In the latest installment of the Yale Library Book Talk series, Timothy Snyder, professor of history at Yale, presents his newest book about American political philosophy, released on Sept. 17.
Baala Shakya
Baala Shakya, Contributing Photographer
On Monday, Sterling Memorial Library hosted a conversation between James Levinsohn, dean of the Jackson School of Global Affairs, and professor Timothy Snyder, the Richard C. Levin professor of history at Yale, about Snyder’s new book, “On Freedom,” as part of the Yale Library Book Talk Series.
The ongoing series features lectures and conversations with expert authors who have recently released fiction or nonfiction books and are actively engaged with the New Haven community.
Snyder’s latest book, “On Freedom,” published on Sept. 17, explores the American concept of freedom and how it has been perpetually misunderstood by the masses. The book is a companion to Snyder’s 2017 bestseller “On Tyranny” and was described by Levinsohn as “part memoir, part meditation, and part manifesto.”
At the beginning of the talk, Snyder highlighted the importance of the Yale Library Book Talk Series, explaining how “books have an awful lot to do with freedom.”
“They allow us to travel back in time when other technology cannot,” Snyder said. “Books get you into the fourth dimension, adding other people’s pasts to your own. Books also give you access into the fifth dimension of other people’s values, judgments and preferences.”
After a brief introduction by Barbara Rockenbach, Yale University librarian, and then Levinsohn, the dialogue began by focusing on the differences in interpretation of what ‘freedom’ means in the context of American political philosophy.
Snyder explained that colloquially “freedom” is often understood in the negative, as “freedom from” and associated with situations of “resistance and breaking away.”
“However, true freedom isn’t so much freedom from as freedom to,” Snyder said. “The freedom to thrive and to realize that there are so many possible futures, some of which are good and attainable.”
When Levinsohn asked Snyder about what prompted him to write “On Freedom,” Snyder said that he has always been interested in the question of freedom and that he believes it to be the fundamental value that enables all other possible values.
He added that “the book is a labor of love.”
“I wrote about situations detailing war, race and health care. I wrote about my love for other writers and people who I thought deserved to have another life,” Snyder said.
Snyder explained that the topic was somewhat inspired by recent events — primarily the Russo-Ukrainian War — and that the book draws mainly from the encounters and experiences of his life.
The conversation then shifted to a more specific discussion on the differences between negative and positive freedom and the issue of predictability in society.
When asked about what he took away from his time in Ukraine, Snyder mentioned how the people of Ukraine equate the possibility of a future with the idea of freedom — a valuable concept he believes the rest of the world should learn from.
As the conversation with Levinsohn ended, Snyder turned to the audience for further questions.
Rolando Kattan ’25 asked Snyder how he views the University’s cultivation of freedom on campus.
“Universities are the result of collective and generational work,” Snyder said. “The goal of the university is to enable the mobility of values. To do this, a university has to have the humanities at its core, providing students access to other people’s values. We think everything needs to be practical, but not everything is about solving technical problems. We need to think about the ‘whys’ and the moral issues, too. The fall of humanities at universities leads to the fall of freedom.
Michael Schottenhamel GRD ’25, asked Snyder about how to deal with people who do not want freedom and instead want decisions made for them.
Snyder joked that “that’s a lot of people” and acknowledged that freedom is not easy.
“I acknowledge that we can’t go with the assumption that freedom is easy or that everyone wants it easily delivered,” Snyder said. “The nature of freedom will always be a little risky. There is always going to be a certain uncomfortability. However, if you don’t feel discomfort, then you are probably not free.”
After questions from the audience, Snyder capped off the conversation by emphasizing the importance of the audience pondering their own definitions of freedom and getting the question of freedom right.
Snyder said that correctly understanding freedom allows society to “think freely” about what is possible and answer challenging questions, like how to address climate change.
“I’m feeling pretty good that we have some wind behind our sails. Not everything is going well, but there has been a turn in this country, and people are thinking more wisely about freedom. This is our last chance, and it is a good one,” Snyder said.
The event concluded with a reception, where attendees enjoyed refreshments and had the opportunity to have copies of “On Freedom” signed by Snyder.
The conversation was the first of the Yale Library Book Talk Series events this semester. The series returns on Oct. 9.
This post was originally published on here
