Portrait of Lord Melvyn Bragg, host of In Our Time

Philosophers of mind

Philosophy of mind is a branch of philosophy that studies the ontology and nature of the mind and its relationship with the body. The mind–body problem is a paradigmatic issue in philosophy of mind, although a number of other issues are addressed, such as the hard problem of consciousness and the nature of particular mental states.

18 episodes

Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:

CultureHistoryPhilosophyReligionOntologistsSocial philosophersPhilosophy writersFellows of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesPhilosophers of literatureTheorists on Western civilizationPhilosophers of historyWriters about activism and social changeMetaphysiciansPhilosophers of culturePhilosophers of religionPhilosophers of scienceEnlightenment philosophersMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyEpistemologistsSonneteersAphoristsCritics of the Catholic ChurchWriters about religion and scienceAge of EnlightenmentAtheist philosophersGerman male non-fiction writersPhilosophers of educationPhilosophers of lawPhilosophers of social science18th-century philosophers19th-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 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 philosophersIslamic philosophersLiteracy and society theoristsPhilosophers of artPhilosophers of languagePolitical philosophers17th-century English writers19th-century pseudonymous writers20th-century essayistsAlumni of St John's College, CambridgeAnalytic philosophersAnti-consumeristsChristian ethicistsCritics of religionsFounders of religionsJewish agnosticsLiterary theoristsMembers of the Académie FrançaisePeople celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendarPhilosophers of technologySimple living advocatesVirtue ethicists17th-century writers in Latin19th-century male writers20th-century French novelistsAncient Roman adopteesAnti-nationalistsBritish critics of religionsBritish philosophers of educationChristian poetsFrench philosophers of educationFrench philosophers of historyFrench philosophers of scienceHumboldt University of Berlin alumniIrony theoristsJewish socialistsLegion of Honour refusalsMarxist theoristsMetaphysics writersPhilosophers of deathPolitical realistsRationalistsRecipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)Rhetoric theoristsScholastic philosophersTrope theoristsWriters about globalization17th-century English philosophers18th-century classical composers19th-century French philosophers20th-century British philosophersAlumni of the University of EdinburghAncient Roman philhellenesBritish ethicistsBritish political philosophersClassical humanistsCritical theoristsCritics of JudaismCritics of atheismDeist philosophersEnglish philosophersEnglish physicistsEnglish political philosophersFellows of the British AcademyFreethought writersFrench Nobel laureatesFrench literary criticsFrench male non-fiction writersFrench philosophers of culture, French sociologistsFrench socialistsGerman Marxist writersLibertarian socialistsMetaphor theoristsPhenomenologistsPhilosophers of pessimismRoman pharaohsÉcole Normale Supérieure alumni13th-century philosophers13th-century writers in Latin18th-century British essayists18th-century British philosophers19th-century German historians19th-century deaths from tuberculosis19th-century essayists19th-century non-fiction writers from the Russian Empire20th-century British essayists20th-century mystics20th-century translatorsAlchemists of the medieval Islamic worldAlumni of Trinity College, CambridgeAnarchist writersAnthologistsAutobiographersBisexual male writersBlind writersBritish consciousness researchers and theoristsBritish historians of philosophyBurials at Highgate CemeteryBurials at Montparnasse CemeteryBurials at the Panthéon, ParisCambridge University Moral Sciences ClubConservatismContributors to the Encyclopédie (1751–1772)Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of SciencesCourt physiciansCriticism of rationalismCritics of ChristianityCritics of deismDeified Roman emperorsDeterministsFellows of Trinity College, CambridgeFrench Resistance membersFrench anarchists, French anti-fascists, French anti-capitalistsFrench communistsFrench epistemologistsFrench philosophers of artGeorgistsGerman revolutionariesGrand Cross of the Legion of HonourIntellectual historyJerusalem Prize recipientsJewish atheistsKnights BachelorLecturersLinguistic turnLycée Condorcet alumniLycée Henri-IV alumniMembers of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and ArtsMiracle workersPamphleteersPeople of the Age of EnlightenmentPeople with hypochondriasisPeople with post-traumatic stress disorderPhilosophers of Roman ItalyPhilosophers of linguisticsPhilosophers of timePresidents of the Aristotelian SocietySocialist feministsStateless peopleSurrealist writersWittgensteinian philosophers12th-century Muslim theologians18th-century male musicians19th-century French writers19th-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 writersAcademic staff of the Collège de FranceAcademics of the London School of Economics, British philosophers of scienceAction theoristsAeliiAnti-imperialistsArabic-language commentators on AristotleAsceticsAugurs of the Roman EmpireAustro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I, Austrian people of Jewish descentBaruch SpinozaBertrand Russell Professors of PhilosophyBisexual military personnelBlind poetsBritish critics of ChristianityBritish male non-fiction writersBritish social liberalsCatholic clergy scientistsChristian vegetariansClassical-period composersCommanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of GermanyContinental philosophersCorresponding fellows of the British AcademyCritics of MarxismCritics of political economyEconomic historians, German sociologistsEnglish 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 writers on atheismGrammarians of LatinHaiku poetsIranian logicians, Iranian ethicistsJewish ethicistsJewish historiansJewish translators of the BibleJourney to the West charactersLGBTQ mathematicians, LGBTQ philosophersLinguists from FranceMagic realism writersMaterialistsMedieval Iranian pharmacologists, Transoxanian Islamic scholarsMedieval 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 agnosticsNerva–Antonine dynastyNonviolence advocates, Christian anarchistsOrdinary language philosophyPeople from Córdoba, SpainPeople of the Scottish EnlightenmentPhilosophers from al-AndalusPhilosophers of identityPhilosophers of nihilismPhilosophical anthropologyProto-evolutionary biologistsRecipients of the Austrian Decoration for Science and ArtRoman-era Stoic philosophersRomantic philosophers, Converts to Roman Catholicism from CalvinismRussian anarchistsRussian male journalistsScholars of antisemitismSecular humanistsSkeptic philosophersSpanish-language poetsThe New School facultyThomas HobbesUniversity of Bonn alumniUniversity of Copenhagen alumniUniversity of Jena alumniWriters about communism
  1. Averroes

