Metaphysicians
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of consciousness and the relationship between mind and matter, between substance and attribute, and between potentiality and actuality.
16 episodes
Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:
Al-Ghazali
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Islamic scholar Al-Ghazali, one of the most significant and influential philosophers of the Middle Ages.
19 March 2015
Featuring: Peter Adamson, Carole Hillenbrand, Robert Gleave
Philosophy12th-century Muslim theologiansMetaphysiciansIslamic philosophersPsychology in the medieval Islamic worldEconomists of the medieval Islamic world, MujaddidIranian ethicists, Iranian logiciansEpistemologistsAsharis, Muslim critics of atheismAutobiographers11th century12th centuryEconomicsIslamMedicinePsychologyTheologyAl-Kindi
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of Al-Kindi, often described as the first philosopher in the Arabic tradition.
28 June 2012
Featuring: Hugh Kennedy, James Montgomery, Amira Bennison
PhilosophyMusic theorists of the medieval Islamic worldAlchemists of the medieval Islamic worldPhilosophers of religionPhilosophers of logicMetaphysics writersIslamic philosophersAstronomers of the medieval Islamic worldAristotelian philosophersEpistemologistsPhilosophers of educationPhilosophers of artIntellectual historyPhilosophers of psychologyMetaphysiciansPhilosophers of mathematics9th-century philosophersPhilosophers of scienceArabic-language commentators on AristotleOntologists9th centuryAstronomyIslamLanguageMathematicsMedicinePsychologyBergson and Time
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas of Henri Bergson on how our experience of time as a duration differs from the scientific measurement of time, and why that matters.
9 May 2019
Featuring: Keith Ansell-Pearson, Emily Thomas, Mark Sinclair
PhilosophyWriters from ParisFrench Nobel laureatesAcademic staff of the Collège de FrancePhilosophers of languageLycée Condorcet alumniMetaphysicians19th-century French writers19th-century French philosophersPhilosophers of mindÉcole Normale Supérieure alumni20th-century French philosophersPhenomenologistsNobel laureates in LiteratureFellows of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesFrench epistemologistsJewish philosophers19th century20th centuryFranceLanguageMedicineHegel'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
Featuring: Sally Sedgwick, Robert Stern, Stephen Houlgate
PhilosophyDeaths from cholera18th-century German male writersBurials at the Dorotheenstadt CemeteryGerman philosophers of languageGerman LutheransWriters about religion and scienceGerman philosophers of historyGerman male non-fiction writersGerman idealistsAcademic staff of the Humboldt University of BerlinUniversity of Tübingen alumniPhilosophy writers18th-century German writersGerman political philosophersPhilosophers of lawMetaphysicians18th-century German philosophers, 18th-century essayists19th-century German philosophersTheoretical historiansGerman philosophers of mind, German philosophers of religionHeidelberg University alumni19th-century German essayists19th-century German male writersGerman male essayistsEnlightenment philosophers18th-century German educators, 18th-century historians, 19th-century German educators, 19th-century historiansPantheists19th-century mysticsGerman philosophers of art18th century19th centuryGermanyLanguageMedicineHobbes
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
Featuring: Quentin Skinner, David Wootton, Annabel Brett
PhilosophyCritics of the Catholic ChurchPhilosophers of culture17th-century writers in LatinPhilosophers of mind17th-century English writersRhetoric theoristsPhilosophers of religionMaterialistsEnglish political philosophersPhilosophers of languageBritish critics of ChristianityPolitical realistsEpistemologistsBritish philosophers of educationPhilosophers of lawEmpiricistsMetaphysiciansBritish critics of religionsPhilosophers of mathematics17th-century English male writersAlumni of St John's College, CambridgeTheorists on Western civilizationPhilosophers of sciencePhilosophers of historyThomas HobbesSocial philosophersNatural law ethicistsEnglish theologians17th-century English philosophersEnglish physicistsOntologists17th centuryLanguageMathematicsMedicineTheologyKierkegaard
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the rich and radical ideas of Soren Kierkegaard, often called the father of Existentialism.
20 March 2008
Featuring: Jonathan Rée, Clare Carlisle, John Lippitt
PhilosophyChristian humanistsPhilosophers of cultureExistentialist theologiansPhilosophers of mindMetaphilosophersPhilosophers of lovePhilosophers of religion19th-century male writers19th-century pseudonymous writersChristian poetsEpistemologistsChristian ethicistsPhilosophy writersPhilosophers of artChristian radicalsPhilosophers of psychologyIrony theorists19th-century essayistsMetaphysiciansPeople celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendarUniversity of Copenhagen alumni19th-century deaths from tuberculosisPhilosophers of deathOntologistsSocial philosophersAphoristsExistentialistsPhilosophers of literature19th centuryMedicinePsychologyTheologyLévi-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 centuryFranceLanguageMedicineMarx
Melvyn Bragg discusses Karl Marx who once said that while other philosophers wanted to interpret the world, he wanted to change it. And he changed the world with his Communist Manifesto.
