Sadler's Lectures

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Musonius Rufus' Lecture 13, in which he discusses what the main or most important aspect of marriage is. The first thing he identifies is coming together for two purposes, a shared life and the generation of children. The latter turns out not to be quite so central, however, given that human beings do that as we...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Musonius Rufus' Lecture 12, in which he discusses the attitude a virtuous person will adopt towards sexual matters (aphrodisia), translated by Lutz as "sexual indulgence". For Musonius, the need for many varied objects of sexual desire is a sign of weakness and luxury, adultery is a very serious vice, and male-m...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Musonius Rufus' Lecture 8, in which he sets out reasons why a person in a position of rulership or authority (specifically a king), ought to study philosophy. For a ruler developing and using the cardinal virtues of wisdom, justice, temperance, and courage will be of paramount importance To support my ongoing w...

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient Stoic philosopher Musonius Rufus' Lecture 4, in which, addressing the question whether daughters should be given the same education as sons are, he makes several important points. The first is the answer to the question, namely Yes of course male and female ought to receive the same education, since they are both human beings, an...

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...