Philosophy audiobooks

Reflections on the Mind of Plato

By: Joseph N. Uemura

Narrated by: Joseph N. Uemura

Length: 4 hours 41 minutes

Abridged: No

“Plato was not a Platonist! I would like to show . . . that anyone who reads the dialogues of Plato without bias or an ax to grind will find a humorous, witty, pleasant friend; and not a desiccated scholarly mandarin. Plato was an open-minded, tolerant, reasonable individual, not a tight-lipped, pietistic, puritan. In a word, Plato was an... Read more

The Birth of Tragedy

By: Friedrich Nietzsche

Narrated by: William Sigalis

Length: 4 hours 12 minutes

Abridged: No

The Birth of Tragedy stands alongside Aristotle’s Poetics as essential works for all who seek to understand poetry and its relationship to human life. In this, his first book, Nietzsche developed a way of thinking about the arts that unites the Greek gods Apollo and Dionysus as the central symbol of human existence. Although tragedy serves as... Read more

The Function of Reason

By: Alfred North Whitehead

Narrated by: Albert A. Anderson

Length: 2 hours 34 minutes

Abridged: No

Whitehead presented these three lectures at Princeton University in 1929. Although 85 years have passed, his central thesis and his analysis remain remarkably current. The scientific materialism that Whitehead opposed with such vigor continues to dominate in academic circles, and even now those who question that worldview are often accused of... Read more

Reality and the Arts

By: Albert A. Anderson

Narrated by: Albert A. Anderson

Length: 4 hours 7 minutes

Abridged: No

Art is the creative manifestation of essences. In order to understand the relation between art and reality, we need a philosophical guide. The best way to comprehend how the creative act of imagining enables the mind to seek reality is to employ the kind of dialectical thinking that Plato used in his dialogues. Beginning with the shadows on the... Read more

Plato's Meno

By: Plato

Narrated by: Albert A. Anderson

Length: 1 hour 12 minutes

Abridged: No

A dialogue between Socrates and Meno probes the subject of ethics. Can goodness be taught? If it can, then we should be able to find teachers capable of instructing others about what is good and bad, right and wrong, or just and unjust. Socrates and Meno are unable to identify teachers of ethics, and we are left wondering how such knowledge... Read more

Plato's Ion

By: Plato

Narrated by: Albert A. Anderson

Length: 35 minutes

Abridged: No

Socrates questions Ion, an actor who just won a major prize, about his ability to interpret the epic poetry of Homer. How does an actor, a poet, or any other artist create? Is it by knowing? Is it by inspiration? As the dialogue proceeds, the nature of human creativity emerges as a mysterious process and an unsolved puzzle. Read more

Plato's Phaedrus

By: Plato

Narrated by: Albert A. Anderson

Length: 2 hours 22 minutes

Abridged: No

Plato’s dialogues frequently treat several topics and show their connection to each other. The Phaedrus is a model of that skill because of its seamless progression from examples of speeches about the nature of love to mythical visions of human nature and destiny to the essence of beauty and, finally, to a penetrating discussion of speaking and... Read more

Plato's Republic

By: Plato

Narrated by: Albert A. Anderson

Length: 11 hours 47 minutes

Abridged: No

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... Read more

Plato's Euthyphro

By: Plato

Narrated by: Albert A. Anderson

Length: 33 minutes

Abridged: No

In Euthyphro, Socrates is on his way to the court where he must defend himself against serious charges brought by religious and political authorities. On the way, he meets Euthyphro, an expert on religious matters, who has come to prosecute his own father. Socrates questions Euthyphro’s claim that religion serves as the basis for ethics. Read more

Plato's Crito

By: Plato

Narrated by: Albert A. Anderson

Length: 29 minutes

Abridged: No

After Socrates is sentenced to death by the Athenian court, his friend Crito comes to the prison to help him escape and go to another country. Socrates responds by saying that he would accept Crito’s offer only if he can be convinced that it is right and just to do so. This dialogue is not only about Socrates’ particular choice but also about... Read more

Plato's Greater Hippias

By: Plato

Narrated by: Albert A. Anderson

Length: 1 hour 8 minutes

Abridged: No

Hippias of Elis travels throughout the Greek world practicing and teaching the art of making beautiful speeches. On a rare visit to Athens, he meets Socrates who questions him about the nature of his art. Socrates is especially curious about how Hippias would define beauty. They agree that “beauty makes all beautiful things beautiful,” but when... Read more

Plato's Gorgias

By: Plato

Narrated by: Albert A. Anderson

Length: 2 hours 59 minutes

Abridged: No

Gorgias of Leontini, a famous teacher of rhetoric, has come to Athens to recruit students, promising to teach them how to become leaders in politics and business. A group has gathered at Callicles' house to hear Gorgias demonstrate the power of his art. This dialogue blends comic and serious discussion of the best life, providing a penetrating... Read more

