A History of Freedom
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Narrated by:
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Rufus J. Fears
About this listen
It can be argued that one simple idea - the concept of freedom - has been the driving force of Western civilization and may be the most influential intellectual force the world has ever known. But what is freedom, exactly? These 36 engaging lectures tell the dramatic story of freedom from ancient Greece to our own day, exploring a concept so close to us we may never have considered it with the thoroughness it deserves.
In exploring what freedom meant to Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, and other great historical figures, you'll probe a range of provocative issues related to a concept we in the 21st century sometimes take for granted. What does it take to be free, to have and to hold liberty? What role do the liberal arts and the world of the intellect play in the life of a free society or a free individual? How should we understand the relationship among freedom, religion, and morality?
With Professor Fears guiding and informing your thinking, you explore the birth of the idea of freedom in Greece and the story of the world's first democracy; the status and meaning of freedom in both the Roman Republic and the Empire; the role of Christianity in that flowering of freedom, and the Christian view of the true meaning of human liberation; the debates about freedom that informed the framing and ratification of the United States Constitution; its awful testing on the battlefields of the Civil War; the struggles of free peoples against domestic injustices and foreign dictatorships during the 20th century; and the questions about freedom we still face today.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
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Based on seven years of ground-breaking research and hundreds of interviews, I Thought It Was Just Me shines a long-overdue light on an important truth: Our imperfections are what connect us to each other and to our humanity. Our vulnerabilities are not weaknesses; they are powerful reminders to keep our hearts and minds open to the reality that we're all in this together.
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I'm sure its great if you are a mother ....
- By Leslie A Hill on 08-09-11
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Mythology: Mega Collection
- Classic Stories from the Greek, Celtic, Norse, Japanese, Hindu, Chinese, Mesopotamian and Egyptian Mythology
- By: Scott Lewis
- Narrated by: Madison Niederhauser, Oliver Hunt
- Length: 31 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Do you know how many wives Zeus had? Or how the famous Trojan War was caused by one beautiful lady? Or how Thor got his hammer? Give your imagination a real treat. This Mega Mythology Collection of eight audiobooks is for you....
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An interesting set of introductions.
- By Kevin Potter on 05-30-19
By: Scott Lewis
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The Philosopher's Toolkit: How to Be the Most Rational Person in Any Room
- By: Patrick Grim, The Great Courses
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Taught by award-winning Professor Patrick Grim of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, The Philosopher’s Toolkit: How to Be the Most Rational Person in Any Room arms you against the perils of bad thinking and supplies you with an arsenal of strategies to help you be more creative, logical, inventive, realistic, and rational in all aspects of your daily life.
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This should NOT be an audio book
- By Brooks Emerson on 03-21-20
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My Big TOE: Awakening
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- By: Thomas Campbell
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My Big TOE: Awakening, written by a nuclear physicist in the language of contemporary culture, unifies science and philosophy, physics and metaphysics, mind and matter, purpose and meaning, the normal and the paranormal. The entirety of human experience (mind, body, and spirit) including both our objective and subjective worlds is brought together under one seamless scientific understanding.
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What a Trip (but to where?)
- By Michael on 11-26-13
By: Thomas Campbell
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What listeners say about A History of Freedom
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Samuel Robinson III
- 12-24-21
Amazing
Professor Fears is quite simply the most informed mind and best lecturer I have ever heard in my life. I was looking for a foundation of knowledge upon which to base further learning in the future. If you’re seeking the same, I guarantee that you won’t be disappointed.
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- Kenneth L Pilgreen
- 05-03-22
For Everyone
professor Fears is captivating. This course should studied by every American.
Our freedom is not free!
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- JPak
- 09-04-15
Outstanding history
Fascinating history of ideas and the people who best represented them. Explains so much about how we are today. Highly recommended.
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8 people found this helpful
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- Andrew Hoven
- 02-04-23
A remarkable journey through history
Professor Fears has a particular style to his teaching. if may be divisive but it is interesting and attention grabbing. He tells the story of freedom with enthusiasm. it is well worth the listen, it is a refreshing discourse.
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- Anonymous User
- 07-20-18
A World Class Course in Freedom
This should be a compulsory course for every high school student in the US!!! It is such a shame Dr Fears is no longer with us. I would have loved to discuss the history of freedom over some adult beverages.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Beowulf
- 06-20-19
Fun and Compelling
The avuncular Dr. Fears is always entertaining. I wish I had him as a professor. All of the reviews complaining that this course is "too American-centered" or something like that are wrong. How can one trace the history of freedom and not rely heavily on the United States? That Dr. Fears doesn't hate his own country or look for things to "trouble" him will trouble some folks, but if you want to hear a sensible overview of the subject, this is a good place to begin. Like many people, I have begin listening to some of these Great Courses but lost interest as they proceeded. I likested to all 36 lectures of this one.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 03-29-22
Mandatory.
Every citizen should read this book. This is the path of freedom and articulates where we have come from and how we need to maintain that path.
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- Amazon Customer
- 10-23-22
Very inspiring series!!
This was a tour de force, very inspiring and though provoking; I thoroughly enjoyed it
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- James Kabucho
- 09-09-23
Freedom taught Fearlessly
Great time spent with Rufus Fears. Freedom in all it’s complexities isn’t a trophy to be won and then placed on a shelf.
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- Orange Monkey
- 03-14-19
Simply Beautiful
Whenever I listen to lectures by Rufus J. Fears, I get a sense of 'enlightened excitement'. There are patterns, connections, hope and wisdom. He's one of my absolute, absolute favorite authors. He manages to bring the past world of ideas come alive, and find their connections with our world here today. Their influence is made visible and tangible, and they shed light on why things are the way they are, and how they could be different, and also, what we have lost.
This collection is no exception.
I wish they could be dramatized for children, and yes, played everywhere for everyone to take part of. To see ourselves in the light of history. Especially today, with the crumbling of the American political system, where looking out for the best for the nation, reasoning and looking for the best solutions with a common goal of providing freedom for the individual (with all that that implies) seems to have been lost in power-struggles. Both sides guilty. It's a shame. The lectures on the Roman Empire, Caesar, and Augustus are highly enlightening.
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4 people found this helpful