An ex-professor continues the search for wisdom in literature, philosophy... and parenting. Try to avoid Mammon and Moloch along the way because this show affirms Jesus Christ! More reactionary than progressive, but trying to stay optimistic. Look for new episodes at least once a week.
This episode is a bit delicate... but very relevant, and very worth listening to, in my opinion. What was the cause of the riot among the native Alexandrians in 38 A.D.?
The title says it all -- this episode's better on YouTube.
Anacharsis vs. Solon -- is the Law the way, or does it just make things worse?
The Roman poet, Horace!
This episode is about Paul's Letter to the Romans. It helps if you've read it.
In this episode, hear a summary of philosophical idealism, and learn how it is related to the question of Realism vs. Nominalism that dominated philosophy during the Middle Ages. Then, think through the consequences of these world-views. Was William of Ockham a genius, or was he wrong -- or was he subversive? How does an idealist imagine that education should work? How do our convictions about these things change how we might raise our children? Finally: what if I'm not perfectly beautiful and I feel sad about all of this? Hey, support me:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Godward
Make sure to look at the YouTube version of this episode -- much more visually stimulating~
More of the same, for die-hard fans only. Hawthorne, The Blithedale Romance. Part 3. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GodwardOdysee: https://odysee.com/@Godward:5?r=FFgMAmWyyzJ2b8HrstejXYp7UaTdV9ep
Part 2 in the video series on Hawthorne's 1852 book, "The Blithedale Romance"Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GodwardOdysee: https://odysee.com/@Godward:5?r=FFgMAmWyyzJ2b8HrstejXYp7UaTdV9ep
In this introductory episode, hear about Brook Farm and 19th century socialism in America, the influence of Fourier, and the necessity of skepticism and doubt. "The Blithedale Romance" was published in 1854, about 12 years after Hawthorne lived for a time at Brook Farm with a bunch of unitarians who wanted to reform the world. In the long run, he wasn't buying it. Part 1 in a series. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GodwardOdysee: https://odysee.com/@Godward:5?r=FFgMAmWyyzJ2b8HrstejXYp7UaTdV9ep
In this eclectic episode, hear about Montaigne's approach to essay-writing, my own health difficulties, and Buddha's teachings -- plus, a general review of the channel and a discussion of what sorts of directions we might pursue in the future. There's a little bit of everything here.Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GodwardOdysee: https://odysee.com/@Godward:5?r=FFgMAmWyyzJ2b8HrstejXYp7UaTdV9ep
In this high-verbal IQ episode, hear a reasonable attempt at summarizing Melville's very dense follow-up novel to Moby-Dick, "Pierre, or, The Ambiguities." What happens when mom wants you to like Reese Witherspoon but you fall for Helena Bonham Carter instead -- and then discover she's your half-sister? You move to New York City and try to become a great Truth-Telling writer, of course! But seriously, epistemological uncertainty can be a real drag, but it might also be how things really are -- and maybe it's at least nice to know that someone else has swum in these depths before us. "The brain is wider than the sky," Emily Dickinson said -- and that means it's definitely larger than politics too. My argument here is that we need to get in closer touch with human nature and psychology in order to construct anything of value, whether it be art or a political order or anything else -- the mind comes first, and it's not easy terrain to master.Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GodwardOdysee: https://odysee.com/@Godward:5?r=FFgMAmWyyzJ2b8HrstejXYp7UaTdV9ep
Continuing in the thread of 19th century liberals and why we love them, this episode considers "Song of Myself" and a couple of shorter poems by Whitman. Is he a very modern, post-Christian, sexually-depraved degenerate? Probably yes to all those. Do we still love his poetry?--yes!--even though it doesn't rhyme?--still, I think yes! There's never been a more anti-nationalist writer than Whitman, unless you count Anacharsis Cloots, but at the same time, Whitman is the most American-American ever... so, what's going on there? Can we salvage any of this? Here's my take: we DO want some serious emphasis on the esoteric elements of religion. Religion is not merely a language that we use to organize society. It is also the gateway to the other dimension of thought, to the twilight zone -- and this gateway cannot be inherited genetically, and it cannot be forcibly inculcated by a doctrine. Instead, one has to discover it for himself. And once he does, he is now qualified as what William James would call "the twice born," which means he is no longer LIKE all the other people -- including the people he has known for his whole life! He's a new man! Born again! And he will THEN go on to seek others who have experienced this second birth. He will identify with his fellow-twice-born even more than he did with his blood-ties. Can we imagine a society of the twice-born? Can such a society avoid ossifying?
