Ancient Philosophies as a Way of Life: Socrates

January 25, 2012 - John Cooper gives the first of two lectures in the Tanner Lecture Series. This first lecture focuses on some of the ancient philosophies of Aristotle and how they apply to life today.
Stanford University:
www.stanford.edu/
Center for Ethics in Society:
ethicsinsociety...
Tanner Lecture Series:
ethicsinsociety...
Stanford University Channel on KZbin:
/ stanford

[@tito1894]

Time to procrastinate on my homework by learning.

[@coaboa5339]

This was nine years ago. But still. Learning on your own is your education

[@_N0_0ne]

@@coaboa5339 true story 🙂

[@charlesgodwin2191]

Philosophy is a way of being in the world that hopefully feels inherently good, to experience completion of joy in form, which is fulfilment.

[@yohansir]

When people start to see life as life is when people start to change.

[@PhilosopherMuse]

John's presentation was very dynamic, passionate and relevant for the times. His grasp of Platonism is profound.

[@tlove93]

At first I was like damn, come on fore Jesus come back. But on the real, yo this lecture is so PROFOUND! I LOVE IT!!!! For future listeners, just give it time, and it makes so much sense. Well put together!!

[@ArvindBhave]

no starts at 6:27

[@jaekn]

Its not the subject matter that's tedious, its the vocal presentation. This was my issue at University - brilliant thinkers are so very rarely even adequate speakers. And bfore anyone tries to steer me towards "American Idol" or the like, I have a degree in philosophy

[@nickholderman4891]

+jaekn Agreed. This professor is probably brilliant - it's the delivery that needs help.

[@errorinscript1127]

Jaekn Cool can you teach me stuff ?

[@jaekn]

@Error inscript Fuck no.

[@errorinscript1127]

Jaekn Ah man..

[@20FreeWill]

Platos dialogue "phaedo" convinced me life after death is a distinct possibility. My favourite of the dialogues I have read

[@WisdomisPower-10inminute-dn5no]

Your points echo many of the themes I've been discussing in my latest content. Such thoughtful dialogue is inspiring.

[@German1184]

Where is the Lecture 3 (25th May 2011): 'The Stoic Way of Life' ??? I would like the see he talking about stoicim.

[@StAndAl0neCompl3x]

I confess the speaker lost my interest when he began to read directly from a pre-written speech.

[@Socratic469]

"Philosophy aught to be a total way of life" he says. That's for damn sure!! Especially if its based on the Socratic way. You do this alone and you're free, I'm not BSing you here. Take the time to read all Platos dialogues more than once and come back here and tell me if I'm wrong.

[@Beauweir]

Is there a follow up video on the later philosophies, Epicureans, Platonists, Aristotelians, Stoics etc?

[@platoman214]

Couldn't agree more. Very abrasive "melody" in his voice.

[@ThunderBroomPilot]

Professor, please join Toastmasters as soon as possible.

[@luizclaudio6724]

Does anyone has a PDF for the handout?

[@sydneywheeler5037]

tannerlectures.utah.edu/_resources/documents/a-to-z/c/Cooper%20Lecture.pdf

[@kmj2109]

if it is boring for you than may be " American idol" is something for your mind.

[@siddharthk9487]

Lol

[@AvgJane19]

Your condescending tone contributes nothing.

[@RomanMedvid]

You better learn when to use ‘then’ vs ‘than’

[@Fer-De-Lance]

Thank you for the great talk.

[@sowcratees]

I think he should just send me the email. He reads; does not lecture. I can't think of anything less socratic.

[@MrMarktrumble]

great lecture.

[@DBSpy1]

@vikeliz1 I played with plato when I was a kid.

[@jc1838]

Where are the links for the handouts?

[@DawsonTyson]

Glade to know that i'm not the only one who sees the world in this way.

[@juliusmaneno6982]

Great lecture

[@publicme]

This is an excellent presentation. Thanks. I'm curious where Leo Strauss fits in here, as he discusses the ancients vs moderns in philosophy. Too bad there are so many infantile comments here. I guess we can just ignore these.

