French philosophers of culture
The culture of France has been shaped by geography, by historical events, and by foreign and internal forces and groups. France, and in particular Paris, has played an important role as a center of high culture since the 17th century and from the 19th century on, worldwide.
5 episodes
Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:
Condorcet
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the influential French philosopher and mathematician who tried to apply his Enlightenment ideas on the benefit of education to the French Revolution.
11 January 2024
Featuring: Rachel Hammersley, Richard Whatmore, Tom Hopkins
PhilosophyFrench sociologistsFrench philosophers of education18th-century French writers18th-century French mathematiciansFrench biographers, French ethicistsVoting theoristsPhilosophers of religionUniversity of Paris alumniFrench male non-fiction writersFrench feministsFrench philosophers of scienceScholars of feminist philosophy18th-century philosophersBurials at the Panthéon, ParisPeople killed in the French RevolutionFrench abolitionists18th-century French male writersMembers of the Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesMembers of the Académie FrançaiseHonorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of SciencesProto-feministsFrench philosophers of historyTheoretical historiansFellows of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesRationalistsAtheist philosophersEnlightenment philosophersMembers of the French Academy of SciencesDeputies to the French National ConventionAge of EnlightenmentFrench political scientistsFrench philosophers of cultureFrench atheists18th centuryFranceMathematicsLévi-Strauss
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the work of French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss.
23 May 2013
Featuring: Adam Kuper, Christina Howells, Vincent Debaene
CultureAcademic staff of the Collège de FranceFrench sociologistsLycée Condorcet alumniFrench philosophers of educationThe New School facultyJewish atheistsPhilosophers of mindWriters about globalizationWriters about religion and scienceFrench essayistsMetaphilosophersPhilosophers of religionLiteracy and society theoristsUniversity of Paris alumniCorresponding fellows of the British AcademyPhilosophers of languageFrench male non-fiction writersMetaphysics writersGrand Cross of the Legion of HonourPhilosophers of linguisticsFrench philosophers of scienceMembers of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and SciencesWriters about activism and social change20th-century atheists20th-century French philosophersIntellectual historyMembers of the Académie FrançaiseJewish historiansCritical theoristsMetaphysicians20th-century French male writersFrench philosophers of historyWriters about communismTheorists on Western civilizationJewish philosophersWriters from ParisFrench epistemologistsAtheist philosophersPhilosophers of social scienceForeign associates of the National Academy of Sciences20th-century French memoiristsMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyPhenomenologistsLinguists from France20th-century essayistsFrench atheistsOntologistsFrench philosophers of culture20th centuryFranceLanguageMedicineMaurice Merleau-Ponty
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the insights of this French philosopher into the relationship between mind and body, the role of language in thought and the value of habits
27 March 2025
Featuring: Komarine Romdenh-Romluc, Thomas Baldwin, Timothy Mooney
PhilosophyAcademic staff of the Collège de FranceFrench magazine foundersFrench philosophers of educationFrench socialistsUniversity of Paris alumniFrench male non-fiction writersFrench philosophers of scienceFormer Roman CatholicsMarxist theoristsÉcole Normale Supérieure alumni20th-century French philosophersFrench political philosophersPhilosophers of psychologyAcademic staff of the University of ParisBurials at Père Lachaise CemeteryFrench philosophers of artFrench humanistsLycée Louis-le-Grand alumniEnactive cognitionOntologistsAction theoristsPhenomenologistsExistentialistsFrench epistemologistsFrench philosophers of culture20th centuryFrancePsychologySartre
Melvyn Bragg discusses the life and works of French novelist, playwright and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre.
7 October 2004
Featuring: Jonathan Rée, Benedict O'Donohoe, Christina Howells
PhilosophyScholars of antisemitismFrench sociologists20th-century French dramatists and playwrightsFrench magazine foundersFrench philosophers of educationFrench literary criticsFrench socialistsFrench biographers, French ethicistsPhilosophers of mindPhilosophers of sexualityLegion of Honour refusalsFrench philosophers of scienceLycée Henri-IV alumni20th-century atheistsÉcole Normale Supérieure alumniFrench anarchists, French anti-capitalists, French anti-fascists20th-century French philosophersPhilosophy writersFrench political philosophersCritical theoristsMetaphysiciansBurials at Montparnasse CemeteryFrench communistsBlind writersFree love advocatesFrench philosophers of art20th-century French novelistsFrench philosophers of historyFrench Resistance membersContinental philosophersNobel laureates in LiteratureFrench humanistsFellows of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesFrench Nobel laureatesFrench scientists with disabilitiesTheorists on Western civilizationFrench Marxists, French anti-war activistsLycée Louis-le-Grand alumniWriters from ParisPhilosophers of nihilismFrench epistemologistsAtheist philosophersPhilosophers of social scienceLibertarian socialistsPhilosophers of deathOntologistsPhenomenologistsAphoristsExistentialistsPhilosophers of literatureFrench philosophers of cultureFrench atheists20th centuryFranceMedicineTocqueville: Democracy in America
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Alexis de Tocqueville and his study of the American democratic system, written as an example to France of how democracy might develop there.
22 March 2018
Featuring: Robert Gildea, Susan-Mary Grant, Jeremy Jennings
HistoryWriters from ParisFrench Roman CatholicsMembers of the Académie FrançaiseFrench sociologistsFrench male non-fiction writersPhilosophers of lawHistorians of the French Revolution19th-century French male writersKnights of the Legion of Honour19th-century French philosophersEconomic sociologistsNatural law ethicistsFrench philosophers of historyFrench political writersFrench political scientistsFrench political philosophersFrench philosophers of cultureUniversity of Paris alumni19th centuryAmericaFrance