Nietzsche's ubermensch, eternal recurrence, anti-Christianism. Enjoy the analysis and commentary on "Thus Spake Zarathustra." Plus, honoring Jerry Rubin! This episode gives you all the content you want in a way that will make some of you (the ones who don't know what they're talking about) mad. Seriously, Nietzsche is not a conservative.Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GodwardOdysee: https://odysee.com/@Godward:5?r=FFgMAmWyyzJ2b8HrstejXYp7UaTdV9ep
In this Francophilic video, enjoy lots of pretty pictures and some sympathetic talk about Huysmans' 1884 cult classic, "Against Nature," which is also translated as "Against the Grain." The idea of this book is that the French Decadent period was sort of the end of an age. Ennui was dominating French intellectuals and the opium dens and brothels were lining the streets of Paris. Some visionaries like Baudelaire and Rimbaud challenged the optimistic narrative of Progress and secularism. Some became political liberals, but some decided that that was a path leading nowhere. Swimming against the stream, cutting against the grain, not following the pack -- all that stuff -- Joris-Karl Huysmans wrote a book in the exact opposite direct, and it scandalized the French literati. Degeneracy is a real thing, and some people actually oppose it smartly! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GodwardOdysee: https://odysee.com/@Godward:5?r=FFgMAmWyyzJ2b8HrstejXYp7UaTdV9ep
In this misleadingly titled video, hear a reasonable attempt at summarizing one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, as well as some thoughts about its meaning and dominant themes. See some famous paintings of the play, and hear something about how Shakespeare changed English drama, as well as how he influenced later writers like Herman Melville. Pull your tights up, gentlemen!Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GodwardOdysee: https://odysee.com/@Godward:5?r=FFgMAmWyyzJ2b8HrstejXYp7UaTdV9ep
In this based episode, see a couple of interesting short clips, hear some stuff about Franz Kafka & his story, "The Metamorphosis," and learn about the Art of Dark podcast. We should talk more about what we mean by "Based," but we'll save that for the secret streams. Themes of alienation and disorientation. The highly modernist setting. A dash of German and a dash of Jewishness. I mean, this episode really has it all. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Godward
In this ineffable video, ironically, not as many visuals -- just some talking about language and thought after re-reading Cormac McCarthy's "Kekule Problem" essay... here's a link to the original essay:https://nautil.us/issue/47/consciousness/the-kekul-problemI've always found this to be a stimulating locus for meditation -- the origin of language, what it has to do with the self, and being human, etc. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GodwardOdysee: https://odysee.com/@Godward:5?r=FFgMAmWyyzJ2b8HrstejXYp7UaTdV9ep
In this positively-perspectival episode, learn about what happened after the Gospels and after the Book of Acts, both in Jerusalem and in places like Ephesus and Athens and Rome and Alexandria. Eusebius's church history is an attempt to narrate a people into existence -- he refers more than once to "the Christian race," and he definitely sees the destruction of Jerusalem as the fulfillment of prophecy. He cites Josephus and Philo, as well as a letter said to be written by Jesus Christ himself. Seriously fun content here.Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GodwardOdysee: https://odysee.com/@Godward:5?r=FFgMAmWyyzJ2b8HrstejXYp7UaTdV9ep
