Freedom: The Philosophy of Liberation

Professor Dalton explores the meaning of freedom and examines the progress of both personal and political freedom. These eight lectures are a guided tour along the byways of the philosophy of liberation, beginning with its ancient roots and ending in 20th-century America.

Throughout these lectures, you'll follow the progress toward personal liberation and spiritual freedom found in the lives of those who were often consumed by fierce and difficult struggles for political freedom. And you'll see that the results achieved along the way are not separate mysteries but truths linked by the same path.

But you'll also learn that the philosophy of freedom was never intrinsically American and has its roots in diverse ancient cultures. For example, you'll learn about the ancient Hindu philosophy of dual freedom as described in the Bhagavad Gita, the Greek philosopher Plato's study of freedom in the republic of Athens, and the major contributions Christian philosophy has made to the ideal of freedom. Traveling from the ancient world to the modern, you'll consider the lives and work of John Stuart Mill (the 19th-century philosopher who defined the meaning of freedom with extraordinary clarity), Mahatma Gandhi (the political leader who led the Indian subcontinent out of British domination), Martin Luther King, Jr. (who synthesized the teachings of Jesus and Gandhi to create a method of nonviolent resistance), and others.