Four Dissertations
A Natural History of Religion, Of the Passions, Of Tragedy, Of the Standard of Taste
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $17.76
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Jonathan Keeble
-
By:
-
David Hume
About this listen
David Hume (1711-1776) remains one of the most stimulating and entertaining writers in the English essay tradition. Though primarily known for long-form writings, he was adept at taking one subject and looking at it in a more concise but accessible manner.
Hume devoted his life to study – across a wide range of his personal interests, reflecting his background in philosophy, history, economics, and many other subjects. This can be clearly seen in Four Dissertations (1757) and the topics he chose to consider.
Of these, The Natural History of Religion is the most well-known and widely quoted. Hume's views, shaped by empiricism and scepticism, enables him to offer a perspective unusual for his age, though naturally it is embedded in the prevailing view ‘The whole frame of nature bespeaks an intelligent author'. Nevertheless, this does not restrict his thinking as he examines the psychological and sociological factors that shape religious sentiment.
The other three Dissertations are no less fascinating. Fittingly, in Of The Passions, Hume delves into the complex realm of human emotions. Investigating the nature of desire, love, fear, and more, he presents a wide-ranging study of how passions influence our actions and shape our experiences.
Of Tragedy, explores the aesthetics of dramatic art. Hume looks into the power of tragedy to elicit a passionate response and provoke contemplation. He examines the mechanisms by which tragedies captivate audiences and evoke a range of sentiments, shedding light on the profound impact of art on human consciousness.
In Of the Standard of Taste, Hume takes the viewpoint of the beholder, rather than the object. Declaring ‘We are apt to call barbarous whatever departs widely from our own taste and apprehension,' he proposes that two elements, sentiment and critical faculty form a major part in decisions on taste. For “Beauty is no quality in things themselves: It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them; and each mind perceives a different beauty.” But such a subjective view cannot deny a certain consensus on beauty, which leads Hume to examine the matter of aesthetics in the light of judgements of established critics.
This recording concludes with Hume's two short autobiographies, written at different times in his life and with differing characteristics. The first, A Kind of Life (1734) is a letter written to a doctor and the second, My Own Life (1776) was written shortly before his death.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Socratic Dialogues
- Alcibiades and Other Attributed Dialogues
- By: Plato
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 4 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The influence of Plato, his Dialogues and his ‘Academy', cast a long shadow. Around 35 Dialogues, almost all featuring Socrates as the principal figure, are generally ascribed to Plato and form one of the most important threads in Western philosophy. These four Dialogues may fall into the ‘Attributed Texts' category, but they are of sufficient interest to warrant study in our time and when set against the principal canon.
-
-
Clearly Not Plato
- By Zach B on 05-16-24
By: Plato
-
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
- By: David Hume
- Narrated by: Hugh Ross
- Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As intriguing today as when it was first published, Hume's An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding is a fascinating exploration into the nature of human knowledge. Using billiard balls, candles, and other colorful examples, Hume conveys the core of his empiricism - that true knowledge can be gained only through sensory experience.
By: David Hume
-
A Treatise of Human Nature
- By: David Hume, Israel Bouseman
- Narrated by: Philippe Duquenoy
- Length: 23 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Treatise of Human Nature is the first work ever published by David Hume, a man who revolutionized our understanding of philosophy. Hume was an advocate of the skeptical school of philosophy and a key figure in the Scottish Enlightenment. He looks at the nature of human experience and cognition, showing that philosophy and reason can only be reflections of our nature.
-
-
What Formed The Foundation of Modern Philosophy!
- By Philosopher King on 01-17-17
By: David Hume, and others
-
Outlines of Pyrrhonism
- By: Sextus Empiricus
- Narrated by: Michael Lunts
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Throughout history philosophers have sought to define, understand, and delineate concepts important to human well-being. One such concept is "knowledge." Many philosophers believed that absolute, certain knowledge, is possible—that the physical world and ideas formulated about it could be given solid foundation unaffected by the varieties of mere opinion.