    Melvyn Bragg discusses the philosopher Averroes who worked to reconcile the theology of Islam with the rationality of Aristotle, achieving both fame and infamy.

    5 October 2006

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Amira Bennison, Peter Adamson, Anthony Kenny

     
  2. Avicenna

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Avicenna, among the most important philosophers in the history of Islam.

    8 November 2007

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Peter Adamson, Amira Bennison, Nader El-Bizri

     
  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

    listen ↗

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

     
  4. David Hume

    Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the work of David Hume, the philosopher and leading figure of the Scottish Enlightenment.

    6 October 2011

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Peter Millican, Helen Beebee, James Harris

     
  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

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Quentin Skinner, David Wootton, Annabel Brett

     
  6. Jorge Luis Borges

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and work of the Argentinian master of the short story, Jorge Luis Borges.

    4 January 2007

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Edwin Williamson, Efraín Kristal, Evelyn Fishburn

     
  7. Kierkegaard

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

    20 March 2008

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Jonathan Rée, Clare Carlisle, John Lippitt

     
  8. Lévi-Strauss

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

    23 May 2013

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Adam Kuper, Christina Howells, Vincent Debaene

     
  9. Marcus Aurelius

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life, meditations and reputation of this stoic and philosopher king, who Machiavelli called the last of the 'Five Good Emperors'.

    25 February 2021

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Simon Goldhill, Angie Hobbs, Catharine Edwards

     
  10. 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

    listen ↗

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

     
  11. Popper

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

    8 February 2007

    listen ↗

    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
  12. 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

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Jack Cunningham, Amanda Power, Elly Truitt

     
  13. Rousseau on Education

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Rousseau's ideas on how to educate children so they retain their natural selves and are not corrupted by society.

    10 October 2019

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Richard Whatmore, Caroline Warman, Denis McManus

     
  14. Sartre

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

    7 October 2004

    listen ↗

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

     
  15. 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

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Jonathan Rée, Sarah Hutton, John Cottingham

     
  16. The Buddha

    Melvyn Bragg discusses the life of Siddhartha Gautama, the originator of Buddhism, and examines why his teachings have now become one of the fastest growing religions of the Western world.

    14 March 2002

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Peter Harvey, Kate Crosby, Mahinda Deegalle

     
  17. 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

    listen ↗

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

     
  18. 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

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Ray Monk, Barry Smith, Marie McGinn