Men of Ideas S1:E2

An Introduction to Philosophy

Bryan Magee—world-renowned author and professor—and Sir Isaiah Berlin, Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, and biographer of Karl Marx, answer fundamental questions such as "What is philosophy?" "Why does it matter?" and "Why should anybody be interested in it today?".

Marcuse and the Frankfurt School

In this program with world-renowned author and professor Bryan Magee, the late philosopher and radical political theorist Herbert Marcuse explains how the so-called Frankfurt School reevaluated Marxism when world economic crisis failed to destroy capitalism as predicted by Marx. He also analyzes the philosophical roots of the student rebellions of the sixties.

Martin Heidegger and Modern Existentialism

In this program, world-renowned author and professor Bryan Magee and William Barret of New York University examine the basic theory of existentialism as founded by Martin Heidegger, and later propagated by Jean-Paul Sartre. Barret discusses Heidegger’s notions of being, existence as task, cosmic roots, and alienation. Sartre’s concept of absolute human freedom is discussed as having promoted human dignity and individualism in the impersonal modern society.

The Two Philosophies of Wittgenstein

Ludwig Wittgenstein developed two linguistic philosophies: one studies language as a way of giving picture-meanings to objects; the other studies the ways language is used to create different impressions. In this program, world-renowned author and professor Bryan Magee and Oxford professor Anthony Quinton dissect the two philosophies, and discuss their influence on anthropology and sociology.

Logical Positivism and its Legacy

In this program with world-renowned author and professor Bryan Magee, A. J. Ayer, who played a major role in introducing logical positivism to England, explains the movement, its purpose, and its effect on current philosophical trends. Ayer also discusses its founders—members of the Vienna Circle of the 1920s—who based their theories on logic and science.

The Spell of Linguistic Philosophy

In this program, world-renowned author and professor Bryan Magee and Bernard Williams of Cambridge University discuss linguistic philosophy—an offshoot of logical positivism—which argues that sentences can have no meaning beyond that which humans give them because language is a human invention.

Moral Philosophy

Discussion with world-renowned philosopher R. M. Hare on moral philosophy.

The Ideas of Quine

Willard Van Orman Quine of Harvard stands as one of the modern world’s most eminent philosophers. In this rare interview conducted by world-renowned author and professor Bryan Magee, Quine discusses his earlier view of himself as a mathematical logician, and his later interest in philosophy in a more general sense—specifically, regarding metaphysics and the philosophy of language.

The Philosophy of Language

World-renowned author and professor Bryan Magee and Berkeley philosopher of language John Searle discuss the question: "How does language relate to thought and to reality?" Searle explores the use of language to clarify experience as fundamental to the acquisition of knowledge. He then describes the various uses of language in the philosophies of Plato, Descartes, Frege, Mills, and others.

The Ideas of Chomsky

Linguist and political activist Noam Chomsky of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology transformed the nature of linguistics before he was 40. In this program with world-renowned author and professor Bryan Magee, the outspoken Chomsky challenges accepted notions of the way in which language is learned, examines the relationship of language to experience, and discusses the philosophical nature of knowledge.

The Philosophy of Science

In this program, world-renowned author and professor Bryan Magee and Hilary Putnam of Harvard examine current philosophical thought that dismisses the primacy and infallibility of mathematical logic and the scientific method. Modern thinkers, such as Einstein, are credited with introducing interpretive logic into their scientific theories.

Philosophy and Politics

In this program, world-renowned author and professor Bryan Magee and Ronald Dworkin, Professor of Jurisprudence at Oxford, examine how the explosive issues of the 1960s compelled the reassessment of fundamental political ideas, and discuss the effect of this movement on political philosophy at the universities.

Philosophy and Literature

The areas in which philosophy and literature overlap are examined in this program by world-renowned author and professor Bryan Magee and Oxford novelist Iris Murdoch. Style and structure in philosophical writing are compared and contrasted with those in literature. The narrative abilities of Plato, Schopenhauer, and Kant are examined. Philosophy’s predilection for accepting only literature that supports its theories is discussed as a source of antagonism between the two disciplines.

Philosophy: The Social Context

World-renowned author and professor Bryan Magee and London School of Economics professor Ernest Gellner discuss contemporary philosophy, its historical and social backgrounds, and its role in modern society. Gellner examines the radical expansion of scientific knowledge and its dehumanizing effect on society as expressed by sociologist Max Weber. Marxism’s messianic expectation is blamed for its failure to reconstruct society. Gellner dismisses today’s philosophy of relativism as unworkable.