Showing results by publisher "Naxos AudioBooks" in Philosophy

Famous for his political treatise The Prince, which advises would-be kings on the best strategies for governing, Machiavelli turns his attention to the inner workings of a successful republic and the people necessary to maintain it in his Discourses on Livy. Comparing contemporary societies to ancient Rome, with examples from Livy’s The History of Rome, Machiavelli tries to identify the foundations of a well-working republic, examining social and political aspects, such as voting, citizenship, warfare and religion.

In A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Mary Wollstonecraft tackles the wasted potential she sees in women, refusing to see them as inferior to men; she decries their limitations and suggests that they are worthy of an equal standard of education, and that they should be taught to develop their own reason, not simply how to gain a man. Written in 1792, at the height of the French Revolution, A Vindication is an eloquent and persuasive response to the prevailing attitudes of the time.

Born out of the political turmoil of the English Civil War, Leviathan stands out as one of the most in influential political and philosophical texts of the 17th century. It argues for the restoration of the monarchy in light of the republic and calls for a commonwealth ruled by an authoritative, autocratic figure with absolute sovereignty. This would put an end to all controversy, war, and fear and establish peace via social contract.

Published four years after Rousseau's death, Confessions is a remarkably frank and honest self-portrait, described by Rousseau as "the history of my soul". From his idyllic youth in the Swiss mountains, to his career as a composer in Paris and his abandonment of his children, Rousseau lays bare his entire life with preternatural honesty.

In The Republic, Socrates is asked the question: "What is justice?" And in order to answer it, he draws a long and detailed analogy between the individual and the city. Plato’s work forms the foundation of Western philosophy and covers a wide range of topics including political theory and ethics, with extended digressions into artistic and literary criticism, the theory and practice of education as well as epistemology and metaphysics.

Written in 1791 as a response to Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France, Thomas Paine's Rights of Man is a seminal work on human freedom and equality. Using the French Revolution and its ideals as an example, he demonstrates his belief that any government must put the inherent rights of its citizens above all else, especially politics.

Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains. In The Social Contract, Rousseau explores the concept of freedom and the political structures that may enable people to acquire it. He argues that the sovereign power of a state lies not in any one ruler but in the will of the general population. Rousseau argues that the ideal state would be a direct democracy where executive decision making is carried out by citizens who meet in assembly, as they would in the ancient city-state of Athens.

The Prince is a treatise that systematically charts the best strategies for successful governing. It unapologetically places realism above idealism, showing would-be kings how to get what they want while appearing to be generous and honourable, and advocates that the means — cruelty, duplicity and horror —justify the ends of secure monarchical rule. But it can also be read as the work of a secret republican subtly undermining the despotism of the ruling Medici family.

Without question one of the most significant books in modern history, The Communist Manifesto is a brief, populist pamphlet that distils the core ideas of communism into accessible prose. Published just months before violent uprisings threatened to destabilise much of the European establishment, it outlines a view of history as a constant battle between the classes that will inevitably result in revolution.

Thomas More's Utopia stands out as one of the most striking political works ever written. Composed specifically as a response to Henry VIII's break with Rome, the book meditates on the perfect society while indirectly critiquing the political and social ills of Tudor England. Containing thoughts on religious pluralism, a welfare state, and women's rights, More's book was well ahead of its time, already hinting at later theories on communism and capitalism centuries before Marx, Engels, and Smith.

In The Republic, Plato tackles the big issues of the state and the individual: how the state should be ruled, and by whom; and the way the individual should lead his life - and why. The lively quality of the dialogue can be clearly appreciated in this new translation by Tom Griffith.