Degrees of Freedom


8232What does it mean to be free? Why is freedom important? How does freedom in moral and political life relate to freedom in the physical world?

These questions are explored from six perspectives by some of the most compelling and audience-friendly faculty at UC San Diego. Degrees of Freedom, the public lecture series featured on UCTV, starts with astrophysicist Brian Keating bending minds by suggesting that there may be multiple copies of ourselves living parallel lives in the “multiverse.”

Anthropologist Nancy Postero follows with examples of what’s at stake for indigenous peoples fighting for human rights in this universe. Economist Paul Niehaus is next with a brilliant talk on the benefits of giving cash directly to the poor, instead of to outside groups who airdrop into communities and decide how the money should be spent on their behalf.

Coming soon are the final three parts in this series; philosopher Monte Johnson ponders the conceptual roots of freedom in ancient Greece, psychologist Sandra Brown shows how the grip of addiction destroys the freedom of will, and artist Sheldon Brown celebrates the ultimate freedom – freedom of the imagination.

Browse all of the episodes for Degrees of Freedom on our website and watch the video preview.