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• SSadler's Lectures2026-10-14Audio✓ Read

  Musonius Rufus, Lectures - Women, Men, and Philosophy - Sadler’s Lectures

  This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Musonius Rufus' Lecture 3, in which he addresses the question whether women just as much as men ought to study and practice philosophy, to which his answer is "Yes, of course". He then provides reasons for this, starting with the fact that women and men as human beings share the same capacities, which they ought to rightly cultivate. He then goes on to consider each of the four cardinal virtues, noting why women as well as men need to develop these virtues.

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• SSadler's Lectures2026-10-13Audio✓ Read

  Musonius Rufus, Lectures - Innate Inclination Towards Virtue - Sadler’s Lectures

  This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Musonius Rufus' Lecture 2, in which he argues that human beings have an innate inclination towards virtue and even the "seeds of virtue" within them. He uses several lines of argument. The fact that certain lines of conduct are required or prohibited shows an assumption that people are responsible for developing and displaying virtue. As opposed to other types of skill or knowledge, where we don't hold people accountable for not knowing them, that of living well is one we do.

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• SSadler's Lectures2026-10-12Audio✓ Read

  Musonius Rufus, Lectures - Demonstrations For One Matter - Sadler’s Lectures

  This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Musonius Rufus' Lecture 1, in which Musonius advances the claim that it is a sign that a teacher better understands their subject when they can present it with fewer rather than more arguments, proofs, or demonstrations. Likewise, on the part of the student, it is a sign that they have better intellectual capacities when they do not require as many demonstrations to understand the matter in question.

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• SSadler's Lectures2026-10-08Audio✓ Read

  Thomas Nagel, Sexual Perversion - Sexual Perversion And Morality - Sadler’s Lectures

  This lecture discusses the 20th century Analytic philosopher, Thomas Nagel's essay "Sexual Perversion", and focuses upon the remarks that Nagel closes the article with, bearing on how sexual perversion connects with morality and goodness or badness. He clarifies that moral judgements are just one of a number of possible modes of evaluative judgements, and that assessments about sexuality and perversion might not be moral judgements any more than judgements about health or beauty.

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• SSadler's Lectures2026-10-07Audio✓ Read

  Thomas Nagel, Sexual Perversion - Perversions Of The Central Impulse - Sadler’s Lectures

  This lecture discusses the 20th century Analytic philosopher, Thomas Nagel's essay "Sexual Perversion", and focuses upon a number of sexual desires, practices, and relationships commonly viewed as sexual perversions in the time and culture that Nagel was writing, and Nagel's own views on whether and why they are or are not sexual perversions. These all have to do with their deviation from the paradigm he develops earlier in the article of a fully developed sexual relationship involving subjects feeling and acting upon desire mutually.

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• SSadler's Lectures2026-10-05Audio✓ Read

  Thomas Nagel, Sexual Perversion - Sexual Perception And Embodiment - Sadler’s Lectures

  This lecture discusses the 20th century Analytic philosopher, Thomas Nagel's essay "Sexual Perversion", and focuses upon Nagel's depiction of what he calls the paradigm case of mutual sexual desire, which involves perceiving the other person sexually, through desire, but also reacting to their desire as well. This involves embodiment as well on the part of both people, and a set of interactions that are to some degree involuntary but also spontaneous and chosen.

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• SSadler's Lectures2026-10-04Audio✓ Read

  Thomas Nagel, Sexual Perversion - Sexual Desire And Awareness Of The Other - Sadler’s Lectures

  This lecture discusses the 20th century Analytic philosopher, Thomas Nagel's essay "Sexual Perversion", and focuses upon the portion of his article where Nagel begins setting out his conception of a full sexual relationship between two people. Sexual attraction and desire is, according to Nagel, directed ultimately towards individuals not just types who happen to have a particular characteristic.

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• SSadler's Lectures2026-10-03Audio✓ Read

  Thomas Nagel, Sexual Perversion - Addressing A Skeptical Objection - Sadler’s Lectures

  This lecture discusses the 20th century Analytic philosopher, Thomas Nagel's essay "Sexual Perversion", and focuses upon what Nagel calls a "skeptical challenge" to the very notion that there is something that can meaningfully be called "sexual perversion". One way of articulating this is to say that sexual desire is simply an appetite like any other, which can take many forms, directions, and objects, so we cannot effectively distinguish anything like a perversion in sexuality.

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• SSadler's Lectures2026-10-02Audio✓ Read

  Thomas Nagel, Sexual Perversion - Initial Clarifications Of The Concept - Sadler’s Lectures

  This lecture discusses the 20th century Analytic philosopher, Thomas Nagel's essay "Sexual Perversion", and focuses upon the initial clarifications Nagel thinks needs to be made about the concept of sexual perversion before going on to examine it in further detail. He makes three positive clarifications, which are what we calls general conditions the concept must meet.

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