Fred Baumann
All Books By Fred Baumann
The Dawn of Political History
- By: Fred Baumann
- Narrator: Fred Baumann
- Length: 4 hours 56 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: May 25, 2012
- Language: English
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3.6(15 ratings)
In this fascinating course of lectures, Professor Fred Baumann leads us on an engaging exploration of this penetrating work. Taking in each of the eight books, we examine the complex juxtaposition of events Thucydides demonstrates without much comment of his own. We see how democrats and oligarchs, Athenians and Spartans, understand the world and misunderstand each other. We explore how Thucydides contrasts Sparta – so deliberately narrow, provincial, overtly moral, and covertly cynical – with Athens – cosmopolitan, sophisticated, overtly cynical and covertly moral. In doing so, we discover his admonishment to respect both and to get past our own instinctive, and sometimes destructive, human tendencies. In the end, we come to understand how Thucydide’s work shows human nature in the most extreme circumstances and thus provides deep insight into both political practice and philosophy. That may indeed be the reason for its lasting relevance: its unique ability to still shed light upon our own predicament some two-thousand years later.
... Read moreVisions of Utopia
- By: Fred Baumann
- Narrator: Fred Baumann
- Length: 8 hours 21 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: November 28, 2008
- Language: English
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3.77(42 ratings)
Since ancient times, philosophers have struggled with the concept of the ideal society, or utopia. Many have contributed to the widely varying possibilities for just what such a system might entail. Religious, economic, and political structures all help to shape the composition of these utopias, and as these visions are shared, they impact the way subsequent utopias are envisioned. In this fascinating series of lectures, Professor Fred E. Baumann explores the “perfect” societies that have been described by great thinkers throughout history. His analysis provides insight on the nature of utopias and their place in society.
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