The Great Courses has 635 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 479 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.5★ across 19,831 ratings. The most-rated is A Column of Fire.

635 audiobooks
Cover art for Advanced Investments

Advanced Investments

5 ratings

Summary

This is an advanced course for investors in the market, covering cutting-edge investment principles and practices used by professionals. You learn hands-on techniques for analyzing the central problem of investing: How to determine if a potential investment is a good deal. Employing concepts from probability and statistics, you learn how to measure risk accurately. Then you explore methods for determining if a given security, such as a stock or bond, will generate returns that compensate for its risk. Throughout these 24 in-depth lectures, you weigh the relative advantages of active and passive investment strategies. An active approach takes advantage of mispriced securities that can be traded for a profit. A passive strategy seeks to build a well-diversified portfolio that can be put on automatic pilot. Many investors combine these strategies, and Professor Slezak takes you through a wide range of cases that show how to devise a balanced approach. His many useful tips include how to avoid the most common mistakes that investors make, why you should think in terms of net present value in evaluating a company, how to combine securities in order to control risk, and the importance of analyzing an investment before you act. Professor Slezak is an expert who knows how to communicate effectively. He enlivens his presentation with colorful anecdotes and object lessons from the recent history of Wall Street. His parting advice: Don't be afraid of the market. Nothing is a sure thing, he stresses, but the market has performed consistently over the long term. 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

Available on Audible
Cover art for Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

5 ratings

Summary

With more than 7 million copies in print in various formats and languages, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Is one of the most treasured children's books of all time. Now, more than 40 years after its first printing, this classic is finally available as an audiobook. The narration, provided by Academy Award winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow, comes from a Grammy-nominated recording, which is sure to bring warmth and humor to children and parents alike.

©1995 Bill Martin Jr. (P)2009 Macmillan Audio

Available on Audible
Cover art for On Looking

On Looking

5 ratings

Summary

From the author of the number-one New York Times mega-best seller Inside of a Dog comes an equally smart, delightful, and startling exploration of how we perceive and discover our world. Alexandra Horowitz’s brilliant On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes shows us how to see the spectacle of the ordinary - to practice, as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle put it, "the observation of trifles". On Looking is structured around a series of eleven walks the author takes, mostly in her Manhattan neighborhood, with experts on a diverse range of subjects, including an urban sociologist, the well-known artist Maira Kalman, a geologist, a physician, and a sound designer. She also walks with a child and a dog to see the world as they perceive it. What they see, how they see it, and why most of us do not see the same things reveal the startling power of human attention and the cognitive aspects of what it means to be an expert observer. As the million-plus readers of Inside of a Dog have discovered, Alexandra Horowitz is charmingly adept at explaining the mysteries of human perception. Trained as a cognitive scientist, she discovers a feast of fascinating detail, all explained with her generous humor and self-deprecating tone. On Looking presents the same engaging combination, this time in service to understanding how human beings encounter their daily worlds and one another. Page by page, Horowitz shows how much more there is to see - if only we would really look. On Looking is nutrition for the considered life, serving as a provocative response to our relentlessly virtual consciousness. So turn off the phone and other electronic devices and be in the real world - where strangers communicate by geometry as they walk toward one another, where sounds reveal shadows, where posture can display humility, and the underside of a leaf unveils a Lilliputian universe - where, indeed, there are worlds within worlds within worlds. Alexandra Horowitz’s On Looking confirms her place as one of today’s most illuminating observers of our infinitely complex world.

©2013 Alexandra Horowitz (P)2013 Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Available on Audible
Cover art for In the Reign of King John

In the Reign of King John

5 ratings

Summary

Weakened by the loss of Normandy, King John faced insurrection by his disgruntled barons. With the assistance of the archbishop of Canterbury, they drew up a list of their demands.  Dan Jones' vivid account of the vicissitudes of feudal power politics and the workings of 13th-century government is interwoven with an exploration of the lives of ordinary people: how and where they worked, what they wore, what they ate and what role the church played in their lives.

