Portraits of Liberty

From a young age, Maria Montessori defied the conventions and standards of her time studying engineering a field dominated by men and moving on to medicine, becoming the first degreed female physician in Italy. Through her work in medicine treating children, Maria began to study the education of children. She realized that the standard methods of educating children were failing abysmally. She created her own system, which treated children as spontaneous, creative, and, most importantly, autonomous individuals. The end goal education for Maria was making a child independent and self-sufficient. Her methods were highly effective, and she became a figure of international renown establishing schools across the globe throughout her busy internationally-focused life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While in college at the young age of eighteen, Étienne De La Boétie wrote a Discourse on Voluntary Servitude a book which attempted to explain why people obey tyrants despite their better judgement. Étienne explains how tyranny endures through the powers of habit, trickery, and patronage. But by far, Étienne’s most unique view is that the state must be dismantled by simple acts of mass civil disobedience reminding rulers we can always choose not to obey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mary Wollstonecraft had a tough life, her father was an abusive drunk and her families’ economic fortunes were ever worsening. Tired of the oppressive nature of home life Mary left and attempted to become an independent woman something that was extremely uncommon in the 18th-century. Despite the challenges in here way Mary became a respected public intellectual in her day writing two Vindications of the rights of men and women in which she discusses how to achieve a more equal and virtuous society that takes into account both men and women’s rights and progress. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Auberon Herbert was born into a wealthy English aristocratic family and started his political career. But after witnessing the horrors of war through Europe and America and witnessing the incompetence of parliament, he lost faith in the abilities of the state. Inspired by the writing of Herbert Spencer Auberon set out to articulate a political philosophy emphasizing the importance of consent and the voluntary state, which is strictly limited to the protection of our natural and self-evident rights. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Despite being born into poverty John Cooke attained an education as a lawyer. While practicing law he realized the unfairness of the current legal system and wrote about how it ought to be reformed to be a system where a crime is a crime no matter who commits it. After the English Civil War King Charles I was put on trial for his heinous crimes, Cooke was the only lawyer in London brave enough to prosecute the king of the country. Despite his obscurity, John Cooke was a remarkable figure who ultimately led to way in articulating why even heads of state should be answerable to the law. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For a long time, the word democracy was synonymous with anarchy due to the horror stories of ancient Athenian democracy. The self-taught polymath and enthusiastic democrat George Grote rehabilitated democracy by arguing that Athens, the birthplace of democracy, was a vibrant and liberal society. Grote was no mere academic; he was also on the frontline for the fight for democratic rights such as the secret ballot and a more inclusive voting system. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Discussions of monarchy and hierarchy usually dominate medieval political thought. The 14-century thinker Marsilius of Padua breaks with his contemporaries arguing the church and state should be separate entities and that laws should be based on the consent and common good of all. Despite being a medieval mind, Marsilius has a distinctly modern voice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Despite his obscurity, François Poullain de la Barre is a philosopher who thought beyond the constraints of his time. In 17th-century France Poullain articulated a case for gender equality. His proposal was so radical few took it seriously at the time. Poullain is still relevant today for his analysis of how oppression is “justified” and how to unlearn prejudices. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Discover the harsh realities of 18th-century criminal law, where minor offenses led to severe punishments and judges wielded unchecked power. Explore the revolutionary ideas of Cesare Beccaria, who advocated for a system focused on deterrence rather than retribution. Dive into his strong opposition to the death penalty and torture, revealing how his influential essay sparked reform across Europe and America. Learn how his vision continues to shape modern legal frameworks today.

Between 1720-1723 in England, a popular weekly pamphlet became a thorn in the government's side for viciously criticizing the corruption and greed of politicians. This pamphlet was known as Cato's Letters, written by John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon consisted of over a hundred "letters" on topics such as freedom of speech, religious toleration, the benefits of liberty, and the right to resist tyrannical governments. Their writings became extremely popular not only in England but also in America. Throughout the American Revolution Cato's Letters were quoted as an esteemed authority of the nature of freedom and the nightmare of tyranny. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.