Portrait of Lord Melvyn Bragg, host of In Our Time

17th-century English philosophers

The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 (MDCI), to December 31, 1700 (MDCC). It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized by the Baroque cultural movement, the latter part of the Spanish Golden Age, the Dutch Golden Age, the French Grand Siècle dominated by Louis XIV, the Scientific Revolution, the world's first public company and megacorporation known as the Dutch East India Company, and according to some historians, the General Crisis.

4 episodes

Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:

CulturePhilosophyScienceOntologistsSocial philosophersPhilosophers of mindTheorists on Western civilizationPhilosophers of historyWriters about activism and social changeEnglish male poetsMetaphysiciansPhilosophers of culturePhilosophers of religionPhilosophers of scienceEnlightenment philosophersEpistemologistsSonneteersCritics of the Catholic ChurchEnglish essayistsWriters about religion and sciencePhilosophers of lawChristian humanistsPhilosophers of mathematics17th-century English male writersNatural law ethicistsEmpiricistsEnglish male dramatists and playwrightsEnglish non-fiction writersLiteracy and society theoristsPhilosophers of language17th-century English poets17th-century English writersAlumni of St John's College, CambridgeEpic poetsLiterary theorists17th-century English dramatists and playwrights17th-century writers in LatinAnglican poetsBritish critics of religionsBritish philosophers of educationChristian poetsEnglish feminists, English feminist writersMale essayistsPeople from the City of LondonPolitical realistsRhetoric theorists18th-century English writersEnglish physicistsEnglish political philosophersEnglish republicansFeminism and historyIndependent scientistsIrish AnglicansMetaphor theoristsNeoclassical writersPseudonymous women writersWriters from London17th-century Anglo-Irish people18th-century British philosophers18th-century English non-fiction writers18th-century pseudonymous writersAnglican philosophersBlind writersBritish free speech activistsCalvinist and Reformed poetsDiscoverers of chemical elementsEnglish educational theoristsEnglish women activistsEnglish women non-fiction writersEnglish writers with disabilitiesMythopoeic writersPamphleteers17th-century English educators17th-century English women writers18th-century English philosophers18th-century English women writersAlumni of Christ's College, CambridgeAnti-Catholicism in the United KingdomBlind poetsBritish critics of ChristianityBritish philosophers of religionBritish women's rights activistsDeaths from kidney failure in the United KingdomEnglish Anglican theologiansEnglish DissentersEnglish alchemistsEnglish rhetoriciansEnglish theologiansFeminist studies scholarsFluid dynamicistsMaterialistsPeople educated at Eton CollegeRhetoriciansThomas Hobbes
  1. Hobbes

    Melvyn Bragg discusses Thomas Hobbes, the great 17th century philosopher who famously said that ungoverned man lived a life that was ‘solitary, poor, brutish and short’.

    1 December 2005

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Quentin Skinner, David Wootton, Annabel Brett

     
  2. Mary Astell

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the philosopher Mary Astell (1666 – 1731) who has been described as "the first English feminist".

    5 November 2020

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Hannah Dawson, Mark Goldie, Teresa Bejan

     
  3. Milton

    Melvyn Bragg examines the literary and political career of the 17th century poet John Milton, examining work such as Paradise Lost as well as his role as propagandist during the English Civil War.

    7 March 2002

    listen ↗

    Featuring: John Carey, Lisa Jardine, Blair Worden

     
  4. Robert Boyle

    Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of Robert Boyle, a pioneering scientist and one of the first Fellows of the Royal Society.

    12 June 2014

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Simon Schaffer, Michael Hunter, Anna Marie Roos