Mental Floss

Melvyn Bragg: In Our Time – Analytic and Continental Philosophy

Dec 12

British broadcaster and author Melvyn Bragg hosts one of the most invigorating BBC Radio 4 discussion programmes titled ‘In Our Time‘. Over 500 episodes now, Lord Bragg and his various discussion guests engage with the history of ideas, across the plural and complex domains of culture, history, philosophy, religion, science and politics. In this episode of ‘In Our Time’ Bragg and his guests discuss the Analytic-Continental split in Western philosophy. The Analytic school favours a logical, scientific approach, in contrast to the Continental emphasis on the importance of time and place. They go on to discuss the origins of this split and poses queries as to whether it is possible for contemporary philosophers to bridge the gap. The guests for this episode are: Dr. Stephen Mulhall of New College, University of Oxford, Dr. Beatrice Han-Pile of the University of Essex and Dr. Hans Johann-Glock of the University of Zurich.

Niall Ferguson: The Ascent of Money – A Financial History of the World

Oct 29

Niall Ferguson, is Professor of History at Harvard University, and in 2008, post meltdown, he published a critically acclaimed book titled “The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World”. This was happily adapted for television by Channel 4 and PBS in which Ferguson himself takes the audience through an engaging, and somewhat entertaining journey through time and space tracing the power that finance holds on all our lives. From ancient Mesopotamia to present day Memphis, Ferguson argues, that financial history is the essential back story to all histories. Credit and debt, the bond market, the stock market, insurance, mortgages and more come your way.

Western Philosophy (2002)

Oct 09

Populated with a mixed bag of experts, with competencies ranging from ancient philosophy and religious thought to more contemporary philosophical ideas and problems, ‘Western Philosophy’ chooses to trace the evolution of (western) philosophy from classical Greece, its development in Europe through the medieval period and the enlightenment into modern existentialist thought. This audio-visual asks ‘what is philosophy, why it is important’, and examines its intricate relationship with religion, spirituality, and the sciences. Has its moments and misses – probably not a bad way to spend three hours of your precious time. Or should I say, being and time. Split into three parts.

Pierre Bourdieu: Sociology is a Combat Sport

Sep 21

‘La sociologie est un sport de combat’ was how Pierre Bourdieu stated it. My first brush with Bourdieu was through the articulation of ‘cultural capital’ and ‘symbolic violence’. It is quite a challenge to engage with the ‘Bourdieuesque’ deployment of language – complex constructions and almost a maze-like language interface. But, it is all worth the while. Apart from being a prolific ‘sociological genius’, what strikes me most is that he became, through his ‘combat sport’, an inspiration for so many movements opposed to neo-liberalism and globalisation in France and elsewhere. His legacy of social concern lives on, and the world is better for that.

Ludwig Wittgenstein: Faith and Language

Sep 05

Wittgenstein in many ways opened quite a few vistas for me to re-examine my epistemological and existential bearings. The first excerpt here from 1984 gives a rather crisp and lucid account of Wittgenstein’s ‘reliogiosity’ and his piercing contemplation of the notion of Faith-God. The second excerpt (Bryan Magee in conversation with Professor Anthony Quinton) provides a glimpse into his central and important philosophy of language, both the pragmatic view of language as well as the logical view. The first excerpt is split into two parts and the second excerpt is split into five.

Bertrand Russel: Face to Face. March 4th, 1959.

Aug 16

In 1959, as part of the BBC series “Face to Face”, the influential mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russel had an engaging conversation with John Freeman, touching on various aspects of his professional and personal life. Russel comes across as a particularly ‘like-able’ human being, with an abiding mistrust of human war making and hate mongering, and according to him “… love is wise, hatred is foolish. In this world which is getting more closely and closely interconnected we have to learn to tolerate each other, we have to learn to put up with the fact that some people say things that we don’t like. We can only live together in that way and if we are to live together and not die together we must learn a kind of charity and a kind of tolerance which is absolutely vital to the continuation of human life on this planet.” A timely message from back in time for these times of strife and hate.

Carl Gustav Jung: An Extraordinary Journey. 1957

Aug 10

In this candid 1957 interview, conducted just four years prior to his death, influential thinker and founder of analytical psychology Carl Jung discusses his remarkable life and career – from early work with Sigmund Freud and Jung’s break with psychoanalysis to his groundbreaking explorations of the dream world. Guided by insightful interviewer Richard I. Evans, this conversation is at once an intimate self-portrait and a unique commentary on the scope and meaning of his life’s work.

Herbert Marcuse and the Frankfurt School. 1978

Jul 30

In this rare televised broadcast from February 2, 1978, the philosopher and political theorist Herbert Marcuse explains how the Frankfurt School re-evaluated Marxism when world economic crisis failed to destroy capitalism as predicted by Marx. He also analyses the philosophical roots of the student rebellions of the sixties. Its intruiging to see Marcuse explain his philosophical and political positioning. (Split into five parts. Language is English.)

Judith Butler, Gender Theorist

Jul 18

Judith Butler is the Maxine Elliot professor in the departments of rhetoric and comparative literature at the University of California, Berkeley and this 2006 ‘bio-pic’ by Paule Zajdermann (for German French TV Channel ‘arte’) gives a perspective on her intellectual life and her influential thought. This includes interviews and sections of her lectures. (in English and French with French subtitles | split into six parts). The voice-over is in French (without subtitles), but thankfully its brief, and, she speaks in English (with a bit of German). Sync problem with part four, just listen in.

Anthony Giddens lectures at the USC Annenberg: On Globalization

Jul 11

‘Globalization and Communication’ is what Anthony Giddens lectures about in this recording from 2008 at the USC Annenberg. A sociologist of considerable repute and a prolific author to boot, Giddens talks about the impact and debate of globalization, calling it the single most important debate of the beginning of this century. He also considers this as one of many debates pointing to the dislocation with the enlightenment project. Includes a Q & A with a pointer to India as well. Give it a listen, accept OR reject him.