Plato's Phaedo

By: Plato

Narrated by: Albert A. Anderson

Length: 2 hours 38 minutes

Abridged: No

Socrates is in prison, sentenced to die when the sun sets. In this final conversation, he asks what will become of him once he drinks the poison prescribed for his execution. Socrates and his friends examine several arguments designed to prove that the soul is immortal. This quest leads him to the broader topic of the nature of mind and its... Read more

On Liberty

By: John Stuart Mill

Narrated by: Albert A. Anderson

Length: 6 hours 9 minutes

Abridged: No

John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty was first published in 1859. In the 21st century this text confirms Socrates’ claim that “it is only the life of true philosophy that scorns the life of political ambition” (Plato’s Republic, 521). Mill’s thinking about freedom in civic and social life examines fundamental principles shared among conservative,... Read more

Plato's Laches

By: Plato

Narrated by: Albert A. Anderson

Length: 59 minutes

Abridged: No

Laches, a general in the Athenian army, saw Socrates fight bravely in the battle of Delium. When he and Nicias, another general, are asked to explain the idea of courage, they are at a loss and words fail them. How does courage differ from thoughtless and reckless audacity? Can a lion be said to be courageous? What about small children who have... Read more

The Poetics

By: Aristotle

Narrated by: Albert A. Anderson

Length: 1 hour 25 minutes

Abridged: No

Aristotle's Poetics is best known for its definition and analysis of tragedy and comedy, but it also applies to truth and beauty as they are manifested in the other arts. In our age, when the natural and social sciences have dominated the quest for truth, it is helpful to consider why Aristotle claimed: "poetry is more philosophical and more... Read more

Dao De Jing

By: Laozi

Narrated by: Albert A. Anderson

Length: 1 hour 26 minutes

Abridged: No

The Dao De Jing exists on the border between poetry and philosophy, embracing both mythos and logos. Its poetic form can stand alone, but it is enriched when its timeless ideas are analyzed and explained through careful scholarship. For example: “He who knows others is knowledgeable. He who knows himself is wise.” These words resemble Socrates’... Read more

Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion

By: David Hume

Narrated by: Albert A. Anderson

Length: 4 hours 17 minutes

Abridged: No

David Hume’s Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion had not yet been published when he died in 1776. Even though the manuscript was mostly written during the 1750s, it did not appear until 1779. The subject itself was too delicate and controversial, and Hume’s dialectical examination of religious knowledge was especially provocative. What should... Read more

Foundations of Ethics

By: Immanuel Kant

Narrated by: Ray Childs

Length: 5 hours

Abridged: No

These works articulate the most fundamental principles of Kant’s ethical and political world-view. “What is Enlightenment?” (1784) and Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785) were written in the period between the American Revolution and the French Revolution. Taken together they challenge all free people to think about the... Read more

Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous

By: George Berkeley

Narrated by: Albert A. Anderson

Length: 4 hours 36 minutes

Abridged: No

Berkeley uses the Socratic mode of inquiry in Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous to question fundamental beliefs about knowledge and reality. These dialogues are between Hylas (whose name is derived from the ancient Greek word for matter) and Philonous, whose name means “lover of mind.” The new physical sciences developed in the... Read more

Descartes' Meditations

By: Rene Descartes

Narrated by: Albert A. Anderson

Length: 3 hours 31 minutes

Abridged: No

René Descartes is often described as the first modern philosopher, but much of the content of his Meditations on First Philosophy can be found in the medieval period that had already existed for more than a thousand years. Does God exist? If so, what is his nature? Is the human soul immortal? How does it differ from the body? What role do sense... Read more

Plato's Symposium

By: Plato

Narrated by: Albert A. Anderson

Length: 2 hours 21 minutes

Abridged: No

The dramatic nature of Plato’s dialogues is delightfully evident in the Symposium. The marriage between character and thought bursts forth as the guests gather at Agathon’s house to celebrate the success of his first tragedy. With wit and insight, they each present their ideas about love—from Erixymachus’s scientific naturalism to Aristophanes’... Read more

イシス 聖なる 女性

By: Moustafa Gadalla

Narrated by: Toshiji Takeshi

Length: 3 hours 55 minutes

Abridged: No

形而上学的・物理的な聖なる女性原理と、顕現する20の女性的属性について解説。形而上学的及び物理学的観点から見た創造の源としての神聖な女性原理、女性・男性原理の関係（とその一体性）を説明した日本語版の刊行物。女性的属性の顕現としての女神約20柱に関する説明や、全世界にあまねく広がるイシスのイデオロギーが果たす役割などの多くが含まれる。包括的な情報を持つ本書により精神だけでなく、変化にとんだあらゆる感情が喚起され、心も満たされることだろう。この増補版は、八つの章と三つの付録で構成されている。「第1章：:... Read more

Stoicism

By: Gideon Sterling

Narrated by: Albie Robles

Length: 3 hours

Abridged: No

If You've Recently Come Across The Concept Of Stoicism And Would Like To Learn How You Can Use It To Manage Your Emotions And Responses Better, Become Happier, Calmer, Wiser And Have Better Perseverance, This Audiobook Is For You So Keep Reading...Are you struggling with facing your fears, finding joy, reoccurring depressing thoughts, or dealing... Read more