Audiobooks by Ward Farnsworth

Farnsworth's Classical English Argument Audiobook

Learn how to argue from the masters. This book is a complete course on the art of argument, taught by the greatest practitioners of it: Churchill, Lincoln, and hundreds of others from the golden age of debate in England and America. The book's concise chapters provide lessons in all aspects of give and take-the syllogism and the slippery slope, the argumentum ad hominem and reductio ad absurdum, the fallacy and the insult. Ward Farnsworth shows how the full range of such techniques can be used or repelled, and illustrates them with examples that are fascinating and instructive. The result is a must-listen reference in which every page is a pleasure. It will leave you better able to win arguments and to defend yourself under fire. It's also an entertaining reminder that argument can be a source of beauty and delight. As Farnsworth says of the illustrations, they show talented advocates 'crossing analytical swords and exchanging abuse when those things were done with more talent and dignity than is common today. They made argument a spectator sport of lasting value and interest.'

Ward Farnsworth (Author), Derek Perkins (Narrator)

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The Socratic Method: A Practitioner's Handbook

A thinking person's guide to a better life. Ward Farnsworth explains what the Socratic method is, how it works, and why it matters more than ever in our time. Easy to grasp yet challenging to master, the method will change the way you think about life's big questions. About 2,500 years ago, Plato wrote a set of dialogues that depict Socrates in conversation. The way Socrates asks questions, and the reasons why, amount to a whole way of thinking. This is the Socratic method-one of humanity's great achievements. More than a technique, the method is an ethic of patience, inquiry, humility, and doubt. It is an aid to better thinking, and a remedy for bad habits of mind, whether in law, politics, the classroom, or tackling life's big questions at the kitchen table. Drawing on hundreds of quotations, this book explains what the Socratic method is and how to use it. Chapters include "Question and Answer," "Ignorance," and "Socrates and the Stoics." Socratic philosophy is still startling after all these years because it is an approach to asking hard questions and chasing after them. It is a route to wisdom and a way of thinking about wisdom. With Farnsworth as your guide, the ideas of Socrates are easier to understand than ever and accessible to anyone. As Farnsworth achieved with The Practicing Stoic and the Farnsworth's Classical English series, ideas of old are made new and vital again. This book is for those coming to philosophy the way Socrates did-as the everyday activity of making sense out of life and how to live it-and for anyone who wants to know what he said about doing that better.

Ward Farnsworth (Author), John Lescault (Narrator)

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The Legal Analyst: A Toolkit for Thinking about the Law

There are two kinds of knowledge law school teaches: legal rules on the one hand, and tools for thinking about legal problems on the other. Although the tools are far more interesting and useful than the rules, they tend to be neglected in favor of other aspects of the curriculum. In The Legal Analyst, Ward Farnsworth brings together in one place all of the most powerful of those tools for thinking about law. From classic ideas in game theory such as the 'Prisoner's Dilemma' and the 'Stag Hunt' to psychological principles such as hindsight bias and framing effects, from ideas in jurisprudence such as the slippery slope to more than two dozen other such principles, Farnsworth's guide leads listeners through the fascinating world of legal thought. Each chapter introduces a single tool and shows how it can be used to solve different types of problems. The explanations are written in clear, lively language and illustrated with a wide range of examples. The Legal Analyst is an indispensable user's manual for law students, experienced practitioners seeking a one-stop guide to legal principles, or anyone else with an interest in the law.

Ward Farnsworth (Author), Keith Sellon-Wright (Narrator)

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Farnsworth's Classical English Metaphor

Make your writing and speech shine like the sun! Here's the most entertaining and instructive book about enlivening and clarifying communication by comparing one thing to another. Ward Farnsworth provides a wide-ranging, practical tour of metaphors, arranged by theme. He shows how the best writers have put figurative comparisons to distinctive use?for the sake of caricature, to make an abstract idea visible, to make a complicated idea simple. Using hundreds of examples, Farnsworth demonstrates all the different stylistic ways that points can be unforgettably made. There are quotations from novelists, playwrights, philosophers, and orators-along with commentary on how and why they work to bring power to words both in person and and on paper. Writers and speakers, this book will make you a star.

Ward Farnsworth (Author), John Lescault (Narrator)

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Farnsworth's Classical English Style

Say it with style?on paper or in person. This book explains why the best writing sounds that way, with hundreds of examples from Lincoln, Churchill, and other masters of the language. Farnsworth shows how small choices about words, sentences, and paragraphs put force into writing and speech that have stood the test of time. This is must for anyone who wants to speak or write with clear, persuasive, enjoyable, unforgettable style.

Ward Farnsworth (Author), John Lescault (Narrator)

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The Practicing Stoic

The great insights of the Stoics are spread over a wide range of ancient sources. This book brings them all together for the first time. It systematically presents what the various Stoic philosophers said on every important topic, accompanied by an eloquent commentary that is clear and concise. The result is a set of philosophy lessons for everyone-the most valuable wisdom of ages past made available for our times, and for all time.

Ward Farnsworth (Author), John Lescault (Narrator)

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Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric

Masters of language can turn unassuming words into phrases that are beautiful, effective, and memorable. What are the secrets of this alchemy? Part of the answer lies in rhetorical figures: practical ways of applying great aesthetic principles'repetition and variety, suspense and relief, concealment and surprise'to a simple sentence or paragraph. Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric recovers this knowledge for our times. It amounts to a tutorial on eloquence conducted by Churchill and Lincoln, Dickens and Melville, Burke and Paine, and more than a hundred others. The book organizes a vast range of examples from those sources into eighteen chapters that illustrate and analyze the most valuable rhetorical devices with unprecedented clarity. The result is an indispensable source of pleasure and instruction for all lovers of the English language. 'Not only educational but delightful.''David Mamet, New York Times bestselling author

Ward Farnsworth (Author), Bronson Pinchot, Jim Meskimen (Narrator)

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Farnsworth’s Classical English Rhetoric

Masters of language can turn unassuming words into phrases that are beautiful, effective, and memorable. What are the secrets of this alchemy? Part of the answer lies in rhetorical figures: practical ways of applying great aesthetic principles—repetition and variety, suspense and relief, concealment and surprise—to a simple sentence or paragraph. Farnsworth’s Classical English Rhetoric recovers this knowledge for our times. It amounts to a tutorial on eloquence conducted by Churchill and Lincoln, Dickens and Melville, Burke and Paine, and more than a hundred others. The book organizes a vast range of examples from those sources into eighteen chapters that illustrate and analyze the most valuable rhetorical devices with unprecedented clarity. The result is an indispensable source of pleasure and instruction for all lovers of the English language.

Ward Farnsworth (Author), Bronson Pinchot, Jim Meskimen (Narrator)

Audiobook