By: Sextus Empiricus
-
The Poverty of Historicism
- By: Karl Popper
- Narrated by: Martyn Swain
- Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Karl Popper's THE POVERTY OF HISTORICISM is one of the most important books on the social sciences to have appeared since the Second World War. It is also the work of one of the most original thinkers of the twentieth century, and a devastating criticism of the idea that there are laws of development in history and that human beings are able to discover them. Popper dedicated the book to all those who fell victim to the fascist and communist belief in Inexorable Laws of Historical Destiny
-
-
should be required reading
- By Anonymous User on 04-01-24
By: Karl Popper
-
Summa Theologica Part I (Prima Pars)
- By: Thomas Aquinas
- Narrated by: Martyn Swain
- Length: 52 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Summa Theologica, by Thomas Aquinas, is a fundamental text in Catholic doctrine, a compendium of theology that has been studied and debated since its first publication in the 13th century. Furthermore, it has been widely regarded as one of the classics of Western philosophy, not least because, perhaps for the first time in such a systematic manner, it set out to consider the views of non-Christian figures such as Aristotle, Boethius, Muslim writers including Averroes (Ibn Rushd) and Avicenna (Ibn Sina) and the Sephardic Jewish scholar Maimonides.
-
-
Love it
- By Amazon Customer on 06-28-20
By: Thomas Aquinas
-
The Socratic Dialogues
- Alcibiades and Other Attributed Dialogues
- By: Plato
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 4 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The influence of Plato, his Dialogues and his ‘Academy', cast a long shadow. Around 35 Dialogues, almost all featuring Socrates as the principal figure, are generally ascribed to Plato and form one of the most important threads in Western philosophy. These four Dialogues may fall into the ‘Attributed Texts' category, but they are of sufficient interest to warrant study in our time and when set against the principal canon.
-
-
Clearly Not Plato
- By Zach B on 05-16-24
By: Plato
-
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
- By: David Hume
- Narrated by: Hugh Ross
- Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As intriguing today as when it was first published, Hume's An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding is a fascinating exploration into the nature of human knowledge. Using billiard balls, candles, and other colorful examples, Hume conveys the core of his empiricism - that true knowledge can be gained only through sensory experience.
By: David Hume
-
A Treatise of Human Nature
- By: David Hume, Israel Bouseman
- Narrated by: Philippe Duquenoy
- Length: 23 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Treatise of Human Nature is the first work ever published by David Hume, a man who revolutionized our understanding of philosophy. Hume was an advocate of the skeptical school of philosophy and a key figure in the Scottish Enlightenment. He looks at the nature of human experience and cognition, showing that philosophy and reason can only be reflections of our nature.
-
-
What Formed The Foundation of Modern Philosophy!
- By Philosopher King on 01-17-17
By: David Hume, and others
-
Outlines of Pyrrhonism
- By: Sextus Empiricus
- Narrated by: Michael Lunts
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Throughout history philosophers have sought to define, understand, and delineate concepts important to human well-being. One such concept is "knowledge." Many philosophers believed that absolute, certain knowledge, is possible—that the physical world and ideas formulated about it could be given solid foundation unaffected by the varieties of mere opinion.
By: Sextus Empiricus
-
The Poverty of Historicism
- By: Karl Popper
- Narrated by: Martyn Swain
- Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Karl Popper's THE POVERTY OF HISTORICISM is one of the most important books on the social sciences to have appeared since the Second World War. It is also the work of one of the most original thinkers of the twentieth century, and a devastating criticism of the idea that there are laws of development in history and that human beings are able to discover them. Popper dedicated the book to all those who fell victim to the fascist and communist belief in Inexorable Laws of Historical Destiny
-
-
should be required reading
- By Anonymous User on 04-01-24
By: Karl Popper
-
Summa Theologica Part I (Prima Pars)
- By: Thomas Aquinas
- Narrated by: Martyn Swain
- Length: 52 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Summa Theologica, by Thomas Aquinas, is a fundamental text in Catholic doctrine, a compendium of theology that has been studied and debated since its first publication in the 13th century. Furthermore, it has been widely regarded as one of the classics of Western philosophy, not least because, perhaps for the first time in such a systematic manner, it set out to consider the views of non-Christian figures such as Aristotle, Boethius, Muslim writers including Averroes (Ibn Rushd) and Avicenna (Ibn Sina) and the Sephardic Jewish scholar Maimonides.