©2015 Dan Jones (P)2016 W F Howes

Category: History, Europe
Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for Great American Music: Broadway Musicals

Great American Music: Broadway Musicals

5 ratings

Summary

Rodgers and Hart. George and Ira Gershwin. Cole Porter. Lerner and Loewe. For most people who've grown up with and shared America's musical heritage, great songs open the floodgates to memories and feelings. Perhaps nowhere is this more profound than in the world of Broadway musicals, with their iconic melodies and memorable lyrics. Revisit the standards, originally written for the stage, that have both delighted and helped mend the broken hearts of Americans for decades. These 16 delightful lectures immerse you in the world of Broadway, exploring the intricacies of musical composition and song construction-and how they were used to create specific effects - as well as the social and historical backdrop against which musical theater must be considered. Much as we often concentrate on the so-called "golden age" of the 1950s, American musical theater spans the history of two vibrant centuries: the era of the minstrel show-whose contributions to American music were immense, in spite of the embarrassment we still feel at many of its images-vaudeville, ragtime, the revue; and the age of fully integrated book musicals launched by the 1927 production of Show Boat. With examples at the piano, Professor Messenger shows you the soundtrack of America - and for millions of us, the soundtrack of our lives. This insightful and sublimely enjoyable learning experience can forever change the way you experience musical theater. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2006 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2006 The Great Courses

Narrator: Bill Messenger
Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for Popes and the Papacy: A History

Popes and the Papacy: A History

5 ratings

Summary

More than a billion Roman Catholics throughout the world today look to the pope for guidance and leadership. Despite the papacy's enormous influence, how much do you really know about this ancient and powerful institution? Catholics and non-Catholics alike will enjoy these 24 illuminating lectures about this remarkable institution. Professor Noble gives you priceless insights into the dramatic history of the papal office and the lives of the men who represented it. You'll follow four critical strands of papal history over 2,000 years: the history of the "Petrine" idea; the history of an institution; the history of popes and antipopes; the history of Western civilization; and you'll look inside the Vatican's doors and discover fresh views on the institution's people, ideas, traditions, and routines, as well as the important roles played by organizations like the Curia and the Secretariat of State. You'll investigate the mechanisms by which the church not only ministers to its worldwide flock but also deals with the practical realities of its administration. Filled with interesting stories and remarkable insights, this course promises to educate, enlighten, and entertain you.

©2006 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2006 The Great Courses

Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for Practical Philosophy: The Greco-Roman Moralists

Practical Philosophy: The Greco-Roman Moralists

5 ratings

Summary

It's easy to forget that philosophy means "love of wisdom," not "love of thinking." In addition to philosophy that tells you how to think well, the field also provides guidance on how to live well - solid advice on how to be a good father or friend, or how to grow old gracefully, or to know what true happiness is. Greek and Roman thinkers such as Marcus Tullius Cicero, Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Dio Chrysostom, and Plutarch of Chaeronea devoted their lives not to metaphysics and epistemology but to the appreciation and practice of morality and virtue, values, and character. They give us - in plain, straightforward language - rules designed to help us progress as people. These 24 inspiring lectures introduce you to the sages who, as a group, represent the "missing page" of the history of philosophy. Although their names are sometimes familiar to us, as in the case of Cicero and Plutarch, their philosophy is not. Studying these thinkers offers some surprising ways to think about philosophy. For example, they believed the heart of philosophy is the question of how to live well as a human being. It is how you act, not what you think, that is most important. Virtue and morality are the keys to living a good life. And philosophers should practice what they preach (although, as you'll discover, the Greco-Roman moral philosophers certainly had flaws). From Cicero's deep sense of civic duty to Marcus Aurelius's pursuit of wisdom and dedication to the common good, this course offers ample opportunity to hear, in their own words, the philosophers' prescriptions for healthier living.

©2002 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2002 The Great Courses

Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for Famous Romans

Famous Romans

5 ratings

Summary

These 24 lectures retell the lives of the remarkable individuals - the statesmen, thinkers, warriors, and writers - who shaped the history of the Roman Empire and, by extension, our own history and culture.  Among the fascinating gallery of individuals whose lives, ideas, actions, and legacies you'll explore are Hannibal (who caused the Second Punic War personally, much as Adolf Hitler caused World War II), Augustus (who, beginning at the age of just 19, brilliantly followed a doctrine of ruthless expediency in order to rescue Rome from a century of civil war), and Marcus Aurelius (that most noble and philosophic of rulers who may have hastened the Empire's decline by tolerating the wicked cruelty of his heir).  Professor Fears divides his presentation into three "turning point" epochs in Roman history: Rome's war with Hannibal (the Second Punic War); Caesar and the end of the Roman Republic; and the imperial era between Augustus and Marcus Aurelius. As he presents the great figures of each period, he makes them seem personal and immediate. As you study these and many other significant Romans, you'll probe fundamental questions about the political and cultural history of Rome. What was the impact of Greek civilization on the Romans? Why did the Roman people, at the height of military, political, and economic power, abandon their republican liberty for the dictatorship of Caesar and his successors? What made the 2nd century A.D. one the most creative periods in world history? And why did the central figures of Roman history hold so much appeal for America's Founding Fathers? PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2001 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2001 The Great Courses