14 July 2005
Featuring: A. C. Grayling, Francis Wheen, Gareth Stedman Jones
PhilosophyGerman writers on atheismPhilosophers of cultureUniversity of Bonn alumniPhilosophers of mindCritics of political economyWriters about globalizationWriters about religion and sciencePhilosophers of religionSocialist feministsMaterialistsGerman male non-fiction writersCritics of work and the work ethicEconomic historians, German sociologistsFellows of the Royal Society of ArtsPhilosophical anthropologyGerman Marxist writersMarxist theoristsWriters about activism and social change19th-century atheistsEpistemologistsPhilosophers of educationGerman political philosophersStateless peopleCritics of religionsPhilosophers of lawAnti-consumeristsMetaphysiciansJewish socialistsPhilosophers of technologyHumboldt University of Berlin alumniUniversity of Jena alumniAnti-imperialists19th-century German philosophersTheorists on Western civilizationPhilosophers of sciencePhilosophers of historyCritics of JudaismBurials at Highgate Cemetery19th-century German historiansAtheist philosophersMembers of the International Workingmen's AssociationPhilosophers of economicsGerman anti-capitalists, German socialist feminists, Jewish communistsSocial philosophersPamphleteersGerman revolutionariesAnti-nationalistsOntologists19th centuryEconomicsGermanyMedicineNietzsche's Genealogy of Morality
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Nietzsche's influential ideas about what it means to be moral.
12 January 2017
Featuring: Stephen Mulhall, Fiona Hughes, Keith Ansell-Pearson
PhilosophyCritics of the Catholic Church19th-century German male musicians19th-century German journalistsPhilosophers of timeUniversity of Bonn alumni19th-century German non-fiction writersPhilosophers of sexualityWriters about religion and scienceMetaphilosophersGerman philosophers of historyGerman male non-fiction writersCritics of work and the work ethicGerman critics of Christianity19th-century Prussian peopleGerman music criticsWriters about activism and social changeStateless peoplePhilosophy writersIrony theoristsDeterministsPhilosophers of psychology19th-century German novelistsPeople from the Province of SaxonyCritics of religionsCritical theoristsAnti-consumeristsMetaphysiciansGerman philosophers of culturePeople associated with the University of BaselGerman military personnel of the Franco-Prussian WarGerman ethicists, German philosophers of education19th-century German philosophersTheorists on Western civilizationDeaths from pneumonia in GermanyGerman philosophers of mind, German philosophers of religionGerman epistemologistsPhilosophers of nihilismLeipzig University alumniPhilosophers of social science19th-century German male writersGerman male essayistsOntologistsAphoristsExistentialistsAnti-nationalistsPhilosophers of literatureGerman philosophers of art19th centuryGermanyMedicineMusicPsychologyWarPopper
Melvyn Bragg discusses the philosopher Karl Popper, author of The Open Society and a seminal thinker about science.
8 February 2007
Featuring: John Worrall, Anthony O'Hear, Nancy Cartwright
PhilosophyUniversity of Vienna alumniPhilosophers of culturePhilosophers of mindWriters about globalizationJewish ethicistsWriters about religion and scienceBritish historians of philosophyPhilosophers of religionBritish male non-fiction writersBritish male essayistsPhilosophers of logicKnights BachelorAcademics of the London School of Economics, British philosophers of scienceMetaphysics writers20th-century British essayists20th-century Austrian philosophers, Austrian agnostics, Austrian essayists, Austrian logicians, British agnostics, British logicians, British people of Austrian-Jewish descent, Naturalised citizens of the United KingdomWriters about activism and social changeAristotelian philosophersEpistemologistsBritish philosophers of educationPresidents of the Aristotelian SocietyCritics of religionsMetaphysiciansPolitical philosophersRecipients of the Austrian Decoration for Science and ArtWriters from ViennaPhilosophers of technologyFellows of the British AcademyBritish consciousness researchers and theoristsPhilosophers of mathematics20th-century British philosophersTheorists on Western civilizationPhilosophers of historyJewish philosophersRationalistsBritish social liberalsBritish ethicistsLogiciansBritish political philosophersForeign associates of the National Academy of SciencesPhilosophers of economicsJewish agnosticsMembers of the Order of the Companions of HonourSocial philosophersCritics of MarxismCambridge University Moral Sciences ClubRecipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)Ontologists20th centuryEconomicsMathematicsMedicineRoger Bacon
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss medieval English scholar Roger Bacon, an early pioneer of science who became known as Doctor Mirabilis.
