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PODCAST

In the Beginning, there was ... Philosophy.

Friedel Weinert (Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Bradford)

These podcasts are devoted to selected topics in Political Philosophy, and the History and Philosophy of the Natural and Social Sciences. In the Introduction I explain that my starting point is philosophical problems, rather than, say, the history of great thinkers. Each episode of Political Philosophy deals one topical issue: The issue of Power; the notion of (Republican) Liberty and the problem of Social Justice and the contrast between Open and Closed Societies Episodes in History and Philosophy

society & culture philosophy

All Episodes

00:20:33

Episode 13 (A): Thought Experiments, Real Experiments...

In the Beginning, there was ... Philosophy. ·

2024/07/10

Episode 13 (A, B) is devoted to the topic of experiments in science: thought experiments and real experiments. They are as important as grand scientific theories. Part A focuses on thought and real experiments from antiquity to the 17th century. I explain the function of such experiments and discuss some famous examples. How do you 'prove' that the universe if infinite (Archytas of Tarentum, ca 430-345 BC), that the Earth rotates (Aristotle and Galileo) and how do you measure its

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00:16:30

Episode 12: Time Travel and Time Machines

In the Beginning, there was ... Philosophy. ·

2024/04/06

This episode is devoted to the topic of time travel; time travel in a conventional sense, which relies on time machines to travel either into the future or the past. (I do not discuss forms of time travel, which may be permissible by the laws of physics.) It is advisable to separate these two different scenarios. Time travel into the future - as in H. G. Wells's novel The Time Machine - leads to odd situations, giving rise to the opportunity of 'harvesting' future knowledge for its use

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00:23:14

Episode 11: What is Time? Part II

In the Beginning, there was ... Philosophy. ·

2024/04/06

This episode continues the investigation into the nature of time. In particular it introduces two philosophical models of time, which are more in tune with scientific thinking. One is Newton's realist view of time. The other, in direct opposition to Newton, is the relational view of time. It was defended by Gottfried Wilhlem Leibniz (1646-1716) in the 17th century. Modern physics seems to be sympathetic to the relational view, at least according to some textbooks on the theory of relativity. I

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00:31:11

Episode 10: What is Time? Part I

In the Beginning, there was ... Philosophy. ·

2024/04/06

Episodes 10 and 11 are an inquiry into the nature of time. It is so large a topic that I have split it into two parts. The current episode, 10, discusses aspects of the measurement of time and the use of clocks. It is easier to discuss the measurement of time than to deal with the philosophical question of the nature of time. In the current episode, after having argued that clocks need to rely on precise and regular natural processes, I briefly mention some cultural and scientific conceptions of

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00:59:55

Episode 9: What are Scientific Revolutions?

In the Beginning, there was ... Philosophy. ·

2024/04/06

In this episode I look at an important aspect of the history of science, namely the occurrence of scientific revolutions. I start with a brief history of the Scientific Revolution (1543-1687), discussing the contributions of Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo and Newton. Their achievements suggest some useful criteria, which help to understand what a scientific revolution is. I look at Kuhn's work on scientific revolutions but, for the reasons explained, give preference to an alternative model (the

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00:27:54

Episode 8: The Natural and the Social Sciences - a...

In the Beginning, there was ... Philosophy. ·

2024/04/06

In this episode my aim is a comparison of the natural and the social sciences.My purpose is to understand the similarities and dissimilarities between the natural and the social sciences. Their respective remit is to understand the natural and the social world. How do they achieve understanding of their respective areas of research? They both employ explanation and prediction as tools. These are the similarities. But explanation and prediction in the social sciences are not the same as in the

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00:14:32

Episode 7: How to Distinguish Science from Non-Science?

In the Beginning, there was ... Philosophy. ·

2024/04/06

Given the enormous prestige of science, the temptation to call a discipline 'scientific' is understandable; astrology, creationism, Marxism and even psychoanalysis are examples. But how do we distinguish genuine science from pseudo-science? After having defined 'knowledge' I aim to answer this question by proposing some criteria, which should help to draw a line. Traditionally, it was thought that scientific knowledge consists in generalising from the observation of some cases

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00:09:40

Part II (History & Philosophy of Science), Episode 6:...

