Professor Kozlowski Lectures

Professor Kozlowski finally reaches plot development in Goethe's Faust, Part One. He discusses Margareta as a character, Faust's (and the audience's) relationship to her, and the looming sense of destruction hanging over everyone. What could go wrong?

Professor Kozlowski wraps up his study of political philosophy by discussing the ups and downs of the project, summarizing some of the most important findings, and musing about the future (which will hopefully contain less Hobbes).If you're interested in Professor Kozlowski's other online projects or want to keep up with his work, visit his website: professorkozlowski.wordpress.comIf you would like to contribute to Professor Kozlowski's work, please visit his Patreon: patreon.com/ProfessorKozlowski Donations are always appreciated, and mean more time devoted to online projects instead of paid classes!If you'd like to contact Professor Kozlowski directly, use: profbkozlowski2@gmail.com

Today Professor Kozlowski investigates a grab bag of other political perspectives, including the radical Utilitarianism of Peter Singer's "Famine, Affluence, and Morality," the Cosmopolitanism prescribed by Martha Nussbaum, and the Native American perspectives on land, community, and individuality discussed by V. F. Cordova and Ted Jojola in their writings. It may not add up to a cogent perspective, but it should offer some enlightening critique of the dominant systems we've discussed so far.

Professor Kozlowski examines some of the most famous political activists of the twentieth century.Remember that all opinions expressed in this lecture are opinions, both for the speaker and the readings cited, and that you should trust the research, not the authority of the researcher.Today's readings include:Gandhi, Indian Home RuleFanon, The Wretched of the EarthMLK Jr., Letter from Birmingham JailMalcolm X, The Ballot or the BulletMalm, How to Blow Up a PipelineAdditional readings include: bell hooks' Ain't I a Woman?De Beauvoir's The Second SexWarner, The Trouble With NormalFoucault, EthicsKeller, Out of the DarkDuBois, The Souls of Black FolkDeloria, Custer Died for Your SinsMLK Jr., A Gift of LoveDelany, DhalgrenLeGuin, The Left Hand of DarknessButler, The Parable of the SowerGilman, HerlandSchuyler, Black No MoreEllison, Invisible ManKushner, Angels in Americaand for my video game fans:1979: Black Friday

Professor Kozlowski continues his idiotic life choices by reading and critiquing the neo-liberal political philosophy discussion surrounding John Rawls' A Theory of Justice. We'll talk about what Liberalism is, its dominance in the discussion of political philosophy, and its assumptions and blind spots - as well as just getting very frustrated by Nozick's particular brand of Libertarianism.Our readings today come from:FDR's State of the Union addresses in 1941 and 1944Rawls' A Theory of JusticeNozick's Anarchy, State, UtopiaWalzer's "A Defense of Equality"And additional readings include:Friedman's The World is FlatHayek's The Road to SerfdomCaro's The Power BrokerGraeber's Bullshit JobsHuxley's Brave New WorldGibson's NeuromancerWallace's The Pale KingThe Big Short (2015)Sid Meier's CivilizationFate of the WorldUmurangi GenerationIf you selfishly and freely wish to meditate on Professor Kozlowski's other individualistic contributions to society, thus patronizing his websites and encouraging more of the same, consider visiting his website: https://professorkozlowski.wordpress.com/

Professor Kozlowski invites the wrath of the Internet by proposing to discuss Conservatism. To do that, we'll explore the history of conservative thinking (and American Conservatism in particular) from Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France and Romanticism (including Nietzsche's perspective in On the Genealogy of Morals), to the 20th and 21st centuries. We'll touch on major developments throughout history, including the New Deal, the Cold War, the Civil Rights movement, the Christian Evangelical Right, and Neoconservatism (including Irving Kristol's "The Neoconservative Persuasion), all the way up to the MAGA movement and Project 2025. It's a massive lecture for a massive topic, but how else were we going to introduce the 20th century?Besides the required readings linked above, the 20th century lectures will include many more additional readings. For our Conservatism discussion, they include:Nietzsche - Thus Spake ZarathustraSpencer - The Study of SociologyTagore - NationalismStelzer - The NeoCon ReaderWallace - Consider the LobsterPeterson - 12 Rules for LifeSandifer - Neoreaction: A BasiliskInnuendo Studios - The Alt-Right PlaybookContrapoints - CONSPIRACYRand - Atlas ShruggedHeinlein - The Moon is a Harsh MistressInvasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)BioshockCall of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)Spec Ops: The Line - good luck finding it!If you are incensed by this lecture and would like to vandalize Professor Kozlowski's other Internet projects, check out his website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠professorkozlowski.wordpress.com

At long last, Professor Kozlowski tackles that most divisive of all political thinkers: Karl Marx. Today we'll talk about the legacy of Marx (especially in the USA), and take our first steps to understanding Marxist views of capitalism through Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations and excerpts from Marx's own Capital.Additional readings include: Weber's The Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Durkheim's The Division of Labor in Society, Sinclair's The Jungle, Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop, and the Capitalist Utopian classic, Bellamy's Looking Backward: 2000-1887. And, since you asked, my video game recommendation this week is Offworld Trading Company - a game about peak Capitalism at its absolute scuzziest.If you or somebody you know would like to learn more about pinko scumbag Professor Kozlowski's other online projects, check out his website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠professorkozlowski.wordpress.com

