Political concepts
Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of laws by authority: what they are, if they are needed, what makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect, what form it should take, what the law is, and what duties citizens owe to a legitimate government, if any, and when it may be legitimately overthrown, if ever.
3 episodes
Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:
Freedom
Melvyn Bragg discusses what it is to be free, how freedom became such a powerful value and whether there is such a thing as natural freedom or if it is always culturally defined.
4 July 2002
Featuring: John Keane, Bernard Williams, Annabel Brett
Progress
Melvyn Bragg examines whether while mankind has grown in years and knowledge, it has also progressed in terms of happiness and a truer understanding of the human condition.
18 November 1999
Featuring: Anthony O'Hear, Adam Phillips
PhilosophySocial theoriesConcepts in aestheticsPhilosophical schools and traditionsConcepts in epistemologyVirtueOntologyConcepts in metaphysicsPhilosophy of lifeAnthropologySocial conceptsEthical principlesTheories of historyEpistemology of scienceHuman evolutionPolitical conceptsPhilosophy of historyPolitical scienceProgressThe Social Contract
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Social Contract. A key idea in political philosophy, it states that political authority is held through a contract with those to be ruled.
7 February 2008
Featuring: Melissa Lane, Susan James, Karen O'Brien