In the Beginning, there was ... Philosophy. ·

2024/04/06

In this episode, I describe and explain what history and philosophy of science is all about. I like to compare science to a workshop with lots of tools for scientists to understand the natural and the social world. There is of course a lot of mathematics, especially in the hard sciences and economics. They employ theories and models. Scientists also use tools such as explanations, predictions, the laws of nature, theory testing, time and scientific revolutions etc.. But they leave it to philosophers

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00:05:31

Episode 1: What is Political Philosophy?

In the Beginning, there was ... Philosophy. ·

2024/02/06

In this Episode, I define Political Philosophy as an 'investigation into the nature, causes and effects of good and bad government.' I explain what this means and argue that we need Political Philosophy because it constructs conceptual models of fundamental notions - democracy, fairness, freedom, justice - which influence the laws, rules and regulations in society.The next episode - Episode 2 - provides a concrete example, because it introduces and discusses the distinction between open

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00:22:56

Episode 5: Open and Closed Societies

In the Beginning, there was ... Philosophy. ·

2024/02/01

In this episode I discuss the distinction between open and closed societies. Although this distinction dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, it is as topical today as it was 100 years ago. The rise of populism and the impact of social media have made a discussion of this distinction urgent again. And there are still numerous countries around the world, which we would regard as closed. So what is an open, as opposed to a closed society? By which criteria should we call a society 'open' or

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00:37:04

Episode 5: Social Justice

In the Beginning, there was ... Philosophy. ·

2024/01/30

In this episode I concentrate on the notion of social or distributive justice. That is the question of how the social benefits and burdens are to be distributed amongst citizens in a given society. It is one of the fundamental principles which every society must address. The question already occupied the Greeks but I will focus on some modern views. These views attribute to the State various degrees of involvement in the settlement of social justice. I will discuss Nozick's minimal account, John

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00:26:47

Episode 4: Republican Freedom

In the Beginning, there was ... Philosophy. ·

2024/01/30

In this episode I discuss freedom in a political sense, especially republican freedom. This notion was already discussed in antiquity: I begin with a quote from Cicero. But the focus is on republican freedom from the Age of Enlightenment to the present day. I look at the compatibility or incompatibility of republicanism with monarchy and distinguish republican freedom from more liberal views of freedom. I conclude with the question of civil disobedience with reference to the surprisingly modern

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00:22:01

Episode 3: What is Power?

In the Beginning, there was ... Philosophy. ·

2024/01/30

In this episode I address the question of the nature of power. A philosophical enquiry demands answers to a number of questions: How should power be characterised? Who possesses power? And under what circumstances can they resist power? The question can be addressed from various perspectives. I discuss Nietzsche's 'will to power', Foucault's micro-conception of power and Weber's sociological account of power. A consideration of power includes an answer to the question why people

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00:22:47

Episode 2: Open and Closed Societies

In the Beginning, there was ... Philosophy. ·

2024/01/30

The distinction between open and closed societies was first made in the 1930s (Bergson, Popper). Closed societies tend to be traditional, but can be totalitarian in nature. Open societies tend to be democratic in nature. The distinction is as relevant today as it was then. Popper's condemnation of totalitarian societies, in particular, influenced politicians in Europe. The distinction has been taken up and updated by Anthony Giddens and Juergen Habermas. Today, just as then, closed societies

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00:05:40

Introduction

In the Beginning, there was ... Philosophy. ·

2024/01/30

In these podcasts I will concentrate on some topical issues in Political Philosophy, and later in the History and Philosophy of Science. Broadly speaking, Political Philosophy is a social science. So there is a natural transition from issues in Political Philosophy to topics in the Philosophy of Science. The Introduction explains my approach to philosophy. It focuses on philosophical problems - I give some typical examples - and attempts to solve them, rather than on the ideas of the 'great

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35 results

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