Narrator: J. Rufus Fears
Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for Famous Greeks

Famous Greeks

5 ratings

Summary

Join Professor Fears for this riveting 24-lecture examination of fascinating figures who shaped the story of Greece from the Trojan War through the rise of Rome. What do their lives, studied in the context of their times, tell us about virtue and vice, folly and wisdom, success and failure?  Inspired and informed by the monumental works of Homer, Herodotus, Thucydides, and Plutarch, these lectures allow you to do exactly that, guided by a truly great teacher. From the heroes of the Trojan War to Alexander the Great and Cleopatra, Professor Fears ushers you into the lives, achievements, and influence of many of the figures who made Greek history.  Among these are great warriors such as Achilles, Agamemnon, Hector, Odysseus, and Alexander the Great; masterful statesmen including Lycurgus, Solon, and Philip of Macedonia; profound thinkers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; and artists and writers such as Homer, Herodotus, Sophocles, Thucydides, and Plutarch. These lectures are informed by a fine moral awareness and a deep familiarity with the times these famous lives were lived. By exploring these famous Greek lives in this context, you'll also discover new ways to read familiar classics by Homer, Herodotus, Thucydides, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Xenophon, and Plato. And in keeping with that historical spirit, Professor Fears draws lessons from each life studied in this course, charting with you the intellectual and artistic currents of one of the most creative civilizations in world history. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2001 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2001 The Great Courses

Narrator: J. Rufus Fears
Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for The Origin of Civilization

The Origin of Civilization

5 ratings

Summary

What defines a civilization? How did the first states emerge? How were the world's ancient states similar and different? Answer these and other dramatic questions with this grand 48-lecture course that reveals how human beings around the world transitioned from small farming communities to the impressive cultural and political systems that would alter the course of history. Taking a gripping archaeological and historical approach to formative states such as the ancient Egyptians, the Chinese, and the Maya, Professor MacEachern completes your understanding of the history of civilization by exploring it at its earliest stages. Unlike traditional surveys of ancient civilizations, which tend to focus only on the glorious achievements of these cultures, you'll look at those first all-important steps that the world's first civilizations would take on the road to glory. You'll investigate places such as Mesopotamia, where agriculture laid the foundation for groundbreaking experiments in social and political development in places like Uruk and Sumer; the eastern Mediterranean, where expanding maritime trade during the Bronze Age increasingly knit the different societies of these islands into a web of political and economic relationships; and Mesoamerica, where the indigenous states in and around what are now Mexico, Honduras, and Nicaragua reveal the full flowering of Olmec and Maya civilization. You'll also take an engaging look at what archaeologists have learned from some of the world's oldest and most intriguing sites. In the end, these lectures will leave you awestruck at the diverse ways that ancient people crafted complex systems - systems whose broad strokes remain with us even today.

©2010 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2010 The Great Courses

Length: 24 hrs and 3 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for Great World Religions: Buddhism

Great World Religions: Buddhism

5 ratings

Summary

Discover why Buddhism is such an astonishingly lively and adaptable religion with this series. In just 12 accessible lectures, you'll learn how Buddhism transformed the civilizations of India and much of Asia, and has now become a vital part of Western culture. Buddhism's core philosophy, as you'll learn, is that nothing is permanent - all is change. With this in mind, you'll plunge into an introductory look at this faith. You'll unpack the Buddhist idea that all of life is "suffering" and that there is no permanent self. You'll learn about the life story of the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, his teaching (Dharma), and his community of disciples (Samgha). You'll also gain a clear understanding of key Buddhist terms such as nirvana, tantra, mandala, bodhisattva, and Zen; survey the lives of contemporary, well-known Buddhists such as the Dalai Lama; and examine Buddhist responses to some of the fundamental problems of life-responses that share some surprising similarities and differences with those of other faiths such as Christianity or Islam. These lectures are a chance for you to travel around the world and back in time, surveying Buddhism from its origin in India in the 6th or 5th centuries B.C.E. to the present day. It's a 2,500-year history that will give you a fascinating window into how a faith can grow from a tiny religious community into a movement that spans the globe.

