Portrait of Lord Melvyn Bragg, host of In Our Time

German philosophers of art

German philosophy, meaning philosophy in the German language or philosophy by German people, in its diversity, is fundamental for both the analytic and continental traditions. It covers figures such as Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Immanuel Kant, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, Ludwig Wittgenstein, the Vienna Circle, and the Frankfurt School, who now count among the most famous and studied philosophers of all time.

7 episodes

Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:

PhilosophyScienceOntologistsPhilosophy writersPhilosophers of literatureTheorists on Western civilizationWriters about activism and social changeMetaphysiciansEnlightenment philosophersAge of EnlightenmentAphoristsCritics of the Catholic ChurchWriters about religion and scienceAtheist philosophersGerman male non-fiction writersPhilosophers of lawPhilosophers of social science18th-century philosophers19th-century German male writers19th-century German philosophersExistentialistsGerman LutheransJewish philosophersMetaphilosophersPantheistsPhilosophers of psychologyGerman male essayistsGerman philosophers of historyGerman political philosophersLogiciansNatural law ethicistsNatural philosophersPhilosophers of logicPhilosophers of lovePhilosophers of sexuality19th-century atheistsCritics of work and the work ethicEpic poetsGerman philosophers of cultureLiteracy and society theorists19th-century German essayistsAnti-consumeristsCritics of religionsGerman ethicists, German philosophers of educationLiterary theoristsRomantic poetsSimple living advocatesTheoretical historians18th-century German male writers19th-century German male musicians20th-century German philosophersAnti-nationalistsGerman philosophers of languageGerman philosophers of scienceHeidelberg University alumniHumboldt University of Berlin alumniIrony theoristsJewish socialistsLeipzig University alumniMembers of the Bavarian Academy of SciencesMembers of the Prussian Academy of SciencesPhenomenologistsPhilosophers of warRationalistsUniversity of Göttingen alumni18th-century German philosophers, 18th-century essayists19th-century German non-fiction writers19th-century German writersCritical theoristsCritics of JudaismExilliteratur writersFabulistsFreethought writersGerman Marxist writersGerman critics of ChristianityGerman philosophers of mind, German philosophers of religionGerman untitled nobilityMembers of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and HumanitiesPhilosophers of pessimism18th-century German educators, 18th-century historians, 19th-century German educators, 19th-century historians18th-century German writers19th-century German historians19th-century German novelists19th-century mystics19th-century travel writersAcademic staff of the Humboldt University of BerlinColor scientistsDeterministsEpigrammatistsGerman FreemasonsGerman agnosticsGerman autobiographersGerman epistemologistsGerman idealistsGerman librariansGerman male dramatists and playwrights, German male poetsGerman monarchistsGerman nationalistsGerman travel writersHumor researchersIdealistsJohann Wolfgang von Goethe, Sturm und DrangLecturersPeople associated with the University of BaselPeople from the Province of SaxonyPeople of the Age of EnlightenmentPhilosophers of linguisticsPhilosophers of timeStateless peopleUniversity of Strasbourg alumni18th-century German civil servants, 18th-century German dramatists and playwrights, 18th-century German historians, 18th-century German novelists, 18th-century German poets, 18th-century travel writers, 19th-century German civil servants, 19th-century German diplomats, 19th-century German dramatists and playwrights, 19th-century German poets, German bibliophiles, German diplomats, German male novelists, People from Weimar, Scientists from Weimar, Writers from Frankfurt, Writers from Weimar19th-century German journalists19th-century Prussian people20th-century German male writersAnti-natalistsBurials at the Dorotheenstadt CemeteryDeaths from choleraDeaths from pneumonia in GermanyFrankfurter Zeitung peopleGerman eugenicistsGerman literary criticsGerman logicians, Kantian philosophersGerman military personnel of the Franco-Prussian WarGerman music criticsGerman philologistsGerman philosophers of technologyGerman writers on atheismKantianismPhilosophers of nihilismUniversity of Bonn alumniUniversity of Tübingen alumniWriters from Berlin
  1. Goethe

    Melvyn Bragg discusses the great German polymath Johann Wolfgang Goethe - novelist, dramatist, poet, humanist, scientist and philosopher.