Today we confront the primary moral philosophy presented as a challenge to Kant's Deontology: Utilitarianism. We'll read Chapter 1 of Bentham's "An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation" as well as a sizable portion of Mill's On Liberty - which is remarkably NOT Utilitarian, and famous as one of the primary texts underlying contemporary Libertarianism. Along the way we'll have some very serious discussions about free speech, personal freedom, and Christian insularity - and how the world of rights and personal independence has changed in the past few hundred years.Additional readings this week include: Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Foucault's Birth of the Clinic, Turgenev's Fathers and Sons, Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, and Hugo's Les Miserables. It's a mixed bag, with some anachronistic choices, but these will provide a good cross-section of perspectives about the virtues and vices of Mill's text. Speaking of mixed bags and individualism run amok, our game recommendations for this week are: John Company (2nd edition) and Darkest Dungeon.If you're interested in Professor Kozlowski's other online projects, check out his website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠professorkozlowski.wordpress.com

Professor Kozlowski finally reaches the American Experiment. Today we discuss the Declaration of Independence, several of the Federalist Papers (and the response by the mysterious "Brutus"), the American Constitution, and the legend of Hiawatha the Unifier*. Along the way we will discuss the current state of the American Experiment and how the decisions of the founders may have overlooked potential abuses or exploits, as well as the concerns and preoccupations of the founders in their own time.*(I include the link to the Erdoes and Ortiz book where I found the myth; it's not in the public domain, and the downloads I found were pretty dodgy)EDIT: The doctrine of Judicial Review (i.e. the Supreme Court determining that laws are unconstitutional) is NOT originally laid out in the Constitution, but is a product of the landmark case Marbury v. Madison. As expected, I've already been corrected by more knowledgeable scholars of American History.Additional Readings include: Common Sense by Thomas Paine, the other writings of Thomas Jefferson (I don't have a specific collection or writing in mind, though...), and "What is the Slave to the 4th of July?" by Frederick Douglass. And today you get a double game recommendation: A Few Acres of Snow (board game - good luck finding it, though...), and Assassin's Creed III.If you're interested in Professor Kozlowski's other online projects, check out his website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠professorkozlowski.wordpress.com

In a fit of spite, Professor Kozlowski condenses his discussion of landmark British political philosophers Hobbes and Locke - forerunners of the American constitution - into a single joint lecture. We'll compare and contrast the two states of nature proposed by these thinkers, examine their divergent attitudes toward the authority of government, and root their philosophical conclusions in the tumultuous history of the English Civil War.Hooray for English philosophers - no translations necessary for these texts! Here are the Project Gutenberg texts of Hobbes' Leviathan, and Locke's Second Treatise Concerning Government.Additional readings for this lecture include some more 17th-century English classics: Bacon's scientific Utopia, New Atlantis; Milton's epic masterpiece, Paradise Lost; and Swift's satirical classic, Gulliver's Travels. Finally, for my video gamers, I recommend the colonization-based management sim/city builder Anno 1404 (it may not be the most period-appropriate game in the series, but I think it is the best mechanical representation of this era without the industrialization mechanics of Anno 1800).If you're interested in Professor Kozlowski's other online projects, check out his website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠professorkozlowski.wordpress.com

Today Professor Kozlowski takes on the political philosophy of the Medieval (and early modern) Christian world, as a cross-section of ideas and interpretations made by Christian political philosophers. Our readings for today hail from:City of God by Augustine of HippoSumma Theologica by Thomas Aquinas"Temporal Authority: To What Extent it Should be Obeyed" by Martin Luther (requires a free Internet Archives account to borrow)Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin (Chapter XIX: par. 15 and Chapter XX: On Civil Government, par. I, II, III, and XXIX)Along the way we'll encounter a wide variety of different interpretations of Biblical theology, and an even wider variety of applications for Christians trying to figure out how to live their lives in secular society. And we might even find some surprise cameos by ideas thought to originate in later, less Christian times.Additional readings this week mostly surround historical events, but I recommend Dante's De Monarchia and, for my gamers, Crusader Kings II (I haven't played III yet, but it's probably also good...)If you're interested in Professor Kozlowski's other online projects, check out his website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠professorkozlowski.wordpress.com

Today Professor Kozlowski takes on the Roman Empire - its legacy (historical and mythological), its organization, and the ideas of some of its most influential thinkers: Cicero and Polybius. Many great political thinkers take Rome as the closest thing to a perfect government ever created - hopefully we can reach some conclusions about what made Rome work, and why this obsession with Rome might be a result of the greatest propaganda campaign in history.Readings today come from Cicero's De Legibus and Polybius' Universal History, Book VI.Additional Readings include Virgil's Aeneid, Livy's Ab Urbe Condita, Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, the writings of Seneca, and Rome: Total War for my gamer fans.If you're interested in Professor Kozlowski's other online projects, check out his website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠professorkozlowski.wordpress.com