1.4 From Galileo to Descartes

Part 8.4. The final part of this series. Explores the distinction between mind and body and whether this makes a difference to the idea of personal identity. 

Part 8.3. Criticisms of Locke's view of personal identity; if personal identity is dependent on memory then how does forgetting personal history and the concept of false memory change Locke's view of personal identity. 

Part 8.2. Looks at John Locke's view of personal identity; how consciousness and 'personal history' distinguish personal identity and the idea of memory as crucial for personal identity. 

The Pisan scientist Galileo Galilei has been remembered as the "father of modern science." The discoveries he made with his telescope led to a completely new understanding of Earth's place in the cosmos. The theory first put forward by the Polish mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus ... Show More

Galileo Galilei is known as the father of modern science and the man whose work proved that the Earth orbits the sun. His scientific discoveries were in opposition of what the Catholic Church taught. But did you know that while he was a math professor at the University of Pisa, G ... Show More

Ryan and Todd examine perhaps the founding text of modern Western philosophy--Rene Descartes' Discourse on the Method. They consider how Descartes articulates an egalitarian philosophy through his conception of radical doubt and examine the influence of this text of subsequent th ... Show More

<p>From comets to blood transfusions, embryology, and the debate over the pineal gland: Descartes’ impact on science, especially medicine.</p> 

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Scepticism, the idea that it may be impossible to know anything with complete certainty. Scepticism was first outlined by ancient Greek philosophers: Socrates is reported to have said that the only thing he knew for certain was that he knew not ... Show More

In this historical fiction episode, two young Italians take a fascinating journey into Galileo's workshop, the very space where modern science was born. We'll explore the tools and instruments he used to revolutionize our understanding of the universe, from his famous telescope t ... Show More

<p>The philosophical issues at the heart of the notorious condemnation of Galileo and Copernican astronomy.</p> 

<p>On René Descartes's <em>Discourse on Method</em> (1637), an overview of his work that distills his method, outlines his famous <em>Meditations</em>, presents a provisional (Stoic) ethics, and considers whether he wants to be a public intellectual. This is all meant as a prefac ... Show More

In this first lecture, using Descartes famous argument for the claim “I think therefore I am’, we examine how to identify and evaluate arguments. 

<p>We finish our look at philosophy in the Reformation era with an interview about Galileo's use of a revolutionary technology: the telescope.</p>