-
-
Love it
- By Amazon Customer on 06-28-20
By: Thomas Aquinas
-
The Spirit of the Laws
- By: Charles de Secondat Baron de Montesquieu
- Narrated by: Martyn Swain
- Length: 23 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the moment of its publication in 1748, The Spirit of the Laws proved to be a controversial work provoking widespread interest. Within three years it had been translated into various European languages - and was swiftly added to the List of Prohibited Books by the Roman Catholic Church. It is a remarkable book, a potpourri of observations and comments ranging far and wide over the social activities of mankind and it exerted a great influence on political leaders in the following decades.
-
-
Truly Excellent Audiobook!
- By No to Statism on 09-09-19
-
The Great Gatsby
- By: F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Narrated by: Jake Gyllenhaal
- Length: 4 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel of the Roaring Twenties is beloved by generations of readers and stands as his crowning work. This new audio edition, authorized by the Fitzgerald estate, is narrated by Oscar-nominated actor Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain). Gyllenhaal's performance is a faithful delivery in the voice of Nick Carraway, the Midwesterner turned New York bond salesman, who rents a small house next door to the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby....
-
-
Simple, Beautiful, and Exquisitely Textured
- By Darwin8u on 04-09-13
-
The Principal Speeches of Demosthenes
- A Selection
- By: Demosthenes
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Demosthenes (384-322 BCE) is regarded as one of the greatest orators of Classical times. This view has persisted through the centuries even though his rousing speeches warning of the dangers of Macedonian expansion failed to stem the course of continued military success. Each of the orations in this collection is preceded with an introduction setting the scene, and outlining the context in which they were delivered. This also gives a concise picture of Athens at this difficult point in its history. All the speeches are prefaced by the historical setting.
-
-
Narration is difficult
- By Ken Johnson on 06-04-23
By: Demosthenes
-
The Maxims
- By: Duc de La Rochefoucauld, Constantine FitzGibbon - translator
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 3 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This recording presents a scholarly but accessible 20th century translation by Constantine FitzGibbon, and opens with an introduction to the life and works of La Rochefoucauld, as well as his own description of himself. It closes with a brief but interesting bibliography, in which FitzGibbon brings clarity to the various editions. It is presented in a very listenable manner by David Rintoul, who gives each maxim the weight and character it deserves.
-
-
Damning Wisdom
- By O. on 01-16-24
By: Duc de La Rochefoucauld, and others
-
On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason
- By: Arthur Schopenhauer
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There is a cause, or a reason, behind everything that happens. This is the fundamental view behind the classical proposition the Principle of Sufficient Reason, which, in 1813, Schopenhauer chose as his subject for further examination in his doctoral dissertation On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason....
-
-
I’ve enjoyed this program
- By M.Biblioswine on 04-23-20
-
What Is Metaphysics, What Is Philosophy and Other Writings
- By: Martin Heidegger
- Narrated by: Martyn Swain
- Length: 4 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This recording contains four important and related works by Heidegger: 'What Is Philosophy', 'What Is Metaphysics', 'On the Essence of Truth' and 'The Question of Being'.
-
-
Highly performed 🎭
- By Roman Greenberg on 09-06-22
By: Martin Heidegger
-
Philosophical Investigations
- By: Ludwig Wittgenstein, G. E. M. Anscombe - translator
- Narrated by: Jonathan Booth
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Philosophical Investigations was published in 1953, two years after the death of its author. In the preface written in Cambridge in 1945 where he was professor of philosophy he states: ‘Four years ago I had occasion to re-read my first book (the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus) and to explain its ideas to someone. It suddenly seemed to me that I should publish those old thoughts and the new ones together: that the latter could be seen in the right light only by contrast with and against the background of my old way of thinking.’