    6 April 2006

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    Featuring: Tim Blanning, Sarah Colvin, W. Daniel Wilson

     
    18th-century German male writersMembers of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences19th-century German non-fiction writersGerman philosophers of language19th-century travel writersMembers of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and HumanitiesPhilosophers of sexualityLiteracy and society theoristsGerman autobiographersGerman philosophers of historyGerman male non-fiction writersEpigrammatistsJohann Wolfgang von Goethe, Sturm und DrangEpic poetsPhilosophers of linguistics18th-century German civil servants, 18th-century German dramatists and playwrights, 18th-century German historians, 18th-century German novelists, 18th-century German poets, 18th-century travel writers, 19th-century German civil servants, 19th-century German diplomats, 19th-century German dramatists and playwrights, 19th-century German poets, German bibliophiles, German diplomats, German male novelists, People from Weimar, Scientists from Weimar, Writers from Frankfurt, Writers from WeimarGerman untitled nobilityNatural philosophersWriters about activism and social changeRomantic poetsGerman travel writersGerman librariansPhilosophy writersGerman political philosophersFabulists19th-century German novelistsGerman FreemasonsColor scientistsGerman philosophers of culture18th-century German philosophers, 18th-century essayistsFreethought writersGerman philosophers of science19th-century German philosophersGerman ethicists, German philosophers of educationTheorists on Western civilizationLiterary theoristsUniversity of Strasbourg alumniLeipzig University alumni19th-century German historiansGerman male dramatists and playwrights, German male poetsPhilosophers of social science19th-century German essayists19th-century German male writersGerman male essayistsEnlightenment philosophers18th-century German educators, 18th-century historians, 19th-century German educators, 19th-century historiansPantheistsPhilosophers of literatureGerman philosophers of art18th century19th centuryGermanyLanguage
  2. Goethe and the Science of the Enlightenment

    Melvyn Bragg assesses the scientific legacy of the 18th century German poet and thinker Goethe, who gave us the term morphology and is sometimes even credited with inventing biology itself.

    10 February 2000

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    Featuring: Nicholas Boyle, Simon Schaffer

     
    Science18th-century German male writersMembers of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences19th-century German non-fiction writersGerman philosophers of language19th-century travel writersMembers of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and HumanitiesPhilosophers of sexualityLiteracy and society theoristsGerman autobiographersGerman philosophers of historyGerman male non-fiction writersEpigrammatistsJohann Wolfgang von Goethe, Sturm und DrangEpic poetsPhilosophers of linguistics18th-century German civil servants, 18th-century German dramatists and playwrights, 18th-century German historians, 18th-century German novelists, 18th-century German poets, 18th-century travel writers, 19th-century German civil servants, 19th-century German diplomats, 19th-century German dramatists and playwrights, 19th-century German poets, German bibliophiles, German diplomats, German male novelists, People from Weimar, Scientists from Weimar, Writers from Frankfurt, Writers from WeimarGerman untitled nobilityNatural philosophersWriters about activism and social changeRomantic poetsGerman travel writersGerman librariansPhilosophy writersGerman political philosophersFabulists19th-century German novelistsGerman FreemasonsColor scientistsGerman philosophers of culture18th-century German philosophers, 18th-century essayistsFreethought writersGerman philosophers of science19th-century German philosophersGerman ethicists, German philosophers of educationTheorists on Western civilizationLiterary theoristsUniversity of Strasbourg alumniLeipzig University alumni19th-century German historiansGerman male dramatists and playwrights, German male poetsPhilosophers of social science19th-century German essayists19th-century German male writersGerman male essayistsEnlightenment philosophers18th-century German educators, 18th-century historians, 19th-century German educators, 19th-century historiansPantheistsPhilosophers of literatureGerman philosophers of art18th century19th centuryGermanyLanguage
  3. Hegel's Philosophy of History

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Hegel's ideas on history as the progress of the consciousness of freedom, and whether we enjoy more freedom now than those in past centuries.

    26 May 2022

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    Featuring: Sally Sedgwick, Robert Stern, Stephen Houlgate

     
  4. Kant's Copernican Revolution

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Kant's ideas on how the world depends on us, on the limits of human knowledge and why we are bound to ask questions we cannot answer.

    3 June 2021

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    Featuring: Fiona Hughes, Anil Gomes, John Callanan

     
  5. Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morality

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Nietzsche's influential ideas about what it means to be moral.

    12 January 2017

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    Featuring: Stephen Mulhall, Fiona Hughes, Keith Ansell-Pearson

     
  6. Schopenhauer

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the pessimistic philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer and his extraordinary influence.

    29 October 2009

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    Featuring: A. C. Grayling, Beatrice Han-Pile, Christopher Janaway

     
  7. Walter Benjamin

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the remarkable philosopher and critic whose ideas, developed in the 1930s, became highly influential after his death while escaping the Holocaust.

    10 February 2022

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    Featuring: Esther Leslie, Kevin McLaughlin, Carolin Duttlinger