©2003 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2003 The Great Courses

Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for The Science of Sci-Fi

The Science of Sci-Fi

5 ratings

Summary

Science fiction allows us to go places we can only dream of seeing - other worlds, distant stars, entirely different galaxies. While not every story is concerned with the hard science behind space travel and other futuristic ventures, fiction can give us amazing insight into what we could be capable of and what we dream of doing.  In the 10 lectures of The Science of Sci-Fi: From Warp Speed to Interstellar Travel, Professor Erin Macdonald interweaves real science and the achievements of the imagination to reveal the truth that underlies our favorite stories and sheds light on what the future may hold. From faster-than-light travel to journeys through time itself, science fiction makes humanity seem limitless. So, what scientific boundaries are we pushing against as we seek to fly among the stars?  Beginning with an overview of the physics of time and space as we know them, Professor Macdonald shows how stories extrapolate current knowledge to create visions of the future and how likely - or unlikely - these fictional journeys could be. What would happen if a spaceship flew into a wormhole, as it does in the film Galaxy Quest? Or, if you prefer video games, what would happen if you fired a rocket launcher on the Moon like the soldiers of Mass Effect? Could we ever break the bounds of light speed as they do in Star Wars and move across the universe without spending decades trying to make it to a distant exoplanet? Is the transporter technology of Star Trek really possible?  As you look closely at artificial gravity, inertial dampeners, tachyons, red matter, time dilation, and other sci-fi mainstays through the theories of some of science’s greatest thinkers, you will find that your favorite science fiction stories become even more astonishing.

©2019 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2019 Audible Originals, LLC.

Narrator: Erin Macdonald
Length: 3 hrs and 59 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for The Development of European Civilization

The Development of European Civilization

5 ratings

Summary

In almost every way that matters, historical Europe was the laboratory in which the world you now live in was conceived and tested. And you'll be living with the consequences for the rest of your life. These 48 lectures lead you through the doors of that laboratory and guide you through the development of Europe from the late Middle Ages through the eve of World War II. As you follow Professor Bartlett through the dramatic story of European history, you'll learn about the major ideologies and "isms" that bubbled forth from Europe's constantly fermenting cauldron of debate and conflict, including absolutism, scientism, rationalism, capitalism, nationalism, liberalism, and totalitarianism. You'll investigate the forces that intermingled to create the Industrial Revolution and the accompanying economic and social upheavals that would, in turn, create so many more. You'll also make sense of the European ideologies of government, including the rule of law, the concept of "the consent of the governed," taxation, an independent judiciary, and other concepts. You'll explore the new roles for religion in European life, from the end of the traditional union of altar and throne to great upheavals such as the Protestant Reformation and the Great Schism. And you'll witness the evolution of the European class system, which influenced the social forces that swirled around it just as much as it was influenced by them. Rather than offering a laundry list of dates, events, and famous individuals, Professor Bartlett leaves you instead with an understanding of historical and social causality. More important: He offers you the chance to experience Europe's development from a European perspective. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2011 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2011 The Great Courses

Category: History, Europe
Length: 24 hrs and 32 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for The Stars Below

The Stars Below

5 ratings

Summary

This. Means. War. The explosive conclusion to David Baldacci's instant number-one worldwide best-selling and award-winning fantasy series.  This is it. Vega Jane has tried to outrun, outsmart, and outlast her enemy, but the showdown she has dreaded is finally here. Her ragtag crew must take a stand against a fully trained army, knowing the odds are impossible, knowing each of them could die for nothing.  But when evil comes, heroes stand to meet it. When injustice appears, the only choice is to stand and fight. Master storyteller David Baldacci sounds the drums of war in the jaw-dropping conclusion to the number-one international best-selling Vega Jane fantasy series.

©2019 Columbus Rose, Ltd. (P)2019 Scholastic Inc.

