A. C. Grayling
Master of the New College of the Humanities and a Supernumerary Fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford
18 episodes
Appears in multiple episodes with: Melissa Lane, Janet Radcliffe Richards, Julian Baggini, Angie Hobbs
Covers topics in categories such as:
Bertrand Russell
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the influential 20th-century British thinker Bertrand Russell, widely regarded as one of the founders of Analytical philosophy.
6 December 2012
Also featuring: Mike Beaney, Hilary Greaves
PhilosophyBritish free speech activistsBritish historians of philosophyEnglish logiciansUniversal basic income writersEuropean democratic socialistsMetaphysics writersMembers of the Order of MeritEnglish anti-fascists19th-century atheistsBritish philosophers of educationEmpiricistsEnglish humanistsFree love advocatesGeorgistsBritish critics of religionsEnglish Nobel laureatesNobel laureates in LiteratureTheorists on Western civilizationBritish political philosophersPhilosophers of social scienceEnglish people of Scottish descentEnglish socialistsEnglish male non-fiction writersConsequentialistsFellows of the Royal SocietyLinguistic turnPhilosophers of sexualityRhetoric theoristsMetaphilosophersPhilosophers of loveEnglish political philosophersCritics of work and the work ethicEnglish people of Welsh descent20th-century atheists20th-century English mathematiciansPresidents of the Aristotelian SocietyUtilitariansBritish atheism activistsWriters about communismLogicians19th-century English essayistsSecular humanistsPhilosophers of economicsIntellectual historians, University of Chicago facultyOntologistsEnglish scepticsFreethought writersCritics of the Catholic Church19th-century English philosophersBritish critics of ChristianityPeople from MonmouthshireAristotelian philosophersJerusalem Prize recipientsPhilosophers of lawEnglish prisoners and detaineesBritish philosophers of languageSet theoristsPhilosophers of technologyBritish consciousness researchers and theoristsPhilosophers of mathematicsBritish philosophers of mind20th-century English philosophers19th-century English mathematiciansAnti-nationalistsPhilosophers of literatureEnglish agnosticsBritish philosophers of culture, English pacifistsWriters about globalizationWriters about religion and scienceFellows of Trinity College, CambridgeEnglish essayistsAnalytic philosophersAcademics of the London School of Economics, British philosophers of scienceWriters about activism and social changeAlumni of Trinity College, CambridgePhilosophers of historyBritish philosophers of religionBritish ethicistsAtheist philosophersUniversity of California, Los Angeles facultyBritish philosophers of logicEnglish political writers19th century20th centuryEconomicsLanguageMathematicsLogic
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the history of logic, the study of reasoning and argument.
21 October 2010
Also featuring: Peter Millican, Rosanna Keefe
William Hazlitt
Melvyn Bragg and guests Jonathan Bate, Uttara Natarajan and AC Grayling discuss the life and works of William Hazlitt.
8 April 2010
Also featuring: Jonathan Bate, Uttara Natarajan
Schopenhauer
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the pessimistic philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer and his extraordinary influence.
29 October 2009
Also featuring: Beatrice Han-Pile, Christopher Janaway
PhilosophyGerman writers on atheismGerman logicians, Kantian philosophersUniversity of Göttingen alumniGerman philosophers of languageGerman philologistsMetaphilosophersPhilosophers of loveGerman philosophers of historyGerman male non-fiction writersPhilosophers of pessimismPhilosophers of logicGerman critics of ChristianityGerman idealistsSimple living advocatesAcademic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin19th-century atheistsPhilosophy writersGerman political philosophersPhilosophers of psychologyCritics of religionsCritical theoristsGerman eugenicistsGerman philosophers of culture19th-century German writersAnti-natalistsGerman monarchistsGerman ethicists, German philosophers of educationGerman philosophers of science19th-century German philosophersTheorists on Western civilizationGerman philosophers of mind, German philosophers of religionCritics of JudaismGerman epistemologistsLogiciansAtheist philosophers19th-century German essayists19th-century German male writersGerman male essayistsOntologistsPhenomenologistsAphoristsPhilosophers of literatureGerman philosophers of art19th centuryGermanyLanguagePsychologyThe Consolations of Philosophy
Melvyn Bragg discusses Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy and asks whether philosophy should lead us toward consolation or lead us from it.
