Best Philosophy Audio Online

Top 25 Free Philosophy Resources

We've put together a list of the top 25 free philosophy audio books, lectures, & podcasts available online. For the past three years we've featured dozens of free philosophy resources as part of our Free Resource of the Day Emails. From these resources we've selected the top 25 free philosophy audio books, lectures, and podcasts. You can check them all out by clicking the link below:

Top 25 Free Philosophy Audio Books, Podcasts, & Lectures

And here are the top 5 resources from this list:

1. Existentialism in Literature and Film Podcast

This is a full college course from the University of California-Berkeley entitled "Existentialism in Literature and Film". The "Existentialism in Literature and Film" course, taught by professor Hubert L. Dreyfus, cuts right to the roots of existentialist thought, looking at the works of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, and examining Dostoyevsky's Brothers Karamazov in depth. It's an excellent philosophy course and it's free!

2. Plato - The Republic Podcast

The Republic by Plato is one of the most influential works of philosophy in history. In the form of Socratic dialogue, Plato's teacher and protagonist Socrates sets out to find an answer to the question: "What is justice?". Along the way Socrates discusses the ideal city-state and his theory of forms, which includes his famous allegory of the cave. This podcast contains all eleven books of The Republic unabridged. It is read by the professional British narrator Patrick Horgan and is available on MP3 download.

3. The Value of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell

Listen to the ideas of the great 20th century philosopher Bertrand Russell on "The Value of Philosophy", which comes from the final chapter of his 1912 book The Problems of Philosophy. In the essay he lays forth his conviction that although philosophy cannot come to any certain answers regarding the questions it asks, these questions are important in that they enlarge our views of the universe beyond the narrow viewpoints of practical men, who are concerned solely with the material world. The piece is well read by Paul Sunderland. You can now download this excerpt directly from LearnOutLoud on MP3!

4. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli

ejunto.com is a site which features free mp3 downloads of historical and philosophical audio books (it's named after Benjamin Franklin's literary club called The Junto). They currently feature a free unabridged recording of The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli. This political philosophy classic describes how political leaders can obtain and maintain power. It is well narrated by Andrew Julow and available on MP3 download from ejunto.com.

5. Self Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Self Reliance is perhaps Ralph Waldo Emerson's most famous essay. This version, narrated by Brian Johnson from Zaadz, is both thought-provoking and inspirational. Ralph Waldo Emerson pushes the listener to break free of the dependence on society and the masses of man and to rely solely upon oneself. Always pushing us to follow our own nature & intuition, Emerson denounces those who allow themselves to be victims of society or history. He wants great men to rise from the limitations of cultural institutions and stand as giants casting shadows over the ages. Throughout the essay there is wisdom loaded in every sentence and it can be listened to again and again. Download this free classic audio book on MP3 directly from LearnOutLoud.com.

Classics of Western Philosophy: Volume 4

LearnOutLoud.com is pleased to present a new audio book for the month of April: Classics of Western Philosophy: Volume 4.

Volume 1, Volume 2, and Volume 3 have all been very popular, and with Volume 4, we continue our efforts to provide an overview of the philosophical ideas that have shaped our world. Here are the selections included in this volume: