Portrait of Lord Melvyn Bragg, host of In Our Time

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

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CultureHistoryPhilosophyAnglican saintsOntologistsSocial philosophersPhilosophy writersFellows of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesPhilosophers of literaturePhilosophers of mindTheorists on Western civilizationPhilosophers of historyWriters about activism and social changePhilosophers of culturePhilosophers of religionPhilosophers of scienceEnlightenment philosophersMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyEpistemologistsAphoristsCritics of the Catholic ChurchWriters about religion and scienceAge of EnlightenmentAtheist philosophersGerman male non-fiction writersPhilosophers of educationPhilosophers of lawPhilosophers of social science19th-century German male writers19th-century German philosophers20th-century atheistsChristian humanistsForeign associates of the National Academy of SciencesJewish philosophersMetaphilosophersNobel laureates in LiteraturePantheistsPhilosophers of economicsPhilosophers of mathematicsWriters from Paris17th-century English male writersAristotelian philosophersBritish male essayistsExistentialistsFrench atheistsGerman LutheransGerman male essayistsGerman philosophers of historyGerman political philosophersHonorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of SciencesLogiciansMembers of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and SciencesNatural law ethicistsNatural philosophersPhilosophers of logicPhilosophers of lovePhilosophers of psychologyPhilosophers of sexualityUniversity of Paris alumni19th-century atheists20th-century French philosophersCatholic philosophersChristian radicalsCritics of work and the work ethicEmpiricistsFrench political philosophersGerman philosophers of artGerman philosophers of cultureIslamic philosophersLiteracy and society theoristsPhilosophers of artPhilosophers of languagePolitical philosophers17th-century English writers19th-century German essayists19th-century pseudonymous writers20th-century essayistsAlumni of St John's College, CambridgeAnalytic philosophersAnti-consumeristsChristian ethicistsCritics of religionsGerman philosophers of education, German ethicistsJewish agnosticsLutheran saintsMembers of the Académie FrançaisePeople celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendarPhilosophers of technologyTheoretical historiansVirtue ethicists17th-century writers in Latin18th-century German male writers19th-century male writers20th-century French novelistsAnti-nationalistsBritish critics of religionsBritish philosophers of educationChristian poetsFrench philosophers of educationFrench philosophers of historyFrench philosophers of scienceGerman philosophers of languageHumboldt University of Berlin alumniIrony theoristsJewish socialistsLegion of Honour refusalsLeipzig University alumniMarxist theoristsMetaphysics writersPhilosophers of deathPolitical realistsRationalistsRecipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)Rhetoric theoristsScholastic philosophersWriters about globalization17th-century English philosophers18th-century German philosophers, 18th-century essayists19th-century French philosophers19th-century German male musicians19th-century German non-fiction writers20th-century British philosophersAngelic visionariesBritish ethicistsBritish political philosophersClassical theismCritical theoristsCritics of JudaismCritics of atheismEnglish philosophersEnglish physicistsEnglish political philosophersFellows of the British AcademyFrench Nobel laureatesFrench literary criticsFrench male non-fiction writersFrench philosophers of culture, French sociologistsFrench socialistsGerman Marxist writersGerman critics of ChristianityGerman philosophers of mind, German philosophers of religionHeidelberg University alumniLibertarian socialistsMedieval Latin-language poetsPhenomenologistsÉcole Normale Supérieure alumni13th-century philosophers13th-century writers in Latin18th-century German writers19th-century German historians19th-century German novelists19th-century deaths from tuberculosis19th-century essayists19th-century historians, 18th-century historians, 19th-century German educators, 18th-century German educators19th-century mystics19th-century non-fiction writers from the Russian Empire20th-century British essayistsAcademic staff of the Humboldt University of BerlinAlchemists of the medieval Islamic worldAlumni of Trinity College, CambridgeAnarchist writersAutobiographersBisexual male writersBlind writersBritish consciousness researchers and theoristsBritish historians of philosophyBurials at Highgate CemeteryBurials at Montparnasse CemeteryCambridge University Moral Sciences ClubCorresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of SciencesDeterministsDoctors of the ChurchFellows of Trinity College, CambridgeFrench Resistance membersFrench anarchists, French anti-fascists, French anti-capitalistsFrench communistsFrench epistemologistsFrench philosophers of artGeorgistsGerman epistemologistsGerman idealistsGerman revolutionariesGrand Cross of the Legion of HonourIntellectual historyJewish atheistsKnights BachelorLinguistic turnLycée Condorcet alumniLycée Henri-IV alumniMembers of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and ArtsMuslim critics of atheism, AsharisPamphleteersPeople associated with the University of BaselPeople from the Province of SaxonyPeople of the Age of EnlightenmentPeople with post-traumatic stress disorderPhilosophers of linguisticsPhilosophers of timePresidents of the Aristotelian SocietySocialist feministsStateless peopleWittgensteinian philosophers12th-century Muslim theologians19th-century French writers19th-century German journalists19th-century Prussian people19th-century short story writers from the Russian Empire, 20th-century Russian short story writers, Russian opinion journalists, Philanthropists from the Russian Empire, Novelists from the Russian Empire, 20th-century Russian dramatists and playwrights, Russian-language writers, Russian male novelists, Russian male dramatists and playwrights, 19th-century dramatists and playwrights from the Russian Empire20th-century British non-fiction writers20th-century French male writers20th-century French memoirists20th-century letter writers9th-century philosophersAcademic staff of the Collège de FranceAcademics of the London School of Economics, British philosophers of scienceAnti-imperialistsArabic-language commentators on AristotleAstronomers of the medieval Islamic worldAustro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I, Austrian people of Jewish descentBaruch SpinozaBertrand Russell Professors of PhilosophyBisexual military personnelBritish critics of ChristianityBritish male non-fiction writersBritish social liberalsBurials at the Dorotheenstadt CemeteryCatholic clergy scientistsChristian apologistsChristian vegetariansContinental philosophersCorresponding fellows of the British AcademyCritics of MarxismCritics of political economyDeaths from choleraDeaths from pneumonia in GermanyDominican mysticsEconomic historians, German sociologistsEconomists of the medieval Islamic world, MujaddidEnglish alchemistsEnglish theologiansExistentialist theologiansFellows of the Royal Society of ArtsFree love advocatesFrench Marxists, French anti-war activistsFrench essayistsFrench ethicists, French biographersFrench humanists, 20th-century French dramatists and playwrightsFrench scientists with disabilitiesGerman anti-capitalists, Jewish communists, German socialist feministsGerman music criticsGerman writers on atheismGrammarians of LatinIranian logicians, Iranian ethicistsJewish ethicistsJewish historiansJewish translators of the BibleLGBTQ mathematicians, LGBTQ philosophersLinguists from FranceMagic (supernatural)MaterialistsMedieval orientalists, English translatorsMembers of the International Workingmen's AssociationMembers of the Order of the Companions of HonourMusic theorists of the medieval Islamic worldNaturalised citizens of the United Kingdom, Austrian agnostics, British people of Austrian-Jewish descent, Austrian essayists, Writers from Vienna, British logicians, 20th-century Austrian philosophers, Austrian logicians, British agnosticsNonviolence advocates, Christian anarchistsOrdinary language philosophyPhilosophers of nihilismPhilosophical anthropologyPsychology in the medieval Islamic worldRecipients of the Austrian Decoration for Science and ArtRussian anarchistsRussian male journalistsScholars of antisemitismSystematic theologiansThe New School facultyThomas AquinasThomas HobbesUniversity of Bonn alumniUniversity of Copenhagen alumniUniversity of Jena alumniUniversity of Tübingen alumniWriters about communism
  1. 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

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    Featuring: Peter Adamson, Carole Hillenbrand, Robert Gleave

     
  2. Al-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

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    Featuring: Hugh Kennedy, James Montgomery, Amira Bennison

     
  3. Bergson 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

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    Featuring: Keith Ansell-Pearson, Emily Thomas, Mark Sinclair

     
  4. 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

     
  5. 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

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    Featuring: Quentin Skinner, David Wootton, Annabel Brett

     
  6. Kierkegaard

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the rich and radical ideas of Soren Kierkegaard, often called the father of Existentialism.

    20 March 2008

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    Featuring: Jonathan Rée, Clare Carlisle, John Lippitt

     
  7. Lévi-Strauss

    Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the work of French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss.

    23 May 2013

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    Featuring: Adam Kuper, Christina Howells, Vincent Debaene

     
  8. Marx

    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

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    Featuring: A. C. Grayling, Francis Wheen, Gareth Stedman Jones

     
  9. 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

     
  10. Popper

    Melvyn Bragg discusses the philosopher Karl Popper, author of The Open Society and a seminal thinker about science.

    8 February 2007

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    Featuring: John Worrall, Anthony O'Hear, Nancy Cartwright

     
    PhilosophySocial philosophersOntologistsTheorists on Western civilizationPhilosophers of mindWriters about activism and social changePhilosophers of historyPhilosophers of religionMetaphysiciansPhilosophers of cultureEpistemologistsWriters about religion and sciencePhilosophers of mathematicsForeign associates of the National Academy of SciencesJewish philosophersPhilosophers of economicsAristotelian philosophersLogiciansBritish male essayistsPhilosophers of logicPolitical philosophersJewish agnosticsPhilosophers of technologyCritics of religionsRationalistsRecipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)Metaphysics writersWriters about globalizationBritish philosophers of educationFellows of the British Academy20th-century British philosophersBritish ethicistsBritish political philosophersCambridge University Moral Sciences ClubPresidents of the Aristotelian SocietyBritish historians of philosophyKnights BachelorBritish consciousness researchers and theorists20th-century British essayistsRecipients of the Austrian Decoration for Science and ArtCritics of MarxismBritish male non-fiction writersJewish ethicistsBritish social liberalsMembers of the Order of the Companions of HonourAcademics of the London School of Economics, British philosophers of scienceNaturalised citizens of the United Kingdom, Austrian agnostics, British people of Austrian-Jewish descent, Austrian essayists, Writers from Vienna, British logicians, 20th-century Austrian philosophers, Austrian logicians, British agnostics
  11. Roger 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

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    Featuring: Jack Cunningham, Amanda Power, Elly Truitt

     
  12. Sartre

    Melvyn Bragg discusses the life and works of French novelist, playwright and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre.

    7 October 2004

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    Featuring: Jonathan Rée, Benedict O'Donohoe, Christina Howells

     
  13. Spinoza

    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

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    Featuring: Jonathan Rée, Sarah Hutton, John Cottingham

     
  14. St Thomas Aquinas

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss St Thomas Aquinas, the Catholic Church's foremost western philosopher and theologian.

    17 September 2009

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    Featuring: Martin Palmer, John Haldane, Annabel Brett

     
  15. Tolstoy

    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

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    Featuring: A. N. Wilson, Catriona Kelly, Sarah Hudspith

     
  16. Wittgenstein

    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

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    Featuring: Ray Monk, Barry Smith, Marie McGinn