02450cam a22003133u 450000100060000000300070000600500170001300600020003000700050003200800410003704000110007804100170008905000070010610000400011324500350015326400510018830000470023933600260028633700260031233800360033850000310037450503390040550800290074452012410077353400450201465300170205985600430207699900170211930208UtSlPG20260610133705.0mcr n260607r2009||||utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d  aUtSlPG 7aen2iso639-1 4aAC1 aIngersoll, Robert Green,d1833-189914aThe Ghosts, and Other Lectures 1aSalt Lake City, UT :bProject Gutenberg,c2009  a1 online resource :bmultiple file formats  atextbtxt2rdacontent  acomputerbc2rdamedia  aonline resourcebcr2rdacarrier  aRelease date is 2009-10-060 aThe ghosts -- The liberty of man, woman and child -- The Declaration of independence -- About farming in Illinois -- Speech at Cincinnati, nominating James G. Blaine for the presidency, June, 1876 -- The past rises before me like a dream -- The Grant banquet -- A tribute to the Rev. Alexander Clark -- A tribute to Ebon C. Ingersoll.  aProduced by David Widger  a"The Ghosts, and Other Lectures" by Robert Green Ingersoll is a collection of lectures written in the late 19th century. This work delves into themes of skepticism, rational thought, and critiques of religion and superstition, emphasizing the importance of intellectual freedom and personal liberty. Ingersoll's writing serves as a powerful call to humanity to cast aside the ghosts of their past beliefs and embrace a future grounded in reason and science.  The opening portion of the text establishes a strong foundation for Ingersoll's argument against the supernatural and the cultural hold of religious dogmas. He presents a historical perspective on how beliefs in ghosts and supernatural forces have influenced human actions and decisions, often leading to fear and oppression. He critiques the clergy and their control over thought, asserting that such beliefs lead to societal stagnation. Rather than transitioning to a purely supernatural understanding of existence, Ingersoll calls for recognition of the natural laws governing the universe, positing that progress and true liberty arise from rational thought and the liberation of the human mind from the chains of superstition. (This is an automatically generated summary.)  nOriginal publication data not identified  aFree thought40uhttps://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/30208  c71055d71055