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A History of Ideas

by BBC Radio 4

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Latest episodes

Neuropsychologist Paul Broks on Wittgenstein

August 7, 2015 · 13 min

Paul Broks looks at the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein and the problem of "other minds". How do I know you are not a zombie who behaves like a human but actually has no consciousness? Even if you are conscious, how can I tell that what I…
Philosopher Clare Carlisle on Reality and Perception

August 6, 2015 · 13 min

If a tree falls in a forest and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound? That's the kind of head-scratching question that's popularly believed to occupy the time and brains of philosophers. It relates to the ideas of immaterialism…
Physicist Tara Shears on Falsification

August 5, 2015 · 13 min

Science is based on fact, right? Cold, unchanging, unarguable facts. Perhaps not, says physicist Tara Shears. Tara is more inclined to follow the principles of the Anglo-Austrian philosopher, Karl Popper. He believed that human knowledge…
Lawyer Harry Potter on Eyewitness Testimony

August 4, 2015 · 13 min

Barrister Harry Potter asks whether we can believe the evidence of our own eyes. It's a vital question for the justice system today and Harry traces it back to the work of 18th century Philosopher David Hume. Hume, a key figure in the…
How Can I Know Anything at All?

August 3, 2015 · 13 min

A history of ideas. Presented by Melvyn Bragg but told in many voices. Each week Melvyn is joined by four guests with different backgrounds to discuss a really big question. This week he's asking 'How can I know anything at all?' Helping…

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Writer Lisa Appignanesi on the Love of Children

July 31, 2015 · 13 min

How should we love our children? Can we build on the feelings we experience when we see them for the first time, raise them by instinct and personal principles or should we consult the childcare gurus of the internet and the…
Psychotherapist Mark Vernon on Freud

July 30, 2015 · 13 min

What is love? Psychotherapist Mark Vernon looks at Freud's ideas on the Greek god Eros, which he saw as a kind of life force running through us, shaping our desires and passions Freud is often thought of as reducing everything to sex, but…
Theologian Giles Fraser on Altruism

July 29, 2015 · 13 min

Giles Fraser discusses gene theory versus altruism with playwright Tom Stoppard whose play The Hard Problem explores the extent to which our genes dictate human acts of love and kindness, and Armand Leroi, the evolutionary biologist who…
Classicist Edith Hall on Aristophanes in Plato

July 28, 2015 · 13 min

In 416BC the Greek playwright Aristophanes went to a drinking party. The guests included many famous Athenians, including Socrates, and all of them delivered a speech about love. Aristophanes' speech, says presenter Edith Hall, is 'quite…
What Is Love?

July 27, 2015 · 13 min

A history of ideas. Presented by Melvyn Bragg but told in many voices. Each week Melvyn is joined by four guests with different backgrounds to discuss a really big question. This week he's asking 'What is Love?'. Helping him answer it are…
Philosopher Timothy Secret on Ancestor Worship

July 24, 2015 · 13 min

If we're to live well together we must first learn to live well with the dead, says Timothy Secret. At traditional Chinese funerals money, and sometimes paper effigies of goods like washing machines and aeroplanes are burned so that the…
Philosopher Angie Hobbs on Plato's Philosopher Kings

July 23, 2015 · 13 min

Professor Angie Hobbs asks if the key to harmonious living could be found in Plato's Republic where he proposes that the ideal state be run by philosophers and not by those who seek power for their own ends. Producer: Maggie Ayre.