The History of Political Philosophy: From Plato to Rothbard

Sometimes David Gordon knows too much that it makes it difficult to follow, but overall this is a rewarding collection of lectures.

Where are the lectures?

I never found philosophy a subject of interest until I heard David speak at Mises U. Listening to david speak is like finding yourself in the company of a beautiful woman and savoring a glass of 20 year Scotch, a remarkably pleasant experience. The way David provides such detailed explanations of philosophical thought has left me with no alternative but to begin reading books of philosophy. Perhaps when I finish reading the list of books I've gathered from his lectures I might speak with him and have something worthwhile to say during conversation with him.

This is a fantastic series of lectures. I'm not usually interested in summaries or brief descriptions of historical ideas because I still need to read most of the classics, so listening to summaries for me is kind of like watching a preview to a movie instead of watching the movie itself. However, I feel that I've gained a wealth of knowledge about some important concepts in the books on my reading list by listening to this series, which should help me when I read the, I'm expecting esoteric, material. And, for me as a libertarian, the history of political philosophy described here was laid out in a very relevant way. Right now I'm reading Plato's Republic for my Political Philosophy class, and Gordon's lecture on Plato has definitely helped clarify where Plato was coming from, whereas most other lectures or summaries of this sort would just have confused me even more. Thanks.