[@guiadetodo2654]

Dowunload Wise Universal from Play Store, it`s great

[@ayyashC]

@gosucoaching all the time ??? I'm half way there and I am distracted by waiting for the lecture starts and reading stops. sigh

[@Socratic469]

Now is one's character not dependent on genetics, epigenetics and social environment. All of which can be argued to be quantifiable and does free will have a place in this tricotomy. I say yes but ask for your input.

[@brianbelgique3267]

Great lecture! I really enjoyed it and it inspired me. I would say that this lecture would be difficult to follow for people not used to philosophical discussion, as this is a very condensed lecture. Certainly not for your average non-philosophical type.

[@falcodarkzz]

Perhaps I wasn't clear enough. Take the nature of your experience of the color red, this experience is something you know well. If we took a blind man, blind his entire life, and orally taught him physics. He becomes a top student, a superb mathematician. Yet for all his expertise working with the mathematics of light, the rules which govern it, will he come any closer to that experience you have of red than an uneducated man? Predicting phenomena does not equal experiencing it.

[@malgretout563]

Thank you for sharing this

[@scorpio4lyfe]

@ironassbrown, I'm sure you understand that resorting to ad hominem attacks will not advance your argument. I simply stated my opinion. I don't doubt that what he discussed was substantive. However, I still maintain that it would have been more accessible if it was presented more naturally. That is, presented with a natural speaking voice-- with appropriate pauses, intonations, emphasis etc. PS. I accept that I am a practical person, therefore, this may still be too abstract for me :-)

[@yorgoskep4608]

Socrates and Plato would condemn such a way of presentation! Their method was dialectical; Socrates especially was speaking his mind to ordinary ctizens in the ancient Agora of Athens!

[@TheMaster1237]

Why does it matter if its ordinary people or not?

[@Exiro]

He regularly looks at the room to check if the people haven't left.

[@bbcrumbs]

While understanding alone may not stop you from yelling, it will help•

[@ReX0r]

To summarize: Philosophy, fuck yeah!

[@ironassbrown]

@ehecutor congratulations in your conflabberation, and confustication.

[@phacker7967]

GET ON WITH IT!!!!!

[@falcodarkzz]

Science has is a description of phenomena that allows us to make predictions. This in no way constitutes an explanation in all cases. Conscious awareness is utterly unexplained by neuroscience, chemistry of physics. We observe electrical impulses and the complex interactions of matter, but we cannot make the bridge between our mathematical models and actual experience. Its like showing a deaf man all the mathematics behind sound, he still wont experience it.

[@German1184]

Thank you very much.

[@Efilzeo]

Is this even a lesson? He could have given us the pdf and we could read it by ourselves.

[@daliakrinsky4895]

Thank you.

[@watermelonlalala]

What is the most important thing? The soul.

[@razamaer]

I was about to fuckin start watching a 1 hour long video, just to fucking realize that it's one dude reading a piece of paper. A man reading a text instructing other about a man who refused to ever use writing and reading a form of constructive dialog. Irony.

[@chendaforest]

That's what a lecture is...

[@massimilianopirrottina5958]

Socrate philosophy who discover with dialogue the true in speaker person not negativity

[@TheRealHimself]

Yeah...I'm gonna need that handout.

[@Ghostonplanet]

Regards to all

[@jenmemphis7818]

My fav part.... 37 mins in :)

[@commanderpurple5228]

jen memphis snuck that in there, didn't he?!

[@FreshHeat]

@tito1894 Exactly how I feel, especially about this terrible high school work.

[@groki9572]

Very nice talk, but his conclusion goes against what Socrates himself says before his judges, he can't stop philosophizing because that would be impiety against the God. The same sort of reasoning can be found in the Roman stoic Epictetus.