In this very English video, hear a bit of background and statistics on Milton's famous poem, "Paradise Lost." See some video footage of North Carolina in Spring. Hear about what's so wrong with communism, and why Psychology is only helpful if it builds upon a proper understanding of the essential nature of mankind. Blank verse is a slog, but if you love iambs, you'll enjoy this episode!Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GodwardOdysee: https://odysee.com/@Godward:5?r=FFgMAmWyyzJ2b8HrstejXYp7UaTdV9ep
In this abstract episode, consider a few specific examples taken from literary classics -- as well as a couple from modern books & movies -- in order to answer the question of whether there are limits to interpretation that are "built into" the narratives we enjoy. What ramifications do these proposed limits of interpretation have on our own sense of moral duties, heroism, virtue, and human psychology? If we consider our own lives as a story, does it help us to make good moral judgments, or was Socrates right in saying we should throw out the stories because they give us a false sense of reality? There's a lot going on in this episode, but the good news is, you'll be able to keep up even if you haven't read Aeschylus or Euripides -- although, you probably should at least know the outline of Antigone & the New Testament, okay? I mean come on. Get a grip. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Godward
In this atonal episode, hear almost nothing about Milledgeville and very little about Lupus, but hear a pretty good complete reading of a fragment of an uncompleted novel based on a line from Psalm 2 by Flannery O'Connor -- who wrote the fragment, which has been published as a story titled "Why the Heathen Rage" (not Psalm 2, of course). In a way that's hard for Protestants to understand, thinking about violence and interesting unexpected-but-inevitable endings in relation to Christianity all made sense to Flannery. Also a little discussion of violence & catharsis in "American Psych0." Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GodwardOdysee: https://odysee.com/@Godward:5?r=FFgMAmWyyzJ2b8HrstejXYp7UaTdV9ep
In this mystical episode, learn a bit about German theologian Meister Eckhart and hear from his sermon, "Blessed are the Poor." We're talking exoteric and esoteric, outward and inward -- the god beyond all concepts of "God." The church wasn't exactly comfortable with him 700 years ago and some people still aren't. Enjoy! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Godward?fan_landing=trueOdysee: https://odysee.com/@Godward:5?r=FFgMAmWyyzJ2b8HrstejXYp7UaTdV9ep
In this very plausible episode, learn to appreciate the way that the intricate, realistic, and even mundane details of a typical Borges story -- in this case, "Funes, El Memorioso" -- create a catalyst to imagination that can free you from your stuck-in-a-rut basic concerns about politics and orthodoxy and everything else that's predictable. Put your sails up to full mast and let's go somewhere! We're not staying in the ghetto, gang. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Godward?fan_landing=trueOdysee: https://odysee.com/@Godward:5?r=FFgMAmWyyzJ2b8HrstejXYp7UaTdV9ep
In this scattershot episode, we discuss the incentives and pressures that exist in modern, post-revolutionary capitalist society. We trash Milton Friedman a little bit and bolster some new stuff by David Graeber and some older stuff by Thoreau & Melville -- plus, hear from Wendell Berry & Leo Marx. We can reason about macroeconomics, but it's more difficult when (or: "if") we take into account the moods and emotions and yes, preferences, of the individual children of god that macroeconomists refer to as "labor." Hello my fellow Leftists. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GodwardOdysee: https://odysee.com/@Godward:5?r=FFgMAmWyyzJ2b8HrstejXYp7UaTdV9ep
In this experimental video, just get into the trance, learn to think like an iris flower, see some inverted video and hear more from Aarvoll & Dogen & Dionysus. There's also a bunch of paintings and pictures of early Spring. And what's with Moses covering his face?