-
-
One of the Masterpieces of 20th Philosophy
- By Oberon on 12-30-20
By: Ludwig Wittgenstein, and others
-
Ideas
- By: Edmund Husserl
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 16 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As philosophy professor Taylor Carman explains in his helpful introduction, Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) was the founder of modern phenomenology, one of the most important and influential movements of the 20th century. Ideas, published in 1913 – its full title is Ideas for a Pure Phenomenology and Phenomenological Philosophy – was the key work. It is arguably ‘the most fundamental and comprehensive statement of the fundamental principles of Husserl’s mature philosophy’.
-
-
Husserl WILL Change How You Think About Philosophy
- By POL-PHL-ECO on 05-12-20
By: Edmund Husserl
-
The Story of Philosophy
- The Lives and Opinions of the Greater Philosophers
- By: Will Durant
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 19 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Durant lucidly describes the philosophical systems of such world-famous “monarchs of the mind” as Plato, Aristotle, Francis Bacon, Spinoza, Kant, Voltaire, and Nietzsche. Along with their ideas, he offers their flesh-and-blood biographies, placing their thoughts within their own time and place and elucidating their influence on our modern intellectual heritage. This book is packed with wisdom and wit.
-
-
Fantastic and insightful book
- By ESK on 01-25-13
By: Will Durant
-
Beyond Good and Evil
- By: Friedrich Nietzsche
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings, Roy McMillan
- Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Continuing where Thus Spoke Zarathustra left off, Nietzsche's controversial work Beyond Good and Evil is one of the most influential philosophical texts of the 19th century and one of the most controversial works of ideology ever written. Attacking the notion of morality as nothing more than institutionalised weakness, Nietzsche criticises past philosophers for their unquestioning acceptance of moral precepts. Nietzsche tried to formulate what he called "the philosophy of the future".
-
-
Great Book, great Audio Narration
- By Bob H on 01-07-11
-
Plato's Republic
- By: Plato
- Narrated by: Ray Childs
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Republic poses questions that endure: What is justice? What form of community fosters the best possible life for human beings? What is the nature and destiny of the soul? What form of education provides the best leaders for a good republic? What are the various forms of poetry and the other arts, and which ones should be fostered and which ones should be discouraged? How does knowing differ from believing?
-
-
BEWARE: shortened version
- By Dranu on 03-08-20
By: Plato
-
On the Shortness of Life, On the Happy Life, and Other Essays
- Essays, Volume 1
- By: Seneca
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As former tutor and adviser to Emperor Nero, philosopher and statesman Seneca was acutely aware of how short life can be - his own life was cut short when the emperor ordered him to commit suicide (for alleged involvement in a conspiracy). And Seneca proved true to his words - his lifelong avowal to Stoicism enabled him to conduct himself with dignity to the end. During his rich and busy life, Seneca wrote a series of essays that have advised and enriched the lives of generations down to the present day.
-
-
Completely relevant, ageless wisdom
- By Tobias A. Matejovsky on 12-13-18
By: Seneca
Related to this topic
-
The Gay Science (The Joyful Wisdom)
- By: Friedrich Nietzsche
- Narrated by: Michael Lunts
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Gay Science (The Joyful Wisdom) is one of Nietzsche's greatest books. His wonderfully fertile mind roams over mankind, his thoughts, his emotions, his behaviour and his weaknesses with remarkable clarity, with insight - but also with humour!In this work are 383 separate paragraphs, some short, some long, but all singular observations - the epitome of his famous aphoristic style. 'Morality is the herd instinct in the individual.'
