Theosophy Trust
Memorial Library
Lectures by Professor Raghavan N. Iyer — with full transcripts and video.
Prof. Raghavan N. Iyer · 1930–1995
Professor Raghavan N. Iyer (1930–1995) was a philosopher, Oxford don, and founder of the United Lodge of Theosophists in Santa Barbara. These talks draw on his lifelong study of ethics, political philosophy and the perennial wisdom — offering timeless insight for contemporary seekers. Each lecture is presented with a full transcript and downloadable PDF for study and reflection.
Professor Raghavan Iyer University of California, Santa Barbara, 1975
Raghavan Iyer examines the meaning of being a radical—one who reaches the root of things—and traces American radicalism from the universal principles of the Declaration of Independ… Read more
Professor Raghavan Iyer University of California, Santa Barbara, 1981
Drawing on Kropotkin, this lecture frames anarchist philosophy as both an ideal of society without government and a reality already at work in voluntary cooperation. Iyer traces an… Read more
Professor Raghavan Iyer University of California, Santa Barbara, 1981
Drawing on William Godwin's Enquiry into Political Justice, Raghavan Iyer examines the core principles of anarchist thought: the affirmation of individual freedom, the negation of … Read more
Professor Raghavan Iyer University of California, Santa Barbara, 1981
This lecture traces William Godwin's anarchist metaphysics of mind, contrasting Aristotle's system-building with Plato's dialectical search for clarity. Drawing on Godwin's inserti… Read more
Professor Raghavan Iyer University of California, Santa Barbara, 1981
Drawing on anarchist thought, Raghavan Iyer examines whether genuine revolution can be non-violent within complex modern societies riddled with concealed psychological violence and… Read more
Professor Raghavan Iyer University of California, Santa Barbara, 1981
Professor Iyer traces how anarchist thinkers envisioned individual transformation as the seed of social revolution. He examines Godwin's slow, rational path of individuation and un… Read more
Professor Raghavan Iyer University of California, Santa Barbara, 1981
Raghavan Iyer examines the anarchist critique of property and social conformity, moving from Proudhon's claim that "property is theft" and its influence on Marx, to William Godwin'… Read more
Professor Raghavan Iyer University of California, Santa Barbara, 1981
This lecture traces the evolution of law from informal tribal norms to modern statutory systems backed by state sovereignty, examining thinkers like Bodin, Austin, and Hart on lega… Read more
Professor Raghavan Iyer University of California, Santa Barbara 1981
Tracing debates over human nature, the talk moves from Feuerbach's account of self-consciousness and divinity to the historical clash between Augustine's doctrine of human weakness… Read more
The Declaration of Interdependence
Delivered on July 4, 1976 at the inaugural of the Institute of World Culture in Santa Barbara, this address traces the Institute's roots to B.P. Wadia's founding gesture in Bangalo… Read more
Professor Raghavan Iyer Lobero Theater, Santa Barbara, 1975
Drawing on his definition of community as a body of people bound by unconditional, self-correcting commitment, Raghavan Iyer examines America's history of communal experiments and … Read more
The Dialectic from Plato to Mao lecture series explores the evolution of dialectical thought through history's most influential philosophers. We begin our journey with Plato’s Republic and Statesman dialogues, examining how foundational concepts of justice, governance, and philosophical inquiry laid the groundwork for centuries of political and social debate.
Professor Raghavan Iyer University of California, Santa Barbara, 1981
Raghavan Iyer examines Plato's Republic through its three central images—the Divided Line, the Allegory of the Cave, and the Myth of Er—drawing on Cornford's Unwritten Philosophy t… Read more