[@quacking]

How arrogant to claim that because ethics can be found throughout philosophy that somehow means other subjects are less valid, if that was true, which it's not, it wouldn't need to be explained, especially not that many times. Other than that though this was very interesting

[@Socratic469]

Isn't ethics not a part of natural philosophy; science?

[@scottk1525]

This sounds like a fucking book on tape

[@scottk1525]

Ben Jammin Emphasis.

[@HoneyRainbowFlower]

I agree.

[@ehecutor]

With philosophy, I don't understand people who look for help in books for self-motivation.

[@misstuesy]

I guess my philosophy of philosophy is I'm not interested in learning anything about it after 30min I still was wondering what the lecture was about. He has a good voice for speaking but the speech didn't help me get anymore interested after watching so long already. 😒😒

[@matthewmichaelcrown3643]

Hmm, it seems the gentleman might benefit him and his audience from reading and applying Aristotle's "Rhetoric" in addition to his Ethics.

[@theIdlecrane]

If only he was actually able to tell me something..

[@penklislawnmowing4508]

Thy shall not get caught

[@futurekillerful]

Man taking notes on this seems so hard to do tbh. I guess it shows how much my generation depends on power points lol.

[@mhikl4484]

+The Great Debater GD, maybe a mental exercise you might try is to train the brain to listen and absorb. When I went to University we made notes as the professor spoke. You lose a lot that way. Finally, I just gave up and listened and worked on connexions. Seemed to work. Now I can dl the lecture, put it straight to audio and listen, stop and go back if need be. A good lecture can be listened to more than once. I use KZbin to MP3. Namaste and care, mhikl

[@futurekillerful]

***** nice man when I go to a university i'll try this. Thanks for advice.

[@mhikl4484]

+The Great Debater A guy who stops and thinks, excellent. Great Debater, here's another quick hint for university, for life. A simple way to make each day a memory. Practice now. Get quality scribblers from the dollar store for home, for work if you have a desk, and another for the car. Get some small ones for the pocket. Start writing during the day, 5 times, 10, however often you can muster. Just three sentences, no more or it becomes a chore. Doesn't matter what you write: the topic is 'the idea' to be captured in three sentences. Simple examples: advert on TV, radio, something you read, something you saw, something you heard, just a thought-any thought, any happening, any ponderation. Don't worry about handwriting, spelling, 'could be done better', or any other discouraging thought; which are really just distractions and excuses to stop. Doing it is the objective, the only goal, for ten a day becomes 3 650 in a year which is an encouraging 10 950 sentences. That's the equivalent of a book, Do not correct, nor be concerned about spelling, grammar, structure, dumb writing, worries such as "could do better. . ." If you are a sports guy, it is how you develop skills in a sport or any activity, actually. Repetition cements focus and focus leads to proficiency and proficiency cements confidence in a skill, which is how a man is driven to become. Just do it. Over a period of three to four months you will be amazed how easily your skills are honed, how sentences become more complex and ideas so well expressed that you will be suddenly, pleased and satisfied. Over a year, you will discover grace in your writing, clarity in your thought, spontaneity in your choice of phrase, as easily as water runs its course. Namaste and care, mhikl

[@TennysonLouis-s6p]

Harris Joseph Hernandez Betty Perez Ruth

[@sueXass]

7hat's not true. A deaf man can well vibrations, which he in term can relate to the mathematics. Never forget the sequence. First there is the phenomenon, then there is the realization, and then there is the calculation translated back to mathematics. By the hand of those formula, it should be possible to predict future outcomes of a phenomena, depending on the skills of the creator of the mathematical translation, which in term correlates with the reputation of the mathematician.

[@dark4krad]

it got a little boring towards the end

[@crimsonsamuraiftw]

@tito1894 I see that you have the same problem that I have! :)

[@longcastle4863]

Philosophy has abandoned ethics; unfortunately. We should be living for the future of our species and managing to have meaningful useful lives in the process.

[@Socratic469]

How could knowledge of philosophy change your life? Yes, this guy seems a good soul regardless of rhetorical style. I like his energy for the topic he belongs in the Agora with Socrates I suspect.