-
-
I am now a full-fledged fan of Nietzsche
- By RS on 02-24-18
-
The Wisdom of Life, Counsels and Maxims
- By: Arthur Schopenhauer
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
'The two foes of human happiness are pain and boredom.' Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) was one of the most influential philosophers of the 19th century because his humanistic, atheistic, if pessimistic views chimed with a new secularism that was emerging from a Western society dominated by religion. Despite his rather forbidding image (and a few outdated views), he is one of the most approachable German philosophers, and this is certainly evident in these two key works, The Wisdom of Life and Counsels and Maxims.
-
-
depressingly hopeful
- By Sebastian huerta on 06-22-17
-
On the Genealogy of Morals
- A Polemic
- By: Friedrich Nietzsche
- Narrated by: Duncan Steen
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In On the Genealogy of Morals, subtitled "A Polemic", Nietzsche furthers his pursuit of a clarity that is less tainted by imposed prejudices. He looks at the way attitudes towards 'morality' evolved and the way congenital ideas of morality were heavily colored by the Judaic and Christian traditions.
-
-
Be strong, not weak.
- By Wayne on 06-24-13
-
Plato's Republic
- By: Plato
- Narrated by: Ray Childs
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Republic poses questions that endure: What is justice? What form of community fosters the best possible life for human beings? What is the nature and destiny of the soul? What form of education provides the best leaders for a good republic? What are the various forms of poetry and the other arts, and which ones should be fostered and which ones should be discouraged? How does knowing differ from believing?
-
-
BEWARE: shortened version
- By Dranu on 03-08-20
By: Plato
-
Why We Are Restless
- On the Modern Quest for Contentment
- By: Benjamin Storey, Jenna Silber Storey
- Narrated by: Laurel Lefkow
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We live in an age of unprecedented prosperity, yet everywhere we see signs that our pursuit of happiness has proven fruitless. Dissatisfied, we seek change for the sake of change - even if it means undermining the foundations of our common life. In Why We Are Restless, Benjamin and Jenna Storey offer a profound and beautiful reflection on the roots of this malaise and examine how we might begin to cure ourselves.
-
-
Good primer.
- By Chris on 09-29-21
By: Benjamin Storey, and others
-
Utilitarianism
- By: John Stuart Mill
- Narrated by: Fleet Cooper
- Length: 3 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This expanded edition of John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism includes the text of his 1868 speech to the British House of Commons defending the use of capital punishment in cases of aggravated murder. The speech is significant both because its topic remains timely and because its arguments illustrate the applicability of the principle of utility to questions of large-scale social policy.
-
-
A dramatic reading of JSM's 'Utilitarianism'
- By Darwin8u on 12-24-12
By: John Stuart Mill
-
The Gay Science (The Joyful Wisdom)
- By: Friedrich Nietzsche
- Narrated by: Michael Lunts
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Gay Science (The Joyful Wisdom) is one of Nietzsche's greatest books. His wonderfully fertile mind roams over mankind, his thoughts, his emotions, his behaviour and his weaknesses with remarkable clarity, with insight - but also with humour!In this work are 383 separate paragraphs, some short, some long, but all singular observations - the epitome of his famous aphoristic style. 'Morality is the herd instinct in the individual.'
-
-
I am now a full-fledged fan of Nietzsche
- By RS on 02-24-18
-
The Wisdom of Life, Counsels and Maxims
- By: Arthur Schopenhauer
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
'The two foes of human happiness are pain and boredom.' Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) was one of the most influential philosophers of the 19th century because his humanistic, atheistic, if pessimistic views chimed with a new secularism that was emerging from a Western society dominated by religion. Despite his rather forbidding image (and a few outdated views), he is one of the most approachable German philosophers, and this is certainly evident in these two key works, The Wisdom of Life and Counsels and Maxims.
-
-
depressingly hopeful
- By Sebastian huerta on 06-22-17
-
On the Genealogy of Morals
- A Polemic
- By: Friedrich Nietzsche
- Narrated by: Duncan Steen
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In On the Genealogy of Morals, subtitled "A Polemic", Nietzsche furthers his pursuit of a clarity that is less tainted by imposed prejudices. He looks at the way attitudes towards 'morality' evolved and the way congenital ideas of morality were heavily colored by the Judaic and Christian traditions.
