In this second conversation with Julie Walsh, the Whitehead Associate Professor of Critical Thought and Director of the Suzy Newhouse Center for the Humanities at Wellesley College, we explore what it truly means to be free. Building on our earlier discussion about embodiment and ethics, Julie takes us through the philosophical history of freedom—from Augustine to Descartes to early modern women thinkers who redefined liberty as a social and moral question rather than a purely metaphysical one.

We talk about financial independence, moral dependence, and why freedom may be impossible without resources. Julie introduces the ideas of Gabrielle Suchon, who argued that freedom requires a life without engagements—a world free from moral or financial debt. We discuss how these ideas translate into modern life: parenthood, marriage, work, and even the emotional ties that define us.

The conversation then expands into empathy, virtual reality, and the tension between knowledge and experience. We ask whether freedom and happiness can coexist, and what happens when we consciously choose our own chains. It is an intimate, wide-ranging reflection on autonomy, responsibility, and the fragile balance between connection and independence.

Chapter :

00:00 – Introduction: Continuing the conversation on freedom and ethics02:00 – The moral imagination and the question of empathy07:00 – Animal suffering, compassion, and emotional distance12:00 – Disgust, denial, and what society chooses not to see17:00 – Class, privilege, and the ethics of looking away22:00 – How art and storytelling transform awareness into care28:00 – Facing darkness without losing hope33:00 – Freedom through knowledge: from Augustine to Descartes38:00 – Princess Elizabeth, Suchon, and women redefining moral freedom43:00 – The privilege of freedom and the weight of dependence48:00 – The cost of independence: relationships, family, and work53:00 – Financial freedom and moral debt in modern life58:00 – Why no one is truly free: interdependence as a human truth1:03:00 – Freedom, happiness, and the ethics of choice1:08:00 – The limits of autonomy in a connected world1:13:00 – Choosing your chains: love, faith, and surrender1:18:00 – Closing reflections: freedom, dependence, and moral responsibility