Great Big Story
Why Do You Sneeze in the Sun
Discover the strange genetic condition of sun sneezing and its potential medical significance.
Curated Video
The Core of Influence & Persuasion: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos - Character, Reason, and Emotion
The earliest thinker in the Western tradition whose ideas about influence and persuasion come down to us was Aristotle. He asserted that we need three things to build a persuasive argument: ethos, logos, and pathos. In English, these...
Curated Video
Exploring the Renaissance of Healing Touch and Energy Therapy
This video explores the resurgence of energy-based healing practices like Reiki and healing touch, highlighting their potential benefits in relieving stress, pain, and emotional distress. It contrasts Western culture's historical lack of...
Professor Dave Explains
Empiricism Part 1: Da Vinci, Bacon, and Hobbes
With rationalism covered, let's investigate the other important movement in early modern philosophy, empiricism. In its earliest formulation, this included figures like Francis Bacon and Thomas Hobbes, and contrary to rationalism, which...
Professor Dave Explains
Late Medieval Philosophy: Abelard, Avicenna, Aquinas, et al.
We've covered early medieval philosophy, so let's move forward to the later part of this era, which is called the Scholastic period. This is marked by a strong Aristotelian influence, as well as the rise of universities as we know them...
Professor Dave Explains
An Overview of Medieval Logic
Having covered medieval philosophy, let's also investigate the status of logic at this time. Some of the figures we discussed, like Abelard and Boethius, made contributions to logic that are worth discussing in some detail. Let's get a...
Professor Dave Explains
Early Medieval Philosophy: Augustine of Hippo and Boethius
With ancient philosophy covered, it's time to move into medieval philosophy. This era is dominated by a strong link with theology, and all the most significant contributors to philosophy in this era were largely commenting on religious...
Curated Video
An Epistemic Democrat
Classicist and political theorist Josiah Ober (Stanford) looks back to Aristotle's view of human flourishing to appreciate the benefits of democracy.
Curated Video
Thinking like Galileo
Philosopher of science James Robert Brown, University of Toronto, describes how the common view that we have of Galileo ushering in the Scientific Revolution by dropping balls from the leaning tower of Pisa is profoundly incorrect, and...
Curated Video
Constructing Knowledge
UC Berkeley historian and Byzantine specialist Maria Mavroudi describes how the standard view of the Middle Ages science fails to take into account the creative process of systematizing and building upon prior views.
Curated Video
Combining Perspectives
Philosopher Susan Wolf (UNC Chapel Hill) gives us a sense of Aristotle's famous endoxic method, an approach which seems as relevant today as it was in ancient Athens.
Curated Video
Beyond the City-state?
Classicist and political theorist Josiah Ober (Stanford) muses on how we might best apply ancient Athenian insights on governance to our modern world.
Curated Video
Arab-Greek Bilingualism
Historian Maria Mavroudi (UC Berkeley) reveals how a careful study of Arab-Greek bilingualism can shed important light on a wealth of societal values, including the very foundations of their systems of knowledge.
Professor Dave Explains
Hellenistic and Roman Philosophy
Having made our way through Classical Greece, it's time to enter the subsequent Hellenistic and Roman periods. These were dominated by schools of thought that were influenced by the great classical thinkers, though they took their...
Professor Dave Explains
Logic in Late Ancient Philosophy
Previously we outlined Aristotle's enormous contributions in establishing logic as a formal field of inquiry. So what happened after that? How did the minds that followed, many directly in his lineage, develop this field further? What is...
Curated Video
Save The Boy? 4 Moral Thinkers Have Different Opinions
Would you save a boy who is drowning in front of your eyes? And thinking about this question, do you base your answer on the character you strive to become, on the behavior you want to see in the world, a costs and benefit analysis, your...
Professor Dave Explains
Aristotelian Logic
We just learned a bit about Aristotle and his philosophy, but he was also the first figure to truly establish logic as a field unto itself, and he developed many of the formalities this field still uses today. Types of sentences,...
Professor Dave Explains
Aristotle: The First Scientist
We've covered two figures out of the great trifecta of Classical Greek philosophy, those being Socrates and Plato, so let's move forward and discuss Aristotle, arguably one of the most important thinkers in the history of mankind, and...
Curated Video
Connected Part 1: Navigating Middle School Friendships
Understanding the different types of relationships can be a game changer. It can help you make sense of your interactions and connections and improve the way you relate to others. This episode of In Control - Connected focuses on...
Hip Hughes History
Socrates, Plato and Aristotle: Global History Review
A short summary of the big three Greek philosophers.
Weird History
Life of Ancient Olympians
There are many strange and fascinating facts buried in the long, bizarre history of the Olympics. The Summer Olympics of 2016 look almost nothing like those from a century ago, and it’s not just the slick presentation and technological...
Professor Dave Explains
The Roots of Logic in the Ancient World
I did promise that this playlist would include logic in addition to philosophy, so it's time to get rolling with that. How did logic emerge, and how did it evolve over time? Let's focus first on its origins and its status leading up to...
Professor Dave Explains
Classical Greek Philosophy: Socrates and Plato
When you think of philosophy, the first figures you likely think of are the classical Greek philosophers, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. It's time to dig into these enormous figures in the history of philosophy, starting with Socrates...
Professor Dave Explains
Early Philosophical Thought (East Asia and India)
Philosophy has its roots all over the world, and although the best preserved documents are from the Western world, which is why this topic is so frequently studied from a Western perspective, there are a number of Eastern thinkers that...