-
-
Be strong, not weak.
- By Wayne on 06-24-13
-
Plato's Republic
- By: Plato
- Narrated by: Ray Childs
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Republic poses questions that endure: What is justice? What form of community fosters the best possible life for human beings? What is the nature and destiny of the soul? What form of education provides the best leaders for a good republic? What are the various forms of poetry and the other arts, and which ones should be fostered and which ones should be discouraged? How does knowing differ from believing?
-
-
BEWARE: shortened version
- By Dranu on 03-08-20
By: Plato
-
Why We Are Restless
- On the Modern Quest for Contentment
- By: Benjamin Storey, Jenna Silber Storey
- Narrated by: Laurel Lefkow
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We live in an age of unprecedented prosperity, yet everywhere we see signs that our pursuit of happiness has proven fruitless. Dissatisfied, we seek change for the sake of change - even if it means undermining the foundations of our common life. In Why We Are Restless, Benjamin and Jenna Storey offer a profound and beautiful reflection on the roots of this malaise and examine how we might begin to cure ourselves.
-
-
Good primer.
- By Chris on 09-29-21
By: Benjamin Storey, and others
-
Utilitarianism
- By: John Stuart Mill
- Narrated by: Fleet Cooper
- Length: 3 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This expanded edition of John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism includes the text of his 1868 speech to the British House of Commons defending the use of capital punishment in cases of aggravated murder. The speech is significant both because its topic remains timely and because its arguments illustrate the applicability of the principle of utility to questions of large-scale social policy.
-
-
A dramatic reading of JSM's 'Utilitarianism'
- By Darwin8u on 12-24-12
By: John Stuart Mill
-
The Story of Philosophy
- The Lives and Opinions of the Greater Philosophers
- By: Will Durant
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 19 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Durant lucidly describes the philosophical systems of such world-famous “monarchs of the mind” as Plato, Aristotle, Francis Bacon, Spinoza, Kant, Voltaire, and Nietzsche. Along with their ideas, he offers their flesh-and-blood biographies, placing their thoughts within their own time and place and elucidating their influence on our modern intellectual heritage. This book is packed with wisdom and wit.
-
-
Fantastic and insightful book
- By ESK on 01-25-13
By: Will Durant
-
Plato's Phaedrus
- By: Plato
- Narrated by: Ray Childs
- Length: 2 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Phaedrus lures Socrates outside the walls of Athens, where he seldom goes, by promising to share a new work by his friend and mentor, Lysias, a famous writer of speeches. This dialogue provides a powerful example of the dialectical writing that Plato uses to manifest ideas that are essential to human existence and to living a good life. Phaedrus shows how oral and written forms of language relate to each other and to philosophy.
-
-
six pages (Hackett Complete Works edition) missing
- By S. Lee on 01-17-19
By: Plato
-
Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals
- By: Immanuel Kant, Thomas Kingsmill Abbott - translator
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 3 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Immanuel Kant's Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals, first published in 1785, lays out Kant's essential philosophy and defines the concepts and arguments that would shape his later work. Central to Kant's doctrine is the categorical imperative, which he defines as a mandate that human actions should always conform to a universal, unchanging standard of rational morality.
-
-
Categorical Imperatives for Everyone
- By Darwin8u on 04-04-17
By: Immanuel Kant, and others
-
The Great Gatsby
- By: F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Narrated by: Jake Gyllenhaal
- Length: 4 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel of the Roaring Twenties is beloved by generations of readers and stands as his crowning work. This new audio edition, authorized by the Fitzgerald estate, is narrated by Oscar-nominated actor Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain). Gyllenhaal's performance is a faithful delivery in the voice of Nick Carraway, the Midwesterner turned New York bond salesman, who rents a small house next door to the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby....