In this licentious video, get wild with the Bacchae of Euripides, learn about where Dionysus comes from (he's a foreigner, sort of) and why he demands to be acknowledged as a god. And, hear all about what happens if we refuse to recognize him as a god. Plus, lots of paintings and a wild 5-minute video that I made myself with help from the muses. Odysee: https://odysee.com/@Godward:5?r=4A91ThmzLji3NFhSe45XMiCLpT8Y8RDQPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/Godward
In this brightly lit video, learn about an ancient feud between one type of people (the good ones) and another type of people (the bad ones), and try to decide which side you want to be on. The stakes couldn't be higher! If you choose to be on the good side, the people on the bad side will probably hate you and ostracize you and maybe even kill you, whereas if you choose to go with the baddies, you'll get cushy jobs and make lots of money and be popular and celebrated in the media. All you have to do is hold the opinions that are officially popular, regardless of what they are, and never tell people they can't have all they want! Plato's Gorgias is on the hot-seat.Odysee: https://odysee.com/@Godward:5?r=4A91ThmzLji3NFhSe45XMiCLpT8Y8RDQPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/Godward
In this heady video, hear a good deal of analysis of the first of Plotinus's Enneads, and learn about the three hypostases, his anti-Gnosticism, and how Porphyry preserved his mentor's biographical details. What is a "Proficient?" Plus, watch me thumb through the greatest children's book of all-time, "A Story of Mankind," by Van Loon -- and as usual, see some clips from the back-yard and neighborhood walks.Odysee: https://odysee.com/@Godward:5?r=4A91ThmzLji3NFhSe45XMiCLpT8Y8RDQPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/Godward
Interested in the Harry & Meghan Markle scandal? Want to learn about why the Royal Family is so interesting in this case, and why it's not so easy to decide which side is in the right? Listen to this informative episode where we discuss Sophocles's famous Oedipus Cycle, and we examine the philosophical issues that were raised by Oprah's interview by comparing what happened in ancient Thebes to what is happening now in Old England. Yes, it's a little click-baity, but don't let the lyin' mainstream media tell you what to think about this! Reason through it yourself!My Odysee Channel: https://odysee.com/@Godward:5?r=4A91ThmzLji3NFhSe45XMiCLpT8Y8RDQPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/Godward
In this Puritanical episode, learn about Jonathan Edwards, Puritan-Calvinist theology, and the importance of receiving a sort of special revelation that Edwards describes as a light immediately imparted by God. Plus watch me cut down a ginkgo tree. We're talking the real living Holy Spirit, and the orthodox are liable to cry because we ain't doin' it their way! Mwhaha find me on Patreon my fellow Protestants children of God:https://www.patreon.com/Godward
In this heretical episode, see some images and learn to see through the images to the divine realm. Hear about how the Nag Hammadi was discovered, when the texts were translated, etc. Plus, hear some quotes from the Gospel of Philip, discuss the problem of language & ineffability... and if you make it to the end of the video, see a very fine painting of Pontius Pilate and Jesus Christ staring at each other face to face.Romans 16:25: "Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began." My channel on Odysee: https://odysee.com/@Godward:5?r=4A91ThmzLji3NFhSe45XMiCLpT8Y8RDQPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/Godward
In this scandalous episode, hear an overview of Herodotus, a defense of free speech, some reflections on my college years, and a re-telling of the story of King Candaules sucking himself. See some sexy paintings and read about the very different ways that people used to arrange themselves. If you're inclined to support my work, here's a link to my Patreon page:https://www.patreon.com/Godward
In this succinct episode, learn little about the life of Blaise Pascal, about his historical period, about his political convictions--instead, hear a few of his maxims read aloud, and think with me about what they mean, and consider why he was thinking about them. Pascal seems to me like absolutely required reading for professing Christians, and he might even be a good antidote to the subtle corruptions that have been woven into the faith by bad Christians... and maybe even by non-Christians.Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Godward?fan_landing=true
In this conspiratorial video, learn about the historian Sallust and his two works, The Catiline Conspiracy and The Jugurthine War -- see a great painting by Rogier Van Der Weyden, which I had intended to compare favorably to the Mona Lisa but chickened out. Hear a quote from a PhD who gives you the green-light on doing some light conspiracy theorizing. Seriously, for those of you who are hearing me, this one should really start to help it click... we're back in 64-63 B.C., but as Brian G says, the more things change, the more they stay the same.Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Godward
In this Truthful episode, Straussians are BTFO’d by one of the greatest men to ever live, Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius — better known simply as Boethius. What can we do about the Woke brigade, cancel culture, and our lingering sense that the world that existed for our grandfathers was in some sense truer and more natural than the one we find ourselves in? Should we use cryptic language and parables, should we dodge persecution, make compromises, and let the executioner take our allies before they take us? Or should we do the right thing and simply endure the consequences? What would Lady Philosophy do?Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Godward
In this scandalous episode, hear all about the dalliances of Nero and Caligula, as well as the murderous antics of earlier emperors like Julius Caesar and Augustus. Seriously I wouldn't let your mom listen to this -- it's too controversial and graphic. Oh and, there are some visuals! Please take a look at my Patreon page -- the next secret stream meeting is tomorrow night!Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Godward?fan_landing=true
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