In the Beginning, there was ... Philosophy.
Friedel Weinert (Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Bradford)
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Episode 33 Part II: The Social Functions of Humour
This is the second part of the episode on humour. It looks at the emotional and sociological functions of humour. Humour is a social phenomenon. The most important distinction is that between…
Episode 33 Part I: Four Theories of Humour
Episode 33 is devoted to the question of humour or why we humans laugh. It consists of two parts. Part I discusses the pros and cons of the main theories of humour (Superiority theory; Relief theory;…
Episode 32: Trust: Its Role in Private and Public Life
This his episode consists of two parts. In Part I, I discuss the role of trust in personal relationships - called interpersonal trust. In the second part I consider the role of trust in people's…
Episode 31: What is Stoicism? (Marcus Aurelius)
In this Episode I look at the philosophy of Stoicism, through the eyes of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180 AD). As with so many things, Stoicism goes back to the Greeks; its impact reached…
Episode 30: Schopenhauer on Pessimism
The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) is famous, amongst other things, for his negative outlook on life and human nature. His pessimism was partly due to his experience of human…
Episode 29: Alexander von Humboldt & the Order of Nature
In this Episode, I introduce the life and work of a forgotten hero of science: Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859). In his own time he was such a famous explorer and discoverer that many of his…
Episode 28: Darwin & his Precursors
This episode looks at three pre-Darwinian accounts of the development of organic nature: the Great Chain of Being, Design arguments (Paley) and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's 'transformatism'. All of these…
Episode 27: Scepticism - Why We Doubt
In this episode I introduce a brief history of scepticism, that is the doubt whether we can have any certain knowledge of the external world. I start with the Greek philosopher Sextus Empiricus who…
Episode 26: William of Ockham and his Razor
This episode introduces the life and influential ideas of William of Ockham (1287-1347). He was a controversial figure in his own time and is famous for his principle, known as Ockham's razor. It is…
Episode 25: How dark were the Middle Ages?
There is the rather common view that the Middle Ages were an age of darkness, ignorance and religious intolerance. But how true is this image? This episode introduces the Middle Ages (1000 AD-1543)…
Episode 24: What We Learn from Our Mistakes
This episode discusses scientific mistakes and blunders which have occurred in the history of science. Mistakes may be based on false information or mistaken assumptions, in which case they are…
Episode 23: Popper's Critical Rationalism
Popper's Critical Rationalism consists of two parts: 1) a critical attitude towards science; 2) a critical attitude towards politics. The critical attitude towards science meant that he regarded all…
Episode 22(b): The Enlightenment. Part II: France and Germany.
This episode focuses on the Enlightenment in France and Germany. Whilst it shares the basic Enlightenment ideals, there are national characteristics. In France the Enlightenment was shaped by the…
Episode 22(a): The Enlightenment. Part I: Britain.
The Enlightenment (1688-1804) emerged in three European countries, in rough chronological order in Britain, then France and it ended in Germany. This episode (Part I) starts with a general…
Episode 21: Democracy & Populism
In this Episode I address the question of whether populism poses a danger to a democratic, open society. I define populism as charismatic leadership with a particular vision. I make a distinction…
Episode 20: On Civil Disobedience
In the last episode on Human Rights, I left open the question of whether Civil Disobedience should count as a fundamental human right. A good example of this debate occurs in the film The Great…
Episode 19: On Human Rights
Following on from the last two episodes, which broadly dealt with issues of human freedom and justice, the question of the need for human rights arises naturally. I distinguish civil from human…
Episode 18: Philosophy & the French Revolution
In this episode I briefly describe the events of the French Revolution and then turn my attention to the life and times of two prominent 'engaged philosophers': Voltaire and the Marquis de Condorcet.…
Episode 17: Philosophy & the Glorious Revolution
The next couple of episodes continue Part I on Political Philosophy.The next two episodes will discuss the impact philosophical ideas have had on the social and political world. In the current…
Episode 16: The Freedom of the Will
The question of whether humans enjoy free will (or not) has occupied people for centuries. Science has not yet found a definitive answer but we are all familiar with the phenomenon. When we want…
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In the Beginning, there was ... Philosophy. has published 37 episodes since January 2024, covering topics in Philosophy, Society & Culture.
In the Beginning, there was ... Philosophy. is currently highly active with new episodes monthly. Average episode length is 24m.
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