Tzvetan Todorov on the Englightenment Today

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Tzvetan Todorov on the Englightenment Today

FromPhilosophy Bites

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Released:

Jan 10, 2010

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

Tzvetan Todorov defends Englightenment values as important for us today in this episode of the philosophy podcast Philosophy Bites.

Released:

Jan 10, 2010

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

top philosophers interviewed on bite-sized topics

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Mary Warnock on Philosophy in Public Life: What can philosophers contribute to public life? Mary Warnock who sits in the House of Lords and has chaired two important commissions discusses how her training in philosophy prepared her for these roles. by Philosophy Bites
13 min listen
Onora O'Neill on Medical Consent: What do we mean by 'consent' in a medical context? Is it reasonable to ask for informed consent before performing medical procedures? Is consent even the most important issue. Onora O'Neill challenges some widely-held assumptions in this area in this... by Philosophy Bites
14 min listen
Jonathan Wolff on Marx on Alienation: Karl Marx's theory of alienated labour is the topic of this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Jonathan Wolff, author of Why Read Marx Today? explains what Marx meant by alienation. He also sheds light on Marx's controversial description of what... by Philosophy Bites
15 min listen
Simon Blackburn on Moral Relativism: Are moral choices simply relative, a matter of culture or taste? Are genuine moral disagreements possible? Should we just tolerate different ways that people choose to live? Nigel Warburton interviews Simon Blackburn on these important... by Philosophy Bites
14 min listen
Stephen Law on The Problem of Evil: What is evil? Is it consistent with the existence of a benevolent God? In this interview Stephen Law gives an original take on this traditional philosophical problem. by Philosophy Bites
14 min listen
Mary Warnock on Sartre's Existentialism: What is existentialism? Is it still relevant to us? Sartre believed that we are free to choose what we make of our lives. Was he right? In this interview for Philosophy Bites Mary Warnock gives her views on Jean-Paul Sartre's existentialism. by Philosophy Bites
12 min listen
Quentin Skinner on Hobbes on the State: What is the state? How do individuals combine to lend legitimate authority to those who act on the state's behalf? These are fundamental questions in political philosophy that Thomas Hobbes addressed in the seventeenth century. In this interview... by Philosophy Bites
18 min listen
Thomas Pink on Free Will: We often blame people for what they do or fail to do. But that implies that they were free to choose whether or not to act in the way they did. At the same time science seems to reveal prior causes of all our actions. There seems little or no room for... by Philosophy Bites
18 min listen
Jennifer Hornsby on Human Agency: What goes on when someone does something deliberately? Jennifer Hornsby discusses this difficult philosophical question with Nigel Warburton in this episode of Philosophy Bites. by Philosophy Bites
11 min listen
Michael Sandel on Genetic Enhancement in Sport: In this bonus episode of Philosophy Bites made in association with the Open University, Michael Sandel addresses the question of whether we should allow genetic enhancement of athletes. Drawing on themes from his recent book, The Case Against... by Philosophy Bites
17 min listen
John Broome on Weighing Lives: How do we weigh lives one against another? Governments frequently have to make life and death decisions that take in to account such issues as the quality of life compared to the length of a life. In this episode of Philosophy Bites John Broome... by Philosophy Bites
14 min listen
Tim Scanlon on Free Speech: In this bonus episode produced in association with the Open University, Tim Scanlon discusses the limits of free speech with Nigel Warburton. A transcript of this episode is available from www.open2.net/ethicsbites/ by Philosophy Bites
17 min listen
Julian Baggini on Thought Experiments: Philosophers often use elaborate thought experiments in their writing. Are these anything more than rhetorical flourishes? Or do they reveal important aspects of the questions under discussion. Julian Baggini, editor of The Philosophers' Magazine and... by Philosophy Bites
12 min listen
G.A. Cohen on Inequality of Wealth: Can differences in income be morally justified? Should we expect rich people to give their money to the poor? G.A. Cohen, author of a book with the provocative title If You're An Egalitarian, How Come You're So Rich? addresses these questions in this... by Philosophy Bites
11 min listen