20 April 2017
Featuring: Jack Cunningham, Amanda Power, Elly Truitt
HistoryEnglish philosophersPhilosophers of languageEmpiricistsEnglish alchemistsMetaphysiciansNatural philosophers13th-century writers in LatinCatholic philosophersPhilosophers of mindEnglish translators, Medieval orientalistsCatholic clergy scientistsScholastic philosophersPhilosophers of literature13th-century philosophersPhilosophers of scienceGrammarians of Latin13th centuryLanguageMedicineSartre
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 centuryFranceMedicineSpinoza
Melvyn Bragg discusses the philosopher Spinoza whose profound and complex ideas about God had him celebrated as an atheist in the 18th century.
3 May 2007
Featuring: Jonathan Rée, Sarah Hutton, John Cottingham
PhilosophyCritics of the Catholic ChurchPhilosophers of culture17th-century writers in LatinPhilosophers of mindMetaphilosophersPhilosophers of religionJewish translators of the BibleBaruch SpinozaEpistemologistsPhilosophy writersPhilosophers of educationDeterministsMetaphysiciansJewish philosophersPhilosophers of scienceRationalistsPhilosophers of historyCritics of JudaismEnlightenment philosophersSocial philosophersPeople of the Age of EnlightenmentPantheistsAge of EnlightenmentOntologists17th century18th centuryMedicineSt Thomas Aquinas
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss St Thomas Aquinas, the Catholic Church's foremost western philosopher and theologian.
17 September 2009
Featuring: Martin Palmer, John Haldane, Annabel Brett
PhilosophyWriters about religion and scienceVirtue ethicistsScholastic philosophersUniversity of Paris alumniThomas AquinasClassical theismCritics of atheismDominican mysticsMedieval Latin-language poetsAristotelian philosophersChristian ethicistsLutheran saintsPhilosophers of lawAnglican saintsMetaphysicians13th-century writers in LatinAngelic visionariesDoctors of the ChurchMagic (supernatural)Catholic philosophersNatural law ethicistsChristian apologists13th-century philosophersSystematic theologians13th centuryLanguageMedicineTheologyTolstoy
Melvyn Bragg discusses the life and times of the 19th century Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, whose novels such as War and Peace gave expression to the compelling moral and social questions of their day.
25 April 2002
Featuring: A. N. Wilson, Catriona Kelly, Sarah Hudspith
Philosophers of cultureRussian anarchistsPhilosophers of mindPhilosophers of religion19th-century dramatists and playwrights from the Russian Empire, 19th-century short story writers from the Russian Empire, 20th-century Russian dramatists and playwrights, 20th-century Russian short story writers, Novelists from the Russian Empire, Philanthropists from the Russian Empire, Russian male dramatists and playwrights, Russian male novelists, Russian opinion journalists, Russian-language writersAnarchist writersRussian male journalistsChristian vegetariansWriters about activism and social changeCorresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of SciencesEpistemologistsPhilosophers of education19th-century essayistsMetaphysiciansPolitical philosophersHonorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of SciencesGeorgistsPhilosophers of history19th-century non-fiction writers from the Russian EmpireOntologistsSocial philosophersChristian anarchists, Nonviolence advocates20th-century letter writers20th-century essayistsMembers of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and ArtsPhilosophers of literature19th century20th centuryLanguageMedicineRussiaWittgenstein
Melvyn Bragg discusses how Ludwig Wittgenstein, one of the greatest philosophers of the modern age has influenced contemporary culture with his ideas on language.
4 December 2003
Featuring: Ray Monk, Barry Smith, Marie McGinn
PhilosophyPhilosophers of cultureOrdinary language philosophyPhilosophers of mindMetaphilosophersFellows of Trinity College, CambridgeBritish male essayistsPhilosophers of logicPhilosophers of languageAnalytic philosophersPeople with post-traumatic stress disorder20th-century British essayists20th-century Austrian philosophers, Austrian agnostics, Austrian essayists, Austrian logicians, British agnostics, British logicians, British people of Austrian-Jewish descent, Naturalised citizens of the United KingdomBertrand Russell Professors of PhilosophyAlumni of Trinity College, Cambridge20th-century British non-fiction writersEpistemologistsPhilosophy writersPhilosophers of artMetaphysiciansWriters from ViennaPhilosophers of mathematicsAustro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I20th-century British philosophersTheorists on Western civilizationJewish philosophersBisexual military personnelBisexual male writersAustrian people of Jewish descentLGBTQ mathematicians, LGBTQ philosophersPhilosophers of social scienceWittgensteinian philosophersJewish agnosticsSocial philosophersCambridge University Moral Sciences ClubOntologistsLinguistic turn20th centuryLanguageMathematicsMedicineWar