Philosophy Radio

This site contains or links to recordings of radio programmes on philosophical themes. Most are in realaudio format, so you'll need Realplayer to play them (to download realplayer, click here)

I've stopped updating this site so there may be broken links etc - if you want to take over maintaining it then please e-mail me

If you enjoy this site then you should take a look at Philosophy Talk, an excellent new radio show from Stanford University, and ABC Radio National's 'The Philosopher's Zone', both of which have new programmes every week and serve to make this site a bit redundant. You might also want to check The BBC's In Our Time series.

Epistemology

Is the Visual World A Grand Illusion?
Can we belive what we see, or could the visual world be illusory?

Undercurrents: Knowledge
AC Grayling, AS Byatt, Charlie Leadbetter and Sadie Plant Discuss knowing everything and nothing.


Ethics

Bioethics
A programme about the main issues in bioethics

The Body as a Moral Battleground
Janet Radcliffe Richards and others consider the status of the body in morality

The Connection: Ethics and Morality
Tim Scanlon and Ralph Wedgwood discuss what's good and what's right

Greed
Peter Singer talks about greed

Human Rights
An examination of the concept of human rights with Micheal Ignatieff and Helena Kennedy

Humanity
Jonathan Glover chronicles the moral history of the 20th Century

Is Lying Always Bad?
Two professors of philosophy discuss the ethics of lying

Man and Beast
A panel including philosopher Roger Scruton look at the ethics of our relationship with animals

The Moral Animal
A discussion of the relationship between the biological and moral realms

The Origins of Value
Where do our moral values come from? Culture, Religion, Nature - or none of these? Kenan Malik investigates

The origins of virtue
Matt Ridley considers what evolution can tell us about being good

Philosophy's Conception of Evil
Two philosophers discuss how to define 'evil'

Friv

Punishment
Jeffrie Murphy examines theories of punishment and the importance of repentance

In Our Time: Duty
Angie Hobbs,  Annabel Brett and AC Frayling discuss duty with Melvyn Bragg

In Our Time: Virtue
Galen Strawson, Miranda Fricker and Roger Crisp discuss virtue with Melvyn Bragg

Utilitarianism
A discussion of the philosophy of JS Mill


Philosophy of Mind

Animal Consciousness
John Searle, Herbert Terrace and Patricia Churchland wonder whether other animals are conscious

Antonio Damasio on Consciousness and Emotion
Exploring the role of emotion and subjectivity in consciousness

The Brain and the Inner World
Mark Solms explains why 'neuropsychoanalysis' could be the answer and understanding subjective experience

Can Machines Think?
Two Stanford professors of philosophy discuss whether thought can me mechanised

The Connection: Philosophy of Mind
Patricia Churchland and Antonio Damasio wrestle with the mind/body problem

The Connection: Freedom and Free Will
Simon Blackburn and Susan Wolf decide whether the will is free or determined

Consciousness
Daniel Dennett, David Chalmers and others give an overview of consciousness studies

Considering Consciousness
An inteview with Antonio Damasio about Consciousness

Emotion, Cognition and Consciousness
An interdisciplinary look at the science of consciousness

How the Brain Creates the Self
What is the relationship between the brain and human consciousness? Dr. Todd Feinberg attempts an answer

How the Mind Works
Stephen Pinker elaborates on his book

Human Consciousness
Antonio Damasio talks about his book "The Feeling of what Happens: Body and Emotion in the Making of Consciousness"

Looking For Spinoza
Antonio Damasio discusses the life and times of Spinoza, and his prescient views on the mind

Mysteries of the Mind
Patricia Churchland considers them

Science of Consciousness
Susan Greenfield explains how scientists are plotting the connections in the brain, looking for the elusive place where the self resides.

In Our Time: The Soul
Changing conceptions of 'the soul' from Plato to Descartes

Undiscovered Mind
John Horgan Reveals his scepticism regarding what we can know about the mind


Philosophy of Language

Language and Thought
Two scientists and a philosopher attempt to untangle the relationship between language and thought

Origins of Language
How did language arise?


Philosophy of Science

Boundaries of Science
A discussion of how science determines what is worthy of study

 The Connection: Science
Richard Rorty and Daniel Dennett debate whether science really tells us anything about reality

Pseudoscience
James Randi talks about pseudoscience

Rhetoric and Science
A discussion of the relationship between science and language

Science and the "Unknowable"
How does Science contend with what it cannot know?

Science and Religion
Are "faith" and "reason" mutually exclusive?

Science and Religion
Does science make belief in God untenable?

Science, Reason and Genetics
Richard Dawkins talks about how he sees beauty in science

The Immutable Laws of Science
A professor of philosophy and a professor of physics discuss the idea of a 'Law' of nature.

Thomas Kuhn and Scientific Revolutions
Thomas Kuhn's contribution to the philosophy of science is discussed by Daniel Garber, Eliene Augenbraun and Sloan Wilson


Philosophy of Religion

Atheism
James Randi explains the arguments for atheism

Atheists and Secular Humanists
Atheism, agnosticism, secular humanism, free-thinkers and skeptics - a look at a set of beliefs that are often misunderstood and occasionally vilified

The Connection: The God Problem
Hilary Putnam and Alvin Plantiaga discuss God's existence or non-existence

Why I Am a Secular Humanist
Steven Fesmire talks about his unbelief

Why I am a Theist
Philosopher John Haldane talks about his beliefs


Philosophy of Life

The Connection: Love
What is love and why do we need it? Martha Nussbaum considers this question

Can a person really change?
Christopher Phillips hosts a symposium on this subject

The Connection: The Examined Life
Cornel West describes the philosophical life

In Our Time: The Examined Life
Where does philosophy rank in our quest for self-knowledge alongside science, the arts and religion?