Available on Audible
Cover art for The Irish Identity: Independence, History, and Literature

The Irish Identity: Independence, History, and Literature

5 ratings

Summary

Many political and cultural events sent shock waves through the Irish world in the 19th and early 20th centuries as Ireland gradually shook off the shackles of British rule. Alongside a long and painful political process arose one of the greatest flourishings of literature in modern times - a spirited discourse among those who sought to shape their nation's future, finding the significance of their bloody present intimately entwined with their legendary past. As nationalists including Charles Stewart Parnell, Patrick Pearse, and Michael Collins studied their political situation and sought a road to independence, writers such as W. B. Yeats, James Joyce, J. M. Synge, Lady Gregory, and many others examined the emerging Irish identity and captured the spirit of the nation's ongoing history in their works. Delve into this remarkable period with The Irish Identity: Independence, History, and Literature. After laying the groundwork of ancient Irish history and centuries of British rule - from the Norman invasion in the 12th century through the brutal Penal Laws and the Great Famine - Professor Conner brings you inside the Irish Renaissance, also called the Irish Revival. Around the turn of the 20th century, a group of writers began taking a keen interest in the uniquely Irish culture, from its language to its art to its mythology. This fascination fed into the growing demand for Irish nationhood, and the arts, culture, and politics of the time are inextricable. The Irish Renaissance fused and elevated aesthetic and civic ambitions, fueling a cultural climate of masterful artistic creation and resolute political self-determination reminiscent of the Italian Renaissance. Over the course of 36 enthralling lectures, Professor Conner reveals the multifaceted story of the Irish Renaissance through an exploration of its complex history and remarkable literature. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2016 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2016 The Great Courses

Narrator: Marc C. Conner
Category: History, Europe
Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for Great Authors of the Western Literary Tradition, 2nd Edition

Great Authors of the Western Literary Tradition, 2nd Edition

5 ratings

Summary

From the anonymous author of the Epic of Gilgamesh in ancient Mesopotamia to William Faulkner writing about Mississippi 3,600 years later, many of Western culture's greatest figures have been writers. Their landmark themes, unique insights into human nature, dynamic characters, experimental storytelling techniques, and rich philosophical ideas helped create the vibrant storytelling methods we find reflected in today's authors. These 84 brilliant lectures survey more than 70 literary geniuses and masterpieces of Western literature, offering you the chance to experience a veritable encyclopedia of great writers who have played critical roles in Western history, influencing everything from religion to politics - to say nothing of the myriad literary genres and movements, which illustrate how writers reacted to their cultural environments and demonstrate the crucial relationship between a writer and his or her time. From Homer and Virgil to Cervantes and Milton to Dickens and Joyce, the featured texts and authors are so richly varied and cover so many different centuries, societies, literary movements, and genres, yet you'll discover a panorama of literary relationships between periods, authors, and the paths that brought us to where we are in literature today. Amid all the discussions from five highly esteemed professors, you'll return again and again to the idea of literature as a powerful force in our lives. You'll come away with a well-rounded and well-informed understanding of both these literary icons and the larger role that literature has played in our cultural history. The complete list of lecturers includes professors Elizabeth Vandiver, James A.W. Heffernan, Ronald B. Herzman, Susan Sage Heinzelman, and Thomas F.X. Noble. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2004 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2004 The Great Courses

Available on Audible
Cover art for The History of Science: 1700-1900

The History of Science: 1700-1900

5 ratings

Summary

The scientific theories that were first discovered and made public in the years 1700-1900 are some of the most pivotal in history. Landmark theories of planetary motion, the workings of nature, and the speed of light were all ideas that took the world by storm. Now you can share in that story of discovery in a series of 36 lectures designed to give you a rock-solid understanding of the great discoveries of Newton, Darwin, Franklin, Pasteur, and so many others. You’ll see clearly how these great thinkers brought their ideas into a world and a time that resisted them, gaining a new admiration for their achievements in an atmosphere where scientific advancement had to struggle against established ways of both scientific and religious thinking. While many presentations of scientific history often neglect to consider its context - the societies and cultures in which our most influential "natural philosophers" (the term scientist didn’t exist until the mid-19th century) made their contributions - these lectures put that context in the forefront where it belongs, exploring how dynamics of time and place help determine the questions that get asked and the directions scientists pursue in response. The result is a series that adds invaluable historical depth and dimension to your study of science. As much about history as science - and often far more so, with the focus on the climate and process of scientific discovery rather than the science itself - this course will enhance your ability to see contemporary scientific events in a vividly informed context. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2003 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2003 The Great Courses

