Episodes
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Immanuel Kant and the Natural Law Tradition
George Smith discusses Kant’s attempt to justify objective moral principles and his views on when the use of coercion is morally proper. Originally published in essay form on April 15, 2016
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A Few Kind Words about the Most Evil Man in Mankind’s History
George Smith explains some fundamental features of Immanuel Kant’s moral and political theory. Originally published in essay form on April 8, 2016
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Some Personal Reflections on Ayn Rand
George Smith discusses some good and bad influences that Ayn Rand’s ideas had on his own intellectual development. Originally published in essay form on April 1, 2016
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Ayn Rand on Aristotle
George Smith examines some of Rand’s claims about the beneficial influence of Aristotle’s ideas on the course of Western civilization. Originally published in essay form on March 4, 2016
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On the Influence of Ideas
George Smith discusses the issue of whether we should hold a philosopher responsible for the beliefs of those followers who agree with him. Originally published in essay form on February 26, 2016.
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Some Reflections on the History of Philosophy
George Smith explains the views of Kant and Hegel on the history of philosophy, and explores whether moral judgments should be applied to the realm of ideas. Originally published in essay form on February 19, 2016
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Immanuel Kant and Nazism
Was Kant somehow responsible for the rise of Nazism? Smith explores two points of view on this issue. Originally published in essay form on February 5, 2016
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Ernst Cassirer on Fascism and National Socialism
George H. Smith discusses the mythological thinking that dominated Nazi ideology, as explained in Cassirer’s book The Myth of the State. Originally published in essay form on January 29, 2016.
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Ayn Rand and the History of Philosophy
George Smith discusses whether we should hold a philosopher responsible for how other philosophers use his or her ideas. Originally published in essay form on February 12, 2016
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Ayn Rand on Fascism
George H. Smith explores Rand’s contention that America was sliding down a slippery slope to fascism. Originally published in essay form on January 8, 2016.
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John Locke: A Leveller Connection?
Smith examines and criticizes Richard Ashcraft’s arguments that Locke was significantly influenced by the Levellers. Originally published in essay form on December 18, 2015.
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John Locke: In Search of the Radical Locke
George H. Smith explains an important controversy about when the Two Treatises was written, and the possible influence of the Levellers on Locke. Originally published in essay form on December 4, 2015.
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John Locke: Money and Private Property
George H. Smith explains the significance, for Locke, of the increased productivity caused by labor, and the relationship between money and property. Originally published in essay form on November 20, 2015.
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John Locke: Some Qualifications in Locke’s Theory of Property
George H. Smith explains how Locke dealt with some problems in the traditional Christian theory of private property. Originally published in essay form on November 6, 2015.
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John Locke: Some Problems in Locke’s Theory of Private Property
George H. Smith discusses Robert Nozick’s criticisms of Locke’s property theory and the relationship between a natural-law justification of property and social conventions. Originally published in essay form on October 30, 2015.
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John Locke: Hermeneutics and Labor
George H. Smith explains Locke’s ideas about how we should interpret a philosophic text, and the relationship between labor and private property. Originally published in essay form on October 23, 2015.
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John Locke: The Justification of Private Property
In his first essay in a new series on John Locke, Smith explains some essential features of Locke’s case for private property. Originally published in essay form on October 19, 2015
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Freethought and Freedom: John Locke on Property
George Smith discusses Locke’s view of the original commons, before the institution of private property. Originally published in essay form on October 9, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: Private Property and Natural Law
George Smith continues his discussion of how the theory of private property changed over the centuries. Originally published in essay form on October 2, 2015.
