logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2023
56m 2s

Happiness Lessons of The Ancients: Arist...

Pushkin Industries
About this episode

The Greek thinker Socrates was put to death for encouraging his students to question everything - from their own beliefs to the laws and customs of Athenian society. But his ideas didn't die with him. 

Here's a chance to hear two episodes from our archive examining the legacy of Socrates, and how he influenced the thinking of Plato and Aristotle. Turns out the Ancient Greeks had a lot to say about how to live a happier life. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Jul 7
The Jimi Hendrix of the Cello (with Joshua Roman)
Joshua Roman has been playing the cello everyday since he was three - but then on a concert tour he caught Covid. The illness wouldn't go away and sapped his ability to play the music he loves at the level he was used to. How can things like music help us feel better during tough ... Show More
39m 7s
Jun 30
"Birds Are Like My Afternoon Martini" (Birding with Lili Taylor)
Lili Taylor loves her acting career - but the emotional intensity of her work and the constant travel can take its toll. But Lili has found a way to relax and unwind - watching birds. As Lili explains in her new book Turning to Birds: The Power and Beauty of Noticing - if we stop ... Show More
32m 15s
Jun 23
How Good Manners Made Me Happier (with Etiquette Expert William Hanson)
You might think etiquette is outdated. Who really needs a dinner with nice napkins and four different forks? Etiquette expert William Hanson disagrees. By observing good manners we show others we respect and care about them - deepening our bonds. William (author of Just Good Mann ... Show More
41m 38s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2023
The Lesser-Known Philosophy of the Iron Age Greeks
When we think of Western philosophers who pondered questions about the good life, we typically think of the classical era of Greece and the likes of Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. But my guest would say that the poets and philosophers who came out of the preceding period, Greece ... Show More
45m 12s
Mar 2018
Episode #61- What's the Problem with Socrates?
Socrates has been celebrated as the "father of western philosophy". This is particularly remarkable when you consider the fact that we know almost nothing about him for sure. What we consider "Socratic Philosophy" is what has been reported to us by his students. Should we trust w ... Show More
54m 53s
Mar 2018
Episode #61- What's the Problem with Socrates?
Socrates has been celebrated as the "father of western philosophy". This is particularly remarkable when you consider the fact that we know almost nothing about him for sure. What we consider "Socratic Philosophy" is what has been reported to us by his students. Should we trust w ... Show More
54m 53s
Jun 2013
Episode #003 ... Socrates and the Sophists
This week we talk about the prosperity of athens and how it led to the rise and ideas of a group of philosopher teachers called the Sophists, we tied up some loose ends and helped put all that we've learned in the last two episodes into context with a graph of the presocratics, a ... Show More
39m 32s
Sep 2007
Socrates
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Greek philosopher Socrates, acknowledged as one of the founders of Western philosophy. Born in 469 BC into the golden age of the city of Athens, he has profoundly influenced philosophy ever since. In fact, his impact is so profound that all the ... Show More
42m 2s
Mar 2021
Ep. 265: Plato's "Phaedo": Philosophy as Training for Death (Part One)
On Plato's middle dialogue depicting the death of Socrates (390 BCE) depicting the death of Socrates. Should philosophers fear death? In the course of giving arguments for the immortality of the soul, we get an elaboration of the recollection theory of knowledge (from the Meno) i ... Show More
42m 24s
Jan 2011
HoP 015 - Socrates without Plato - the Portrayals of Aristophanes and Xenophon
Socrates according to the comic poet Aristophanes and the historian Xenophon 
20m 24s
May 2002
The Examined Life
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss self-examination. Socrates, the Greek philosopher of the 4th century BC, famously declared that "The unexamined life is not worth living." His drive towards rigorous self-enquiry and his uncompromising questioning of assumptions laid firm foundatio ... Show More
42m 5s
Jul 2013
Episode #004 ... Plato
In this week's episode, we learn about Plato's "Symposium", which you might think of as philosophy's version of fan fiction. We also learn about Plato's "Theory of Forms" and ask ourselves what makes a tree, well, a tree. This leads to discussion of Plato's famous "Allegory of th ... Show More
45m 1s