,347 years ago? Think about that for a second. We don’t use ancient Greek medicine. We don’t navigate by their astronomy. We don’t…
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The Philosophy of Mahavira: Path to Liberation through Truth and Nonviolence
Slide 1: Title Slide – “The Philosophy of Mahavira: Path to Liberation through Truth and Nonviolence” Okay, so here’s a question that should make you uncomfortable: What would you give up for ultimate freedom? Not freedom like “I can do whatever I want on Saturday.” I mean FREEDOM—capital F. Freedom from suffering. Freedom from the…
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The Philosophy of Kapila: Father of Sankhya and Cosmic Evolution
Slide 1: Who Was Kapila? Okay, so imagine you’re living around 600 BCE. The world is going through this absolutely explosive moment of philosophical innovation—we’re talking Buddha in India, Confucius in China, the pre-Socratics in Greece. It’s like the universe decided to wake up all at once and start asking the big questions. And right…
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Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations — A Conversation with Translator Aaron Poochigian
00:00Again, poet, classicist and translator based in New York City whose work has appeared in the Financial Times, the New York Review of Books and Poetry Magazine. His new translation of Marcus Aurelius’ Meditation is out now from Live Write Publishing. Aaron, welcome to the show. Thank you very much for having me. Okay, so…
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The Philosophy of Leucippus: Father of Atomism
Slide 1: The Philosophy of Leucippus – Father of Atomism Here’s something wild: everything you think you know about matter, space, and physical reality might trace back to a guy we’re not even 100% sure existed. I’m serious. Leucippus – the philosopher we’re about to explore – left behind so little evidence that for centuries,…