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FreeThought and Freedom: The Secularization of Private Property
Smith contrasts the modern secular approach to private property with the traditional Christian theory. Originally published in essay form on September 25, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: Early Christianity and the Modern Libertarian Movement
Does the modern libertarian movement have any significant similarities to the early Christian movement? George H. Smith explores this intriguing possibility. Originally published in essay form on September 18, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: The Christian Theory of Property
George H. Smith discusses the traditional Christian theory of private property and how it was viewed as the result of original sin. Originally published in essay form on September 11, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: Jean Meslier on Property
Was Jean Meslier a communist? George H. Smith explores this tricky issue. Originally published in essay form on September 4, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: The Political Theory of Jean Meslier
George H. Smith critically examines the claim that Jean Meslier was a communist anarchist. Originally published in essay form on August 21, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: Jean Meslier and Christian Ethics
George H. Smith explains Jean Meslier’s three major objections to Christian morality, as taught by Jesus. Originally published in essay form on August 14, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: Jean Meslier and the Catholic Church
George H. Smith explains the role of the Catholic Church in the French government, and how Jean Meslier reconciled his atheism with his role as a priest. Originally published in essay form on August 7, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: Jean Meslier
George H. Smith explains some of the libertarian ideas of Jean Meslier, the notorious atheist-priest. Originally published in essay form on July 31, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: A Critique of Spinoza
George H. Smith criticizes some features of Benedict Spinoza’s political theory, especially his theory of rights. Originally published in essay form on July 24, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: Spinoza’s Political Theory
George H. Smith explains the fundamentals of Benedict Spinoza’s theory of rights and government. Originally published in essay form on July 17, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: Spinoza on Freedom of Religion and Speech
George H. Smith continues his discussion of Benedict Spinoza by explaining how he defended freedom of religion and speech. Originally published in essay form on July 10, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: Spinoza on the Bible
George H. Smith explains why Benedict Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise became one of the most scandalous books ever published. Originally published in essay form on May 29, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: Benedict Spinoza
George H. Smith discusses Benedict Spinoza’s controversial ideas about God, religion, and his criticism of the Design Argument. Originally published in essay form on May 22, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: Francis Bacon and the Rise of Secularism
George H. Smith explains Francis Bacon’s defense of certainty and his contributions to a secular worldview. Originally published in essay form on May 15, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: Skepticism
Pyrrhonic skepticism had a tremendous influence on religious debates in post-Reformation Europe. Originally published in essay form on May 1, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: The Politics of Deism
George H. Smith explains the political implications of the deistic repudiation of special revelation and miracles. Originally published in essay form on April 24, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: John Toland and the Nature of Reason
George H. Smith explains the controversial arguments of the deist John Toland, as defended in Christianity not Mysterious. Originally published in essay form on April 17, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: Miracles and Edward Gibbon
George H. Smith explains why Edward Gibbon rejected miraculous accounts in his masterpiece, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Originally published in essay form on April 10, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: Deism, The Age of Reason, and Richard Carlile
George H. Smith explains the basic tenets of deism and why it posed a political threat. Originally published in essay form on March 27, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: The English Deists
George H. Smith explains the origins of deism and its basic ideas. Originally published in essay form on March 20, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: How Freethinkers Attempted to Avoid Persecution
George H. Smith explains some tactics that early freethinkers used in the attempt to avoid punishment for blasphemy and other religious crimes. Originally published in essay form on March 13, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: Shaftesbury on the Value of Ridicule
George H. Smith explores Shaftesbury’s defense of ridicule and satire in matters of religion. Originally published in essay form on March 6, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: Aquinas, Luther, and Calvin on Persecution
George H. Smith explains how some leading Christian theologians justified the death penalty for heretics and blasphemers. Originally published in essay form on February 27, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: The Problem of Heresy
George H. Smith explains the similarities between medieval heresy and our modern notion of treason against the state. Originally published in essay form on February 20, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: Augustine’s Case for Righteous Persecution
Augustine argued that religious persecution was justified when done in the interest of the salvation of those persecuted. Originally published in essay form on February 13, 2015.
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Freethought and Freedom: Introduction
George H. Smith begins his series on the historical relationship between religious skepticism and libertarianism. Originally published in essay form on January 30, 2015. Narrated by Daniel Hyland.
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Self-Interest and Social Order in Classical Liberalism: Bernard Mandeville v. Francis Hutcheson
George H. Smith discusses what Bernard Mandeville meant in saying that private vices produce public benefits, and how Francis Hutcheson criticized that theory. Originally published in essay form on January 23, 2015. Narrated by Daniel Hyland.
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Self-Interest and Social Order in Classical Liberalism: Mandeville on the Benefits of Vice
George H. Smith discusses Bernard Mandeville’s defense of legal prostitution and other vices. Originally published in essay form on January 16, 2015. Narrated by Daniel Hyland.
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Self-Interest and Social Order in Classical Liberalism: Bernard Mandeville
George H. Smith explains why Mandeville’s ideas about vice made him one of the most notorious writers of his time. Originally published in essay form on January 9, 2015.
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Self-Interest and Social Order in Classical Liberalism: Joseph Butler, Continued
Originally published in essay form on December 19, 2014. Narrated by Daniel Hyland.
About this show
George H. Smith explores the history of libertarian ideas. Narrated by Daniel Hyland.
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