logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2023
36m 45s

The one true story | Janne Teller, Barry...

Iai
About this episode
Janne Teller, Barry C. Smith, Silvia Jonas debate the question of whether philosophy can be devoid of motives or social goals. 
Up next
Yesterday
Reimagining the right | Richard Tice
Is this the end of Britain's two-party system? How has Reform brought together seemingly contradictory left- and right-wing ideas? Why do they think that we should get used to climate change instead of trying to fix it?The world has seemingly grown tired of liberal ideas, and the ... Show More
29m 44s
May 26
Is philosophy becoming irrelevant? | Mary Midgley
Does philosophy still matter in today's world? If so, why are students less and less interested in studying in it?In a special episode from the IAI archives, Mary Midgley addresses the declining interest in philosophy among young people. Instead of an outdated discipline for old ... Show More
27m 37s
May 19
Who's afraid of gender? | Judith Butler
Why has gender identity become such a controversial talking point in modern politics?Judith Butler, pioneering gender theorist whose changed the way we think about gender and sexuality, explores the topic of their most recent book, Who's Afraid of Gender? (March 2024). Butler off ... Show More
40m 42s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2009
The Consolations of Philosophy
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the consolation of Philosophy. In the 6th century AD, a successful and intelligent Roman politician called Boethius found himself unjustly accused of treason. Trapped in his prison cell, awaiting a brutal execution, he found solace in philosophical ... Show More
42m 20s
Oct 2020
Greatest Philosophers In History | Albert Camus
Albert Camus was a prolific French-Algerian philosopher and author who contributed to the rise of the philosophy known as Absurdism. He is also considered to be an existentialist.This video explores his main ideas: The Absurd, Revolt and Rebellion, as well as his most notable wor ... Show More
23m 22s
Jun 2014
The Philosophy of Solitude
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the philosophy of solitude. The state of being alone can arise for many different reasons: imprisonment, exile or personal choice. It can be prompted by religious belief, personal necessity or a philosophical need for solitary contemplation. Ma ... Show More
47m 6s
Jun 2014
The Philosophy of Solitude
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the philosophy of solitude. The state of being alone can arise for many different reasons: imprisonment, exile or personal choice. It can be prompted by religious belief, personal necessity or a philosophical need for solitary contemplation. Ma ... Show More
47m 6s
Jan 2023
Philosophy: The Love of Wisdom | A Guide to Life
Philosophy is a mode of life, an act of living, and a way of being. Modern philosophy has forgotten this tradition, and philosophical discourse has all but overtaken philosophy as a way of life. Philosophy is not just an intellectual discipline, which can get abstract and divorce ... Show More
59m 59s
Jul 2023
Torin Alter, "The Matter of Consciousness: From the Knowledge Argument to Russellian Monism" (Oxford UP, 2023)
Frank Jackson’s "Knowledge Argument" introduced the philosophical world to Mary the brilliant neuroscientist, who knows everything there is to know about the physical world while living in a completely black and white environment. Yet she seems to learn something new when she lea ... Show More
1h 8m
Dec 2020
Hegel's Philosophy of Right
What links Beethoven & Hegel's philosophy of freedom? Anne McElvoy talks to New Generation Thinker Seán Williams, Christoph Schuringa, Gary Browning, and Alison Stone about Hegel's discussion of freedom, law, family, markets and the state in his Principles of the Philosophy of Ri ... Show More
44m 8s
Feb 2023
Monima Chadha, "Selfless Minds: A Contemporary Perspective on Vasubandhu's Metaphysics" (Oxford UP, 2022)
Buddhists are famous for their thesis that selves do not exist. But if they are right, what would that thesis mean for our apparent sense of self and for ordinary practices involving selves—or at least persons? In Selfless Minds: A Contemporary Perspective on Vasubandhu’s Metaphy ... Show More
1h 5m
Jun 2024
Philippa Foot
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the most significant philosophers of the twentieth century, Philippa Foot (1920 - 2010). Her central question was, “Why be moral?” Drawing on Aristotle and Aquinas, Foot spent her life working through her instinct that there was something la ... Show More
58m 12s