Category: History, World
Length: 18 hrs and 17 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for Understanding Genetics: DNA, Genes, and Their Real-World Applications

Understanding Genetics: DNA, Genes, and Their Real-World Applications

5 ratings

Summary

We use DNA routinely - to cure diseases, solve crimes, and reunite families. Yet we've known about it for only 60 years. And what we're continuing to learn about it every day has the potential to transform our health, our nutrition, our society, and our future. But what, exactly, is DNA, the self-replicating material present in nearly all living organisms? You'll learn the answer - and much more - in this briskly paced series of 24 easily understood lectures from an award-winning teacher, author, and scientist. Professor Sadava unlocks DNA's mysteries as he explains what the science of genetics is and guides you through decades of cutting-edge research, scientific discovery, and genetics' weighty implications for us as individuals and as a society. Professor Sadava draws on examples from his own research to show how understanding genetics allows us to improve medical treatment and nutrition, vastly improving our health and quality of life. You'll also learn how understanding genetics is a critical step toward understanding human identity, itself. For examining our DNA - how it works and what happens when something goes wrong - enables us to see the roots of how our bodies work, why we get sick, and how traits are passed through families. Enjoy this rare opportunity to peer over the shoulder of a working scientist, learning how he puzzles through the problems of genetics to find meaningful, real-world solutions that can not only save an individual life but also enhance the quality of life for everyone. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2008 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2008 The Great Courses

Narrator: David Sadava
Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for Reason & Faith: Philosophy in the Middle Ages

Reason & Faith: Philosophy in the Middle Ages

4 ratings

Summary

Today we tend to separate questions of logic from questions of belief, philosophy from religion, reason from faith. But for 1,000 years during a pivotal era of Western thought, reason and faith went hand-in-hand in the search for answers to the most profound issues investigated by Christianity's most committed scholars. In 24 ambitious lectures, Professor Williams examines the great Christian philosophers from Augustine to Ockham, following their efforts to illuminate the full scope of Christian doctrine using philosophical tools inherited, in large part, from the ancient Greeks. Far from being a "dark" age, this was an era when faith was not blind and reason was not godless, when the great philosophers and the great theologians were the very same people, and no one saw anything surprising about that. Building on the work of Plato and Aristotle, medieval philosophers worked diligently to show how the Christian faith is consistent with what can be demonstrated by reason, asking such questions as: Can God's existence and attributes be established by reason alone? Are there Christian doctrines that are beyond the scope of logical demonstration? How can Christian beliefs be defended and shown to be internally consistent? During this extraordinarily rich period of intellectual ferment, philosophers participated in a common struggle with transcendent questions, using reasoning in the service of faith. This course serves as a fascinating philosophical backdrop to illuminate the stimulating debates that occupied many of the greatest minds of the era.

©2007 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2007 The Great Courses

Narrator: Thomas Williams
Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for Sensation, Perception, and the Aging Process

Sensation, Perception, and the Aging Process

4 ratings

Summary

Why is it that we react to the world the way we do, not only in ways similar to other people, but in ways often dramatically different, as well, no matter which of our senses is involved? And how is it that the physically adventurous young person you remember being - whose greatest passion was riding the scariest roller coaster imaginable - somehow grew into an adult whose stomach begins to churn nervously at even the thought of such a ride? The answer, of course, is that each of us - whether a different person or a more recent model of ourselves - isn't reacting to the same world at all. For though the physical world we occupy may be identical, the reality we experience is very different. The truth is, our various sensory systems can be altered over time, their acuity changing in response to aging or injury, life experiences, evolving personalities, and other factors. And in this series of 24 fascinating lectures, an acclaimed teacher and psychologist gives you a bio-psychological perspective on both the way we humans navigate and react to the world around us and an understanding of the ways in which that process is ever-changing. Rich in science, potent examples, and anecdotes, the lectures explore subjects like how we see, hear, smell, taste, or touch; keep our balance, and understand exactly where we are in space. You'll learn about motor memory, the ways in which our bodies process pain, and even why our taste in food changes over time. Whether exploring the complex structures of the brain or inner ear, or using humorous personal stories to illustrate a point, Professor Colavita delivers a course that informs, entertains, and even prepares us for the changes that lie ahead.

©2006 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2006 The Great Courses

Available on Audible