Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 4 days ago
Ralston College presents a lecture by Dr Jason Pedicone, distinguished scholar and classicist and the co-founder and President of the Paideia Institute.
In this rich and compelling address, Dr Pedicone introduces the subject of philology - the study of language in its historical context - before embarking on a historical tour of philological interventions – times when people have decided to pay particularly close attention to language for societal, historical or technological reasons. Our tour takes us from the ancient Greek and Roman worlds of Plato and Pisistratus through Charlemagne, Valla, Erasmus, Nietzsche and up to the present day and the inexorable rise of AI.
For the latest Ralston College updates visit: www.ralston.ac/sign-up.
Authors and Works Mentioned in this Episode:
C.S Lewis
Plato
Suetonius
Pisistratus
Homer - The Iliad; The Odyssey
Aristophanes of Byzantium
Aristarchus of Samothrace
Callimachus of Cyrene
Quintus Ennius
Livius Andronicus
St. Boniface
Jerome
Charlemagne
Alcuin of York
Boniface
Lorenzo Valla
Desiderius Erasmus - Novum Instrumentum Omne
Nietzsche - The Birth of Tragedy
Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff - Philology of the Future
Friedrich August Wolf - Prolegomena ad Homerum
Derrida
Plato - The Phaedrus
Roland Barthes - The Death of the Author
Wilhelm von Humboldt
Heidegger - Being and Time
Camus
Shakespeare
Marsilio Ficino
Nick Bostrum - Deep Utopia: Life and Meaning in a Solved World
Ray Kurzweil
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Thumbnail credit:
Artwork: School of Athens (1964) by Cy Twombly
Style: Abstract Expressionism | Genre: Abstract
Used here for educational and scholarly purposes
– Chapters —
0:00:00 Introduction from Stephen Blackwood.
0:02:00 Start of Lecture
0:03:33 The Changing Definition of Philology: Close Attention to Language
0:04:20 The First Occurrence of the Word Philology in Greek Literature is in Plato
0:05:28 Philologist as a Lover of Discussion
0:06:24 Philologist as Someone Engaged in Specialized Learning
0:06:57 Historical Tour of Philological Interventions
0:07:16 Historical, Societal or Technological Reasons Why People Pay Close Attention to Language
0:07:38 Pisistratus’ Possible Early Philological Intervention
0:10:15 Philology in the Hellenistic Period: Aristophanes of Byzantium, Aristarchus of Samothrace, and Callimachus of Cyrene
0:12:44 Philological Approach Continues in Roman Literature: Quintus Ennius and Livius Andronicus
0:14:36 Late Antiquity: Jerome Translates the Bible into Latin
0:18:51 Charlemagne’s Use of Philology to Bring Order to Europe
0:20:15 Alcuin of York’s Edict to Learn Latin
0:20:45 Technological Advances in Language: Invention of the First Miniscule Script and Question Mark
0:23:00 The Donation of Constantine: Lorenzo Valla Uses Philological Arguments to Expose the Forgery
0:25:11 Erasmus Produces New Latin Translation of the New Testament: Philological Influences on the Reformation
0:29:11 Nietzsche vs. Wilamowitz-Moellendorff: Philosophy and Philology
0:32:00 Friedrich August Wolf’s Prolegomena ad Homerum and the Killing of Homer: A Philological Act of the Age of Science
0:33:26 Philology in a World Without Meaning or Truth: Derrida and Deconstruction
0:37:19 Video of Tesla Bot Catching a Tennis Ball
0:38:20 The Advent of AI is Comparable to the Invention of the Alphabet
0:39:55 What Does the Coming of AI Mean for the Humanities?
0:40:30 Outro from Stephen Blackwood
Ralston College presents a lecture by Dr Jason Pedicone, distinguished scholar and classicist and the co-founder and President of the Paideia Institute.
In this rich and compelling address, Dr Pedicone introduces the subject of philology - the study of language in its historical context - before embarking on a historical tour of philological interventions – times when people have decided to pay particularly close attention to language for societal, historical or technological reasons. Our tour takes us from the ancient Greek and Roman worlds of Plato and Pisistratus through Charlemagne, Valla, Erasmus, Nietzsche and up to the present day and the inexorable rise of AI.
For the latest Ralston College updates visit: www.ralston.ac/sign-up.
Authors and Works Mentioned in this Episode:
C.S Lewis
Plato
Suetonius
Pisistratus
Homer - The Iliad; The Odyssey
Aristophanes of Byzantium
Aristarchus of Samothrace
Callimachus of Cyrene
Quintus Ennius
Livius Andronicus
St. Boniface
Jerome
Charlemagne
Alcuin of York
Boniface
Lorenzo Valla
Desiderius Erasmus - Novum Instrumentum Omne
Nietzsche - The Birth of Tragedy
Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff - Philology of the Future
Friedrich August Wolf - Prolegomena ad Homerum
Derrida
Plato - The Phaedrus
Roland Barthes - The Death of the Author
Wilhelm von Humboldt
Heidegger - Being and Time
Camus
Shakespeare
Marsilio Ficino
Nick Bostrum - Deep Utopia: Life and Meaning in a Solved World
Ray Kurzweil
---
Thumbnail credit:
Artwork: School of Athens (1964) by Cy Twombly
Style: Abstract Expressionism | Genre: Abstract
Used here for educational and scholarly purposes
– Chapters —
0:00:00 Introduction from Stephen Blackwood.
0:02:00 Start of Lecture
0:03:33 The Changing Definition of Philology: Close Attention to Language
0:04:20 The First Occurrence of the Word Philology in Greek Literature is in Plato
0:05:28 Philologist as a Lover of Discussion
0:06:24 Philologist as Someone Engaged in Specialized Learning
0:06:57 Historical Tour of Philological Interventions
0:07:16 Historical, Societal or Technological Reasons Why People Pay Close Attention to Language
0:07:38 Pisistratus’ Possible Early Philological Intervention
0:10:15 Philology in the Hellenistic Period: Aristophanes of Byzantium, Aristarchus of Samothrace, and Callimachus of Cyrene
0:12:44 Philological Approach Continues in Roman Literature: Quintus Ennius and Livius Andronicus
0:14:36 Late Antiquity: Jerome Translates the Bible into Latin
0:18:51 Charlemagne’s Use of Philology to Bring Order to Europe
0:20:15 Alcuin of York’s Edict to Learn Latin
0:20:45 Technological Advances in Language: Invention of the First Miniscule Script and Question Mark
0:23:00 The Donation of Constantine: Lorenzo Valla Uses Philological Arguments to Expose the Forgery
0:25:11 Erasmus Produces New Latin Translation of the New Testament: Philological Influences on the Reformation
0:29:11 Nietzsche vs. Wilamowitz-Moellendorff: Philosophy and Philology
0:32:00 Friedrich August Wolf’s Prolegomena ad Homerum and the Killing of Homer: A Philological Act of the Age of Science
0:33:26 Philology in a World Without Meaning or Truth: Derrida and Deconstruction
0:37:19 Video of Tesla Bot Catching a Tennis Ball
0:38:20 The Advent of AI is Comparable to the Invention of the Alphabet
0:39:55 What Does the Coming of AI Mean for the Humanities?
0:40:30 Outro from Stephen Blackwood
