June 5, 2014

20th Century Philosophers on Audio

With this selection, LearnOutLoud has collected some of the best 20th century philosophers together in a concise list of audio resources. Over many years we’ve showcased modern philosophy as a major pillar of our Free Audio & Video Resource of the Day Emails. This list takes stock of the greatest thinkers the 20th century had to offer, including Bertrand Russell, Any Rand, Francis Fukuyama and many more. Modern philosophical concepts, such as Existentialism, Political Philosophy, Linguistic Analysis, Pragmatism and Objectivism are all covered here, along with historical examinations of how philosophical thought evolved in the wake of World War II. Learn how philosophers met the challenge of the modern world by clicking any of the links below:

1. The Value of Philosophy

Listen to the ideas of the great 20th century philosopher Bertrand Russell on “The Value of Philosophy”, which comes from the final chapter of his 1912 book The Problems of Philosophy. In the essay he lays forth his conviction that although philosophy cannot come to any certain answers regarding the questions it asks, these questions are important in that they enlarge our views of the universe beyond the narrow viewpoints of practical men, who are concerned solely with the material world. The piece is well read by Paul Sunderland. You can now download this excerpt directly from LearnOutLoud on MP3!

2. Francis Fukuyama: The End Of History Revisited

Fifteen years after the publication of his 1992 book The End of History and the Last Man, author Francis Fukuyama still believes in his thesis that political & economic history is reaching its end in liberal democracy and free market capitalism. In this talk delivered at the Long Now Foundation, Fukuyama defends his argument, pointing out the expansion of science, technology, and free market capitalism and how it has increased the wealth of much of the developing world over the past 15 years, which has in turn led to liberal democracy in many nations. He does point out some of the criticisms of his thesis such as Samuel Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations book, which argues that certain cultures will never conform to Western liberal democracy & free markets. Huntington argues this will lead to an ongoing clash of civilizations. Fukuyama doesn’t believe that his “End of History” thesis is certain, and he still feels there is a lot of work to be done in building institutions in developing states, fighting global warming, organizing global cooperation, and preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction. He fields a number of questions, including one regarding the second half of his thesis which addresses Nietzsche’s concept of The Last Man, which he feels is now being catered to under the system of the European Union. It is a fascinating lecture that is available on MP3 download and streaming video through FORA.tv.

3. Existentialism in Literature and Film Course

This week we’re featuring a full course from the University of California-Berkeley entitled “Existentialism in Literature and Film”. This past semester UC-Berkeley really revolutionized education by offering over 30 of their lecture courses for free as podcasts (check out all webcast.berkeley courses). The “Existentialism in Literature and Film” course, taught by professor Hubert L. Dreyfus, cuts right to the roots of existentialist thought, looking at the works of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, and examining Dostoyevsky’s Brothers Karamazov in depth. It’s an excellent philosophy course and it’s free!

4. Anthem by Ayn Rand from ThoughtAudio
Anthem by Ayn Rand from LibriVox.org

Ayn Rand’s books are made for audio. In these busy times very few people have the time to sit down and read The Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged. But get these audio books and pop them on in your car while you’re commuting and you can finish them up in a month or two. It’s a great testament to the opportunity represented by audio learning. If you would like to start off with a more bite-sized portion of Rand’s wisdom check out ThoughtAudio’s production of Anthem, one of Rand’s earlier novels. Anthem sets the stage for what’s to come in Rand’s later works. It’s an entertaining science fiction novella and a great introduction to Ayn Rand’s philosophy. This audio book is available on MP3 download through ThoughAudio.com and narrated by Michael Scott.

5. Entitled Opinions from Stanford University

In this downloadable series from iTunes U, professor Robert Harrison hosts discussions with other academics on variety of philosophical and literary topics. These hour-long conversations probe into the areas of expertise of many of Stanford’s top professors and scholars. Listen to Harrison debate with American philosopher Richard Rorty about what contemporary philosophy can be applied to, or hear the author of The Population Bomb, Paul R. Ehrlich, discuss the fate of Earth in the 21st century, or learn about French philosopher RenÈ Girard’s concept of Mimetic desire in relation to literature. Through other discussions, many literary figures are covered including Albert Camus, Marcel Proust, Martin Heidegger, Henry David Thoreau, Vladimir Nabokov, and Virgil. Download these audio talks available through iTunes U.

