The Modern Political Tradition: Hobbes to Habermas

By: Lawrence Cahoone, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Lawrence Cahoone

Without even realizing it, we all use the fruits of political philosophy. From liberty to democracy to community, the terms and concepts originated by political philosophers are ingrained in our global consciousness. Yet many of us have an incomplete picture of how these ideas developed and, quite possibly, a skewed perception of their intentions and implications.

This highly relevant course sheds light on the labyrinth of Western political and social theory, as well as its influence on modern history. Guided by an award-winning professor of philosophy and author, these eye-opening lectures reveal how political philosophers, in responding to the societal problems and changing conditions of their day in revolutionary ways, created virtual blueprints of action for leaders. You'll gain not only the tools to comprehend the omnipresent language of politics, but a thorough understanding of the wellspring of thought that has emerged over centuries of political philosophy and the intellectual origins of major historical movements and events.

Throughout, questions of democracy, freedom, and distributive justice are addressed, and revolutionary figures who have left an indelible mark on history - from Niccolo Machiavelli to Ayn Rand - are encountered.

By the conclusion of lecture 36, you will have the context necessary to appreciate the evolution of a myriad of political ideas, including hot-button topics of today such as libertarianism, neoconservatism, feminism, and environmentalism.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2014 The Great Courses (P)2014 The Teaching Company, LLC

Amazing objective and descriptive analysis .

Great narration.
Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Some comcepts were difficult but it's worth researching.
Will go through one more time.
Will recommend to others.

Great Foundation in Modern Political Philosophy

A great intro course for Modern Political Philosophy. Providing lectures on a wide range of notable thinkers such as Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant. Smith, Montesquieu, Burke, Paine, Clausewitz, Hegel, Marx's, Schmitt, Hayek, Rawls, and others. The information in these lectures is almost essential to understanding much of modern political ideas and development. Beyond the first few lectures the timeline runs mid 17th century to the modern age.

Although professor Cahoone's delivery can be slightly monotone at times, for the most part its easy to stay engaged and understand the material even if you have no background on the subject or political philosophy in general.

An essential lecture serie for thinking people

Even more essential than an American Civics class, this lecture series should be studied by any concerned citizen of any nation and anyone concerned with the "ideal", " practical" or good society. I highly recommend it. My only wish is that it would have had 45 minute lectures (and thus another 9+ hours). It was too short!

This is a great course

Excellent, very informative, and expansive. I enjoyed every minute of this course and I'm sad that it's over. I'm happy that it went all the way up to the present day and that I was able to get a good refresher on some college courses and personalities taught about in my major. I highly recommend this course, definitely one of the best ones I have gotten through.

excellent lecturer, nonbiased information

the lecturer was well spoken and clear, the lecture flowed effectively and all ideas were communicated well. interesting information and a great history of different philosophical ideas relating to politics.

great courses. Very engaging

it seems as though the professor has Friedrich Nietzsche in his mind during the whole narration. He also discounts any and all contributions from religions of today to political theory and discourse of today. aside from this the course is excellent. I would recommend it to anyone so long as what I have previously mentioned has been stated to the listener. perhaps one lecture to give at least context to religious political contributions along side Nietzsche would do nicely.

A course like this should be required in school

I was drawn I. to this course from the very first lecture. Professor Cahoone is an excellent lecturer. There are moments where he misspeaks and then corrects himself, but I felt this added a sense of realism and humanity to the lectures. He does an excellent job of distilling complex ideas I to easily digestible nuggets. I think anyone with an interest in politics would benefit greatly from. this course.

Covers it all.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend it as a good introduction to many current political ideas and themes.

What about Professor Lawrence Cahoone’s performance did you like?

He is a strong reader and a clear communicator.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. You need to absorb a bit at a time.

Any additional comments?

I am a fan of Cahoone, having also done his "Modern Intellectual Tradition" Great Courses. However, I found he relied on buzzwords and references to names a little too much here, particularly in the last half/third of the lectures, and some of it was hard to follow. But it did introduce me to many contempory political thinkers that I was unaware of. And Cahoone is a great communicator, so I enjoyed it very much.

decent

A great primer on political philosophy. However Carl Schmitt was not a fascist and Leo Strauss could've been more focused on

I wish I'd read this sooner!

I learned so much from this! I immediately want to listen again and take notes the second time. So many things make more sense now, and it's very encouraging to know that I'm not alone in some of the ideas I've thought of on my own. Thank you to Lawrence Cahoon and The Great Courses for this course.