St. John's College (Annapolis) Lectures

Recording of a lecture delivered on November 15, 2024, by Stephanie Nelson as part of the Formal Lecture Series.

Professor Nelson offers this introduction to her lecture: It is not too much of a stretch to say that Aristophanes’ Clouds is primarily about two topics: logos and the gods – and about Socrates’ relation to them both. Aristophanes, in his most serious playful manner, challenges us to think about who gets to be a god, and even, this lecture will suggest, proposes the Logoi as the real gods of human experience. The play thus asks us to consider both the nature of gods and the nature of logos, and in so doing juxtaposes the way that Socrates views the relation of logos and reality to the way the comic poet sees the same question. 

Recording of a lecture delivered on November 8, 2024, by Allen Speight as part of the Formal Lecture Series.

Professor Speight offers this introduction to his lecture: "Since the modern discovery of Paleolithic cave art in 1879, scholars have pondered its origin and significance. The remarkable paintings and etchings that line the walls of caves at Altamira, Lascaux and Chauvet and hundreds of other sites around the world prompt both wonder and reflection: what can images produced tens of thousands of years ago tell us about the nature of human making and our responses to it? This lecture will explore a range of philosophical questions posed by early art, including the nature of mimesis, the roles of sight and touch, and the relation between symbol and figurative art."

Audio recording of a lecture delivered on November 1, 2024, by Bret Davis as part of the Formal Lecture Series. 

Professor Davis offers this introduction to his lecture: “Know thyself” is a motto of philosophical inquiry not only in the West but in many traditions. What does it mean to know oneself? There are different types of self-knowledge, revealing different aspects of the self. One important aspect of the self is how our thoughts, feelings, and values are shaped by the culture and tradition in which we were raised. Another important aspect of the self is how we are capable of critically reflecting on and creatively developing our culture and tradition in dialogue with others. Our selves are both shaped by and shape our cultures and traditions. 

Recording of a lecture delivered on March 22, 2002, by Christopher Pelling as part of the Formal Lecture Series. Dr. Pelling is Regius Professor of Greek emeritus at the University of Oxford.

Note: the recording started slightly after Dr. Pelling began speaking.

This lecture is also part of the Steiner Lecture Series. The Andrew Steiner Memorial Lecture fund was created by the family and friends of Mr. Steiner, an alumnus (class of 1963) of St. John’s College, Annapolis. It was established to attract scholars from different disciplines and worlds, recognizing Andrew’s great intellectual versatility.

Recording of a lecture delivered on November 2, 2001, by Eva Brann as part of the Formal Lecture Series.

Recording of a lecture delivered on October 18, 2024, by Cynthia Keppel as part of the Formal Lecture Series.

Dr. Keppel offers the following description of her lecture: "Humans for ages have pondered the question, 'what is everything made of?' I will discuss why physicists have for centuries been interested in this question and pursue understanding of the tiniest particles known to humankind, and how an understanding of these particles continues to advance a breadth of human knowledge and endeavor."

Recording of a lecture delivered on October 11, 2024, by Dr. Ellwood Wiggins as part of the Formal Lecture Series.

Professor Wiggins (SJC Annapolis, 1998) is an associate professor in the German department at the University of Washington, Seattle, where he teaches comparative literature and philosophy. He has also taught in Kentucky, Germany, and Russia. His teaching and research explore how people come to know one another and themselves, often exploring literary figures such as Odysseus or Philoctetes. 

Professor Wiggins describes his lecture: "The plot of Sophocles' Philoctetes turns on the experience of sympathy, which is often given credit for the moral education of Neoptolemus, Achilles' son. Yet is this emotion a reliable force for good? Sophocles' tragedy is a perfect proving ground to explore this question, and to test Aristotle's description of compassion in the Rhetoric."

Recording of a lecture delivered on September 27, 2024, by Annapolis tutor Zena Hitz as part of the Formal Lecture Series.

Recording of a lecture delivered on September 20, 2024, by Ryan Shea as part of the Formal Lecture Series.

Ryan Shea offers this description of his lecture: Edmund Husserl inaugurated the modern discipline of phenomenology with the rallying cry, "back to the 'things themselves'." And yet, when reading the works of phenomenologists, one might reasonably worry that we have bracketed the natural world, that we have left out precisely the "things themselves." This talk pursues two distinct, yet intertwined, questions. We begin with Socrates's central question (ti esti), "What is phenomenology?" This leads to our central concern, "How might we practice a phenomenology of nature?" The work of the poet, scientist, painter, and dramatist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe will serve as a guiding light.

Recording of a lecture delivered on January 24, 2003, by Henry Higuera as part of the Formal Lecture Series.