6. Is This Still the Age of Socialism?

In this lecture from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, award-winning professor and historian Alan Charles Kors delivers an impassioned denouncement of socialism and ponders why the United States and other liberal democracies do not denounce socialism with the same fervor that is used in attacking Nazism. Professor Kors points out the atrocities of socialist and communist regimes throughout the 20th century and how they cost many more innocent lives than Hitler’s Nazi government. He feels it is appalling that the crimes of Communist regimes are not taught along side the crimes of the Nazis in schools, and that the collapse of Communism is not commemorated with the same reverence as the victory over Nazi Germany. This lecture is available on streaming video and MP3 download from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.

7. Reith Lectures Archive: 1948-1975 Podcast
Reith Lectures Archive: 1976-2010 Podcast

BBC Radio now is offering the entire archive of their annual Reith lectures for free online on their site and as a podcast. The lectures feature leading intellectual figures discussing significant contemporary issues. The lectures started in 1948 with philosopher Bertrand Russell discussing the topic of “Authority and the Individual” in six lectures and all these lectures are featured on the 1948-1975 podcast. Other great thinkers on the podcast include physicist Robert Oppenheimer (1953), economist John Kenneth Galbraith (1966), historian Daniel J. Boorstin (1975), philosopher John Searle (1984), military historian John Keegan (1998), neuroscientist Vilayanur Ramachandran (2003), economist Jeffrey Sachs (2007), and political philosopher Michael Sandel (2009). For some of the speakers all of their lectures are included on the podcast feed while other just have one lecture on there. Enjoy these lectures from some of the greatest thinkers of the past 60 years.

8. The History Of Western Philosophy

We hope you had a great Thanksgiving! It’s our Free Resource of the Day #1500! On this Black Friday we offer you an alternative to the crowds of shoppers and retail advertisements. Instead stay at home and cozy up by the fireplace with this free version of Bertrand Russell’s classic 1945 book The History Of Western Philosophy. It’s a book we’ve always wanted to see on audio and didn’t think it was ever recorded. But it seems someone has uploaded an out-of-print recording of it to YouTube, and has even done the service of dividing it up by chapters which, for the most part, each cover a particular philosopher. This history of philosophy covers philosophers from the pre-Socratics to the early 20th century including chapters on such philosophical giants as Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, Machiavelli, Descartes, John Locke, Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Marx, William James, and many more great minds. So you can listen selectively to the philosophers you are interested in, or listen to the entired 22 hour audio book. It is available to stream on a playlist through YouTube.

9. Wireless Philosophy

Check out this new site and YouTube channel from Yale and MIT featuring top philosophy professors explaining key philosophical concepts through animated videos. Learn about “The Problem of Evil” with Professor Greg Ganssle, or be introduced to “The Problem of Free Will” with Professor Richard Holton. Many other topics are discussed in these first 20 videos which they feature on their YouTube channel, and on their website cleverly titled www.wi-phi.com. Enjoy these free talks on philosophy, and hopefully many more to come in the near future.

10. Peikoff.com Q&A on Ayn Rand Podcast

Dr. Leonard Peikoff was a long time friend Ayn Rand and she designated him as her legal and intellectual heir. Carrying on Ayn Rand’s Objectivist philosophy, Peikoff has been podcasting weekly for over three years with his Q&A format. In each episode he answers a number of questions that have been emailed to him and provides the answers that Ayn Rand had for many of the questions. Peikoff doesn’t answer all of the questions emailed to him, but he claims to read them all, and he will answer just about any question whether it be in regards to philosophy, politics, ethics, art, sexuality, etc. With each question answered you get a better idea of what Objectivist philosophy is and it’s the closest you’re likely to get to hearing what Ayn Rand would think of things if she were still alive today.