The Heretical Philosophical Roots of the American Republic

About this episode:

Michael Shermer and Matthew Stewart explore the heretical philosophical roots of the American Republic, including Enlightenment influences and the Founding Fathers’ religious beliefs. They discuss Epicurean and ancient Greek ideas, slavery’s moral contradictions, and its role in causing the Civil War.

Matthew Stewart is an independent philosopher and historian who has written extensively about the philosophical origins of the American republic, the history of philosophy, management theory, and the culture of inequality. His new book is An Emancipation of the Mind: Radical Philosophy, the War over Slavery, and the Refounding of America.