What Is Liberty?

Greetings Citizen Philosophers,

The latest Thinking Out Loud podcast has been released on iTunes. The session was recorded at our relatively new venue, the Charlottesville Public Library, on Wednesday, August 6th. The topic was:

"What is liberty?"

Participating were veteran citizen philosophers, Billie Lagerwerff, David Rood, Deborah Martin, Derek Breen, John Tytus, Stephen Whiteman, Steven Stokes, Susan Patrick, and Uriah J. Fields. Also joining us for the first time were newcomers, Erica Jensen and Rebbecca Quinn from Charlottesville and all the way from some undisclosed location near Brighton, England, through the wonders of modern Internet technology we had our first international guest, an insightful chap by the name of Luke. A hardy welcome to Luke, Erica, and Rebbecca.

As usual we had a wide ranging and thoughtful discussion that raised as many or more questions and than it answered. Here are some of the questions we wrestled with:

Is liberty just a quaint and outdated word for freedom? What is freedom? Can we talk about one without the other? Is liberty personal, social, or political? Who decides our liberties? Our government? Our culture? Our conscience? What are we to be liberated from? Who or what oppresses us? Can we ever be completely liberated? Can we ever be completely free? Are wild animals free? Was Robinson Crusoe free on the deserted island? Was he liberated? Can we be free if we must continuously struggle for basic necessities? Does society curtail our freedoms or enhance them by providing a structure that eases the burden of survival? To what extent is freedom a question of attitude? To what extent is liberty a question of law? Does freedom for one come at the expense of freedom for another? Is it right to suspend civil liberties in the name of defending freedom? Is fear the enemy of freedom? Do our fears enslave us or protect us? Is it possible to have too much freedom? Does absolute freedom corrupt absolutely? Is liberation always a good thing? Doesn't national liberation lead to chaos? Doesn't personal liberation lead to the anxiety of choice? If we don't exercise the freedoms we have, do they matter? To what end do we seek freedom? Is liberation an ends in itself, or just another beginning?

To subscribe to the podcast with your podcast software (such as iTunes or iPodder) copy and past the following link into your software:

www.citizenphilosopher.com/rss/tol_podcasts.xml

If you have iTunes, you can find us listed in the Apple Music Store directory under Podcasts/Society & Culture/Philosophy, or just do a search in iTunes on Thinking Out Loud People. The direct iTunes link is:

phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=214321935

If you don't have iTunes or other podcast software and just want to download the mp3 file directly, use this link:

Listen to the broadcast (mp3)

As always, your afterthoughts are most welcome. I am in the process of reconstructing our Citizen Philosopher web site, which will include an online forum to allow us to continue our discussions beyond the podcast. I hope to have it up soon.

Finally, mark your calendars. The next Thinking Out Loud will be Wednesday, September 3rd, at 7:00 pm. We will select a topic at the beginning of the next session as usual. Hope to see/hear you then, if not sooner.

Cheers,

Steve


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Premed Science Tutor,
Citizen Philosopher,
Life Coach
www.citizenphilosopher.com
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Next Live Dialogue - Aug 6th, 2008

Hello Citizen Philosophers,

It's that time once again for your friendly reminder. The next Thinking Out Loud meeting will take place this coming Wednesday, Aug 6th, at 7:00 pm, as usual. Local participants, please remember, we are not meeting at my office anymore. We are meeting at the Charlottesville Public Library, downtown on Market Street, in the Jefferson Rm on the 3rd floor. The circulation desk will validate your parking stub for the Market Street parking garage, if you need it. You can probably find free parking on the streets nearby, as well.

The topic selection process will begin promptly at 7:00. Please arrive on time. Here are some possible topics:

1. What is liberty? (last time's runner-up, suggested by David)
2. What does it mean to be reasonable and rational? (also recycled from last time)
3. How do we distinguish between our wants and our needs? (new, suggested by Steve Stokes)

As always, your topic suggestions are most welcome. Send them to me or bring them with you to the gathering. See you soon.

Cheers,

Steve

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Steve Donaldson,
Personal Growth Consultant,
Independent Educator,
Citizen Philosopher