Quest for Freedom

This book is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and intellectual historian Quentin Skinner, Barber Beaumont Professor Emeritus of the Humanities at Queen Mary University of London. Quentin Skinner is considered to be one of the founders of the Cambridge School of the history of political thought. This thoughtful, detailed conversation examines how Quentin Skinner came to appreciate the importance of the distinction between the modern view of freedom and the so-called neo-Roman view, together with what it implies for our current and future political understanding.


This carefully-edited book includes an introduction, Status Symbols, and questions for discussion at the end of each chapter:


Paradoxical Origins - Puzzled by Machiavelli

Presupposing the State - The triumph of the modern liberal view

The Perils of Arbitrary Power - Becoming a slave

Freedom, Applied - Contemporary politics through the lens of arbitrary power

Rhetoric - Closely examining another classical Roman idea

Reshaping a Moral World - Recovering important ideas

Question and Answer - Resisting the lure of the canonical



About Ideas Roadshow Conversations Series: 


This book is part of an expanding series of 100+ Ideas Roadshow conversations, each one presenting a wealth of candid insights from a leading expert in a focused yet informal setting to give non-specialists a uniquely accessible window into frontline research and scholarship that wouldn't otherwise be encountered through standard lectures and textbooks. For other books in this series visit our website: https://ideas-on-film.com/ideasroadshow/.