Donna Dickenson on Body Shopping: Do you own your body? If not, who does? These are important questions in an age in which there is extensive trade in body parts. Donna Dickenson, author of Body Shopping, discusses this issue with Nigel Warburton in this episode of Philosophy Bites. by Philosophy Bites
14 min listen
Janet Radcliffe Richards on Men and Women's Natures: Are men and women different by nature? And if so, what follows? Janet Radcliffe Richards, author of The Sceptical Feminist and Human Nature After Darwin, examines questions about human nature, focusing on John Stuart Mill's important book The... by Philosophy Bites
20 min listen
David Papineau on Physicalism: Are all our thoughts simply physical events in our bodies? Can we give a purely physical account of the conscious human mind? David Papineau believes that we can. In this interview for Philosophy Bites he explains what physicalism is, why he... by Philosophy Bites
16 min listen
Richard Bourke on Edmund Burke on Politics: The eighteenth century thinker and politician Edmund Burke was one of the founders of modern conservativism. In his Reflections on the Revolution in France he attacked the revolution. For this episode of Philosophy Bites Richard Bourke of Queen Mary,... by Philosophy Bites
14 min listen
Chandran Kukathas on Hayek's Liberalism: Friedrich Hayek was a major figure in Twentieth Century economics and political philosophy, but his ideas are sometimes caricatured, not least because Margaret Thatcher approved of his work. Chandran Kukathas explains the key features of his... by Philosophy Bites
13 min listen
Simon Blackburn on Plato's Cave: What is the nature of reality? Is the world as it appears, or is there something timeless behind the world of appearances? Simon Blackburn discusses one of the most famous images in Philosophy: Plato's cave. by Philosophy Bites
14 min listen
John Cottingham on The Meaning of Life: What is the meaning of life? This is a basic question for all of us. There is also the possibility that life has no meaning whatsoever. In this interview John Cottingham explains his vision of the kinds of meaning that we can find in our lives. by Philosophy Bites
14 min listen
Peter Millican on Hume's Significance: David Hume is probably the greatest English-speaking philosopher to date. In this interview for Philosophy Bites. Peter Millican, a Hume specialist, explains why his philosophy was so important. by Philosophy Bites
15 min listen
Peter Singer on Human Use of Animals: In this bonus episode produced in association with the Open University as part of the Ethics Bites series, Peter Singer, perhaps the world's best known living philosopher, discusses how we treat animals. A transcript of this episode is available from... by Philosophy Bites
17 min listen
Robert Rowland Smith on Derrida on Forgiveness: Jacques Derrida, father of deconstructionism, divided philosophers. For some he was a genius; for others a charlatan. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites Robert Rowland Smith defends Derrida's views about the concept of forgiveness. by Philosophy Bites
13 min listen
Peter Adamson on Plotinus on Evil: Plotinus, who lived in the 3rd Century A.D., was the founder of neo-platonism. In this episode of Philosophy Bites Peter Adamson explains what Plotinus had to say about evil. by Philosophy Bites
15 min listen
Melissa Lane on Rousseau on Modern Society: Modern society is for most people synonymous with progress. Not for the eighteenth century thinker Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Rousseau believed that civilization corrupts us in certain ways. Melissa Lane explains Rousseau's views on progress in this... by Philosophy Bites
17 min listen
Anthony Kenny on Aquinas' Ethics: Thomas Aquinas, the thirteenth century Dominican is the subject of this episode of Philosophy Bites. Anthony Kenny explains the key features of Aquinas' ethics in conversation with Nigel Warburton. by Philosophy Bites
14 min listen
Richard Norman on Humanism: How can non-believers make sense of the world? How can there be morality without God? In this episode of Philosophy Bites philosopher Richard Norman explains how it is possible to lead a good life without religion. by Philosophy Bites
11 min listen
Barry C. Smith on Neuroscience: Philosophers of mind have traditionally introspected sitting alone in their rooms. Now new developments in neuroscience are producing surprising results, some of which are relevant to philosophy. Phenomena such as blind sight and mirror neurones... by Philosophy Bites
13 min listen
John Dunn on Locke on Toleration: John Locke, writing in the Seventeenth Century, argued for religious toleration, though stopped short of toleration of atheists. In this episode of the podcast Philosophy Bites, Nigel Warburton interviews Locke expert John Dunn on this topic. by Philosophy Bites
14 min listen

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Tzvetan Todorov on the Englightenment Today

Tzvetan Todorov on the Englightenment Today

Description

Titles in the series (100)

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