In Our Time: Happiness
Philosophical theories of happiness from antiquity to the enlightenment are discussed by Angela Hobbs, Simon Blackburn and AC Grayling

Happiness
Mark Kingwell, author of "Better Living: In Pursuit of Happiness from Plato to Prozac" talks to Ray Suarez

Happiness, Death and the Remainder of Life Programme One, Programme Two)
Jonathan Lear analyses the meaning of life in two programmes

The Consolations of Philosophy
Alain de Botton describes his idea of philosophy as a guide to happiness


Political Philosophy

Bad Luck
Three philosophers examine bad luck, particularly its implications for political theories of justice

The Connection:  Justice
Bernard Williams and Michael Sandel examine Justice

In Our Time: Freedom
Bernard Williams, John Keane and Annabelle Brett explore the relationship between personal freedom and political liberty in the history of philosophy

The Influence of Karl Marx
A philosopher, a sociologist and a literary theorist look at the lasting influence of Karl Marx

The Intersection of Philosophy and Politics
What role does philosophy play in political life?

John Rawls
The principles of a principled man. Remembering John Rawls with Michael Sandel and Thomas Nagel

Nozick and Bordieau
Jonathan Rée compares the political philosophies of Roberk Nozick and Pierre Bordieau

Theories of Justice
The merits of different theories of justice are discussed by two philosophers


Aesthetics

The Aesthetic of Beauty
Gretchen Helfrich and guests examine the renewal of interest in beauty.

The Return of Beauty
Elaine Scarry, Professor of Aesthetics at Harvard University, Moshe Safdie and Bill Beckley ponder the 'value of all values'


Philosophers

Speaking of Socrates
In Plato's dialogues, the philosopher Socrates is his mouthpiece. Four scholars get together to talk about this ancient Greek dynamic duo.

Socrates
Martha Nussbaum joins Christopher Lydon to explore Socrates' Examined life and its legacy

Confucius
Examining the philosophy of Confucious

Spinoza
Professor Harry Kroto explores his abiding belief in humanism and passion for the philosophy of Benedict Spinoza

David Hume
Sue Clark kicks off an occasional All in the Mind series on big thinkers about the wilderness of the human mind. This week, Scottish born David Hume.

Voltaire & Rosseau
Arthur Smith visits the Jura region of France, where 18th Century philosophes Volataire and Rosseau both lived

Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine. American revolutionary, everyman’s philosopher or filthy atheist? The legacy of the man who gave Americans Common Sense

Nietzsche
Nietzsche links with the Fascism are analysed

Kierkegaard
A discussion about the philosophy of Kierkegaard

The Metaphysical Club
The pragmatic lives and ideas of John Dewey, William James and Oliver Wendell Holmes are discussed with author Louis Menand

Karl Marx
Marx's biographer Francis Wheen considers his life and philosophy

Wittgenstein
The Life and Philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein are discussed by Ray Monk, Barry Smith and Marie McGinn

Better than the Stars
An audio portrait of Cambridge philosopher Frank Ramsey

Ayn Rand
Discussing the American philosopher

The Life and Philosophy of W.V.O. Quine
Richard Rorty and Alexander George look at Quine's contrubution to 20th century philosophy

Donald Davidson Obituary
Richard Rorty is interviewed about his friend Donald Davidson

Elizabeth Anscombe
Phillipa Foot and others remember the life of Elizabeth Anscombe

John Rawls Obiturary
Michael Sandel remembers Harvard philosopher John Rawls, who is regarded as of the most notable political philosophers of the 20th century


Interviews with philosophers

John Searle
John Searle is interviewed about his life and work

Peter Singer
Controversial philosopher Peter Singer talks about his ethical theories

Ted Honderich
Ted Honderich discusses his kind of life


General Philosophy / Philosophical Method

Deconstruction
Stanley Fish explains deconstruction

Nihilism
Thomas Hibbs says there's 'nothing to it'

Philosophy From Socarates to Sienfeld
Philosophy from Socrates to Wittgenstein, with a short detour through pop culture. Also, philosophy's next great frontier: the brain

Pragmatism
The pragmatic school of philosophy is discussed by Richard Rorty, Hilary Putnam and James Conant

Rethinking 25 Centuries of Philosophy
George Lakoff explains why he thinks that neuroscience has proven philosophical method to be flawed

Socratic enquiry
Christopher Phillips gives his view of the Socratic method

Upheavals of Thought
Martha Nussbaum argues that the emotions should be given a bigger role in philosophy


Contemporary Philosophy

New Millenium Philosophers
What role do philosophers play in contemporary society? Two 21st Century practitioners consider the possibility of philosophy as the new disco...or not

The Perils of Popularisation
Nigel Warburton and Julian Baginni join a debate on some of the issues involved in the popularising of philosophy.

Philosophy for the masses
Tim Scanlon and Lou Marinoff talk about taking philosophy from academia to the public

Philosophy in Public Life
The role of philosophy in the public sphere is discussed by a panel including Martha Nussbaum


Miscellaneous

The Death of Socrates
Socrates' final speech to the Senate before he was sentenced is adapted and performed by Nick Mancuso

Human Machine Distinction
Gretchen Helfrich and guests discuss what makes humans distinct from machines.

Kaliningrad Kant
Stuart Maconie visits Kaliningrad (previously Konisberg), and the grave of it's most famous resident, Immanuel Kant

Philosophy of Humor
Ted Cohen, author of Jokes: philosophical Thoughts on Joking Matters is interviewed by Victoria Lautman

Philosophy of Fashion
Programme about the aesthetics and philosophy of fashion

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