[@innosanto]

Active philosophy examinjng the daily, not just storing in a knowledge box. Act philosophy

[@xale7593]

^ without saying

[@Eyemallfunkedup]

The problem is he's reading. I can read. I don't need him to read to me; like I'm in Pre-K.

[@alexkrantz316]

How does such a learned man miss the spiritual exercises found throughout the ancient philosophers? In the Phaedo, Socrates uses and recommends music to aid reason in maintaining resolve. In the Republic, Plato endorses physical training and poetry for educating the spirited part of the soul. Plutarch's Life of Dion says that while studying at Plato's academy they trained in methods that mitigated anger. While I enjoy Prof Cooper's accessible summary of Socrates' pursuit of wisdom as a way if life, his exaggeration of reason reflects and justifies modern the academic philosophy of which he is a representative part. The discipline of academic philosophy has absolutely nothing to do with the cultivation of virtue; and reasoning and writing such as Prof Cooper's is perfectly compatible with the kinds of moral scandals that have been occuring throughout philosophy departments of late. Philosophy professors are no more morally developed than accountants. It is not enough to know and talk about virtue, or else Socrates and Prof Cooper wouldn't have been chubby. Exercises and techniques are vitally necessary to make moral progress. Since modern philosophers do not study or practice the techniques of moral progress, they are poor, but well-paid, examples.

[@CreepyGoblinIsU]

this is what i do on friday nights

[@sueXass]

genes are energetic, not physical. animals do as a fact relate to others to conform there well-being. not knowing the language used in psychology gives these kinds of misunderstandings.

[@DoddBrady-b8o]

Jackson Richard Walker Kenneth Harris Michelle

[@ironassbrown]

@chikeeze If he hadn't read it, you would have gotten more out of his talk? You have got to be kidding right, just admit you don't have the attention to analyze abstract, and sometimes conflicting concepts.

[@wildreams]

@tito1894 NO.

[@EsatBargan]

Gonzalez Laura Rodriguez Sandra Jackson Maria

[@StAndAl0neCompl3x]

@tito1894 Best comment ever.

[@dan020350]

just make a entertaining movie for Socrates -.- and we will know it all

[@MaxwellPietsch]

holy shit me too

[@evelinakonstadinidi6578]

I prefer Aristotelis..

[@XlogicXX]

Cmon, I have no idea what was important about what he said, no idea what to pay attention to, no emotion to emphasize what he thought was key to understanding the speech. He shouldn't have read the whole thing... geez.

[@RhettWright]

Anyone else think the lectern looks like a grill? God, I'm so bored. . .

[@DawsonTyson]

Oh by the way the Bible would fall under this theory of philosophy.

[@kiwiotatts]

Not the greatest lecturer, but neither apparently, was Sir Issac Newton.

[@gregwrangler2800]

After spending the first 7 minutes of this lecture patting each other on the back and extolling the greatness of each other's accomplishments in their work, we get another 5 minutes of why it was a good reason to sit through this boring lesson in nothingness. In 12 minutes of absolute babble, I haven't heard a word about the person...Socrates, that i tuned in to hear about. At 16 minutes...still nothing! time to tune out.

[@djjal667]

32:15wattuuduu***Mhuhuhu The WatchMen peace

[@gosucoaching]

Hate how he is reading the whole time. :-/

[@supertragedy945]

Shockingly bad. This person has no business talking about Socrates.

[@derekmracek6257]

Says Philosophy over 500 times lol

[@Hume2012]

People who use the word "fuckin" and the word "dude" and follow them with pseudo-intellectual tripe should get a life....dude.

[@CallHimNames]

ooo piece of candy

[@ingridweber1]

Nothing more boring than reading a lecture!

[@chrislauren1108]

Brilliant words, terrible orator. Hard to follow because of the way he presents it and makes his sophisticated ideas more of a challenge to understand than it needs to be.

[@Socratic469]

go 49ers! LOL!

[@adamredman3000]

Totally inarticulate