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

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CultureHistoryPhilosophyReligionOntologistsSocial philosophersFellows of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesPhilosophy writersPhilosophers of literatureTheorists on Western civilizationPhilosophers of historyWriters about activism and social changeMetaphysiciansPhilosophers of culturePhilosophers of religionPhilosophers of scienceEnlightenment philosophersMembers of the American Philosophical SocietySonneteersEpistemologistsAge of EnlightenmentAphoristsCritics of the Catholic ChurchPhilosophers of educationWriters about religion and scienceAtheist philosophersGerman male non-fiction writersPhilosophers of law17th-century English male writers20th-century atheistsNobel laureates in LiteraturePhilosophers of social science18th-century philosophers19th-century German philosophersChristian humanistsExistentialistsForeign associates of the National Academy of SciencesJewish philosophersMetaphilosophersPantheistsPhilosophers of economicsPhilosophers of mathematicsPhilosophers of 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translatorsAlumni of Trinity College, CambridgeAncient Roman philhellenesBisexual male writersBritish ethicistsBritish political philosophersClassical humanistsCritical theoristsCritics of JudaismCritics of atheismDeist philosophersEnglish philosophersEnglish physicistsEnglish political philosophersFellows of the British AcademyFreethought writersFrench Nobel laureatesFrench epistemologistsFrench literary criticsFrench philosophers of artFrench sociologistsGerman Marxist writersLibertarian socialistsMetaphor theoristsPeople with post-traumatic stress disorderPhilosophers of pessimismRoman pharaohs13th-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 mysticsAcademic staff of the Collège de FranceAction theoristsAlchemists of the medieval 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Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom, Writers from Vienna20th-century British non-fiction writers20th-century French dramatists and playwrights20th-century French male writers20th-century French memoirists20th-century letter writersAcademics of the London School of Economics, British philosophers of scienceAeliiAnti-imperialistsArabic-language commentators on AristotleAsceticsAugurs of the Roman EmpireAustrian people of Jewish descent, Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War IBaruch SpinozaBertrand Russell Professors of PhilosophyBisexual military personnelBlind poetsBritish critics of ChristianityBritish male non-fiction writersBritish social liberalsCatholic clergy scientistsChristian anarchists, Nonviolence advocatesChristian vegetariansClassical-period composersCommanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of GermanyContinental philosophersConverts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism, Romantic philosophersCorresponding fellows of the British AcademyCritics of MarxismCritics of political economyEconomic historians, German sociologistsEnglish alchemistsEnglish theologiansEnglish translators, Medieval orientalistsExistentialist theologiansFellows of the Royal Society of ArtsFree love advocatesFrench Marxists, French anti-war activistsFrench biographers, French ethicistsFrench essayistsFrench magazine foundersFrench scientists with disabilitiesGerman anti-capitalists, German socialist feminists, Jewish communistsGerman writers on atheismGrammarians of LatinIranian ethicists, Iranian logiciansJewish ethicistsJewish historiansJewish translators of the BibleJourney to the West charactersLGBTQ mathematicians, LGBTQ philosophersLinguists from FranceMaterialistsMedieval Iranian pharmacologists, Transoxanian Islamic scholarsMembers of the International Workingmen's AssociationMembers of the Order of the Companions of HonourMusic theorists of the medieval Islamic worldNerva–Antonine dynastyOrdinary language philosophyPeople from Córdoba, SpainPeople of the Scottish EnlightenmentPhilosophers from al-AndalusPhilosophers of identityPhilosophers of nihilismPhilosophical anthropologyPostmodern writers, Recipients of the Legion of HonourProto-evolutionary biologistsRoman-era Stoic philosophersRussian anarchistsRussian male journalistsScholars of antisemitismSecular humanistsSkeptic philosophersSpanish-language poetsSupernatural beings identified with Christian saintsThe 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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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

     
    PhilosophyBritish political philosophersEpistemologistsCambridge University Moral Sciences ClubForeign associates of the National Academy of SciencesTheorists on Western civilizationBritish ethicistsPhilosophers of logicKnights BachelorLogiciansPresidents of the Aristotelian SocietySocial philosophersPhilosophers of technologyRationalistsAristotelian philosophersPhilosophers of economicsWriters about religion and scienceWriters about globalizationBritish philosophers of educationBritish social liberalsRecipients of the Austrian Decoration for Science and ArtBritish male non-fiction writersPhilosophers of culturePhilosophers of mathematicsBritish historians of philosophyJewish agnosticsAcademics of the London School of Economics, British philosophers of scienceCritics of religions20th-century British philosophers20th-century Austrian philosophers, Austrian agnostics, Austrian essayists, Austrian logicians, British agnostics, British logicians, British people of Austrian-Jewish descent, Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom, Writers from ViennaOntologistsPhilosophers of mindRecipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)MetaphysiciansJewish philosophersPolitical philosophersPhilosophers of religionBritish consciousness researchers and theoristsJewish ethicistsMembers of the Order of the Companions of HonourWriters about activism and social change20th-century British essayistsCritics of MarxismPhilosophers of historyFellows of the British AcademyMetaphysics writersBritish male essayists
  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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    Featuring: Ray Monk, Barry Smith, Marie McGinn