-
-
Simple, Beautiful, and Exquisitely Textured
- By Darwin8u on 04-09-13
-
The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind
- By: Gustave Le Bon
- Narrated by: Joseph Gomez
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind is a seminal work on crowd psychology by Gustave Le Bon (1841-1931), a French social psychologist. He observes that a crowd forms when an influential idea unites a number of individuals and prompts them to act towards a common goal. In a crowd, the conscious personality of the individual is submerged and dominated by the collective mind. Furthermore, every sentiment becomes contagious to a degree that individuals readily sacrifice their personal interest to the collective.
-
-
A must read in terms of group psychology....
- By Alednam A Uonopk on 08-19-20
By: Gustave Le Bon
-
The Art of Worldly Wisdom
- By: Balthasar Gracian
- Narrated by: Keira Grace
- Length: 4 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Art of Worldly Wisdom was written in 1647. It is a collection of 300 maxims on various topics, each elaborated with a commentary. The sayings offer advice and guidance on how to live well, advance socially, and be a better person.
-
-
Terrible Narration
- By John P. Owens on 08-31-22
-
Self-Reliance and Other Essays (AmazonClassics Edition)
- By: Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Narrated by: Mikael Naramore
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this definitive collection of essays, including the poignant title essay "Self-Reliance," Ralph Waldo Emerson expounds on the importance of trusting your soul, as well as divine providence, to carve out a life. A firm believer in nonconformity, Emerson celebrates the individual and stresses the value of listening to the inner voice unique to each of us—even when it defies society's expectations.
-
-
This book is like a series of great quotes!
- By M. Allen on 01-16-19
-
The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia
- By: Samuel Johnson
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 4 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rasselas and his companions escape the pleasures of the "happy valley" in order to make their "choice of life". By witnessing the misfortunes and miseries of others they come to understand the nature of happiness and value it more highly. Their travels and enquiries raise important practical and philosophical questions concerning many aspects of the human condition, including the business of a poet, the stability of reason, the immortality of the soul, and how to find contentment.
-
-
1759 classic
- By Kindle Customer on 01-29-23
By: Samuel Johnson
-
The Conquest of Happiness
- By: Bertrand Russell
- Narrated by: Chris Lutkin
- Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This metaphysical self-help classic instills happiness within and urges individuals to pursue a content life without sin, boredom, or contempt. Written decades ago with post-war depression in mind, this text has transcended time and continues to give applicable advice for modern-day individuals.
-
-
Narrator was horrible
- By Mar on 09-09-20
By: Bertrand Russell
-
The Varieties of Religious Experience
- By: William James
- Narrated by: Jim Killavey
- Length: 18 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Varieties of Religious Experience is considered to be the classic work in the field. To quote Wikipedia, "James was most interested in understanding personal religious experience. The importance of James to the psychology of religion - and to psychology more generally - is difficult to overstate. He discussed many essential issues that remain of vital concern today. What makes James writing so special is that he could take a very complex subject and, without watering it down, make it understandable to 'the rest of us.'"
-
-
Profound stuff
- By Empowerment on 09-05-09
By: William James
-
Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
- By: Marcus Aurelius
- Narrated by: Alan Munro
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meditations is former U.S. President Bill Clinton's favorite book. This audio consists of a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor 161-180 AD, setting forth his ideas on Stoic philosophy.
-
-
The reading made it impossible to focus on content
- By Mark Grebner on 09-02-12
By: Marcus Aurelius
-
Reflections on the Revolution in France
- By: Edmund Burke
- Narrated by: Bernard Mayes
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This famous treatise began as a letter to a young French friend who asked Edmund Burke’s opinion on whether France’s new ruling class would succeed in creating a better order. Doubtless the friend expected a favorable reply, but Burke was suspicious of certain tendencies of the Revolution from the start and perceived that the revolutionaries were actually subverting the true "social order". Blending history with principle and graceful imagery with profound practical maxims, this book is one of the most influential political treatises in the history of the world.
-
-
A good historical perspective
- By CMC on 08-30-14
By: Edmund Burke