1 January 2009
Also featuring: Melissa Lane, Roger Scruton
Materialism
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Materialism– the philosophical idea that matter constitutes all that exists.
24 April 2008
Also featuring: Caroline Warman, Anthony O'Hear
Common Sense Philosophy
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss 18th century common sense philosophy which involves the most profound questions about human knowledge we are capable of asking.
21 June 2007
Also featuring: Melissa Lane, Alexander Broadie
Mill
Melvyn Bragg discusses the 19th century political philosopher John Stuart Mill and his treatise On Liberty which is one of the sacred texts of liberalism.
18 May 2006
Also featuring: Janet Radcliffe Richards, Alan Ryan
PhilosophyEnglish agnosticsBritish free speech activistsPhilosophers of culturePhilosophers of sexualityEnglish logiciansUK MPs 1865–1868Voting theoristsEnglish libertariansEnglish political philosophersBritish male essayistsEnglish essayistsEuropean democratic socialists19th-century English philosophersScholars of feminist philosophyInfectious disease deaths in FranceHonorary Fellows of the Royal Society of EdinburghBritish socialistsPhilosophy writersPhilosophers of psychologyEnglish feminist writers, English feministsAnglo-ScotsEmpiricistsBritish philosophers of languageUtilitariansEnglish autobiographersBritish philosophers of mindRectors of the University of St AndrewsFellows of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesTheorists on Western civilizationPhilosophers of scienceEnglish non-fiction writersPhilosophers of historyBritish social liberals19th-century English non-fiction writersLogiciansBritish ethicistsBritish political philosophers19th-century English writers19th-century English essayistsBritish philosophers of logicPhilosophers of economicsEnglish political writersEnglish people of Scottish descentEnglish socialistsEnglish male non-fiction writersBritish classical liberal economistsEnglish suffragistsEnglish republicansConsequentialists19th centuryEconomicsLanguageMedicinePsychologyPragmatism
Melvyn Bragg discusses the American philosophy of pragmatism which purported that knowledge is only meaningful when coupled with action.
17 November 2005
Also featuring: Julian Baggini, Miranda Fricker
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
Also featuring: 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 centuryEconomicsGermanyMedicineAbelard and Heloise
Melvyn Bragg discusses the story of Abelard and Heloise, a medieval tale of literature and philosophy, love and scandal in the high Middle Ages.
5 May 2005
Also featuring: Henrietta Leyser, Michael Clanchy
The Mind/Body Problem
Melvyn Bragg discusses the history of thought about the mind/body problem in philosophy. Does the mind rule the body or the body rule the mind? And where does the mind reside?
13 January 2005
Also featuring: Julian Baggini, Sue James
Heroism
Melvyn Bragg discusses what defines a hero, and their place in classical society. Nietzsche, the Romantics, Renaissance idealism and classical tragedy are brought to bear on the age old heroic ideal.
6 May 2004
Also featuring: Angie Hobbs, Paul Cartledge
Duty
Melvyn Bragg discusses duty; the concept that others have a claim over our actions has been at the heart of the history of civilised society.
13 November 2003
Also featuring: Angie Hobbs, Annabel Brett
The Examined Life
Melvyn Bragg discusses what self-examination through philosophy can teach us about living our lives, and where it ranks in our quest for self-knowledge alongside science, the arts and religion.
9 May 2002
Also featuring: Janet Radcliffe Richards, Julian Baggini
Happiness
Melvyn Bragg discusses whether 'happiness' means living a life of pleasure or of virtue. How much does this ancient philosophical debate still define what it means to be happy today?
24 January 2002
Also featuring: Angie Hobbs, Simon Blackburn
Existentialism
Melvyn Bragg discusses existentialism, a twentieth century philosophy of everyday life concerned with the individual, and his or her place within the world.
28 June 2001
Also featuring: Christina Howells, Simon Critchley
Utopia
Melvyn Bragg discusses the history of the concept of Utopia, examines real and fictional examples, and explores why we are as enthralled as ever by the idea of it.
7 October 1999
Also featuring: John Carey