Great Philosophers, The (15 Parts)

Synopsis

An introduction to the history of Western philosophy from the ancient Greeks to the 20th century. Each programme features a contemporary philosopher who discusses influential thinkers and their ideas.
1: Myles Burnyeat, Professor of Ancient Philosophy at Cambridge talks about Plato, the first western philosopher whise written works have survived.
2: Martha Nussbaum, Professor of Classics and Philosophy at Brown University, USA, on Aristotle, who founded logic, biology, botany and many other sciences. Plato’s star pupil and tutor to the young Alexander the Great, his philosophy dominated western thought for many hundreds of years.
3: Anthony Kenny, Master of Balliol College, Oxford, looks at the Middle Ages when philosophy was kept alive by the Church. The great figures of this period included St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas.
4: Bernard Williams, Provost of King’s College, Cambridge, on the philosophy of Descartes. Regarded as the founder of modern philosophy, Descartes introduced into western thought some of the basic assumptions now taken for granted.
5: Anthony Quinton, Chairman of the British Library and formerly president of Trinity College at Oxford, looks at Spinoza and Leibniz, both of whom tried to produce a world-picture in which science and religion could play an uninhibited role.
6: Michael Ayers, Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford, talks about Locke, whose philosophy inspired the French and American revolutions, and George Berkeley, the first great philosopher to react against Locke.
7: John Passmore of the Australian National University on David Hume, who is regarded as the greatest philosopher in the English language. In the eyes of many, he posed basic challenges that have never been answered.
8: Geoffrey Warnock, Principal of Hertford College, Oxford, on Immanuel Kant, who introduced a completely new conception of man’s relationship to time and space.
9: Peter Singer, Professor of Philosophy in Melbourne, on Marx and Hegel, whose thinking gave rise to the modern idea of the organic state, a society planned as a single whole and organised on rational principles.
10: Frederick Copleston, University of London, on Artur Shopenhauer, whose thought has influenced creative artists and who is known as one of the greatest writers of German prose.
11: J P Stern, University of London, on Friedrich Nietzsche, whose ideas responded to the decline in religious values in western civilisation.
12: Looks at modern existentialism and the work of Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger.
13: Sidney Morgenbesser, Columbia University, talks about American pragmatism and its classic texts.
14: A J Ayer discusses Bertrand Russell, famous both as a philosopher and as an activist in political and social causes. Explains how Russell’s pioneering work in mathematical logic influenced the whole of philosophy.
15: John Searle, University of California, Berkeley, on Wittgenstein, who transformed our conception of the role of language in human thinking. His influence now spreads beyond philosophy and continues to grow.

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Video; Videocassette. Standard formats. col. 15 x 45 min.

Year of production

1987

Availability

Sale; 1996 sale: £99.00 (+VAT +p&p) each 1996 sale: £450.00 (+VAT +p&p) series

Notes

Broadcast on BBC2 from 6/9/87.

Subjects

Philosophy

Keywords

history of philosophy

Credits

Producer

Jill Dawson

Cast

Bryan Magee

Sections

Title

Plato

Synopsis

1: Myles Burnyeat, Professor of Ancient Philosophy at Cambridge talks about Plato, the first western philosopher whise written works have survived.

Title

Aristotle

Synopsis

2: Martha Nussbaum, Professor of Classics and Philosophy at Brown University, USA, on Aristotle, who founded logic, biology, botany and many other sciences. Plato's star pupil and tutor to the young Alexander the Great, his philosophy dominated western th

Title

Medieval philosophy

Synopsis

3: Anthony Kenny, Master of Balliol College, Oxford, looks at the Middle Ages when philosophy was kept alive by the Church. The great figures of this period included St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas.

Title

Descartes

Synopsis

4: Bernard Williams, Provost of King's College, Cambridge, on the philosophy of Descartes. Regarded as the founder of modern philosophy, Descartes introduced into western thought some of the basic assumptions now taken for granted.

Title

Spinoza and Leibniz

Synopsis

5: Anthony Quinton, Chairman of the British Library and formerly president of Trinity College at Oxford, looks at Spinoza and Leibniz, both of whom tried to produce a world-picture in which science and religion could play an uninhibited role.

Title

Locke and Berkeley

Synopsis

6: Michael Ayers, Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford, talks about Locke, whose philosophy inspired the French and American revolutions, and George Berkeley, the first great philosopher to react against Locke.

Title

Hume

Synopsis

7: John Passmore of the Australian National University on David Hume, who is regarded as the greatest philosopher in the English language. In the eyes of many, he posed basic challenges that have never been answered.

Title

Kant

Synopsis

8: Geoffrey Warnock, Principal of Hertford College, Oxford, on Immanuel Kant, who introduced a completely new conception of man's relationship to time and space.

Title

Hegel and Marx

Synopsis

9: Peter Singer, Professor of Philosophy in Melbourne, on Marx and Hegel, whose thinking gave rise to the modern idea of the organic state, a society planned as a single whole and organised on rational principles.

Title

Schopenhauer

Synopsis

10: Frederick Copleston, University of London, on Artur Shopenhauer, whose thought has influenced creative artists and who is known as one of the greatest writers of German prose.

Title

Nietzsche

Synopsis

11: J P Stern, University of London, on Friedrich Nietzsche, whose ideas responded to the decline in religious values in western civilisation.

Title

Husserl, Heidegger and modern existentialism

Synopsis

12: Looks at modern existentialism and the work of Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger.

Title

American pragmatists, The: C S Peirce, William James, John Dewey

Synopsis

13: Sidney Morgenbesser, Columbia University, talks about American pragmatism and its classic texts.

Title

Frege, Russell and modern logic

Synopsis

14: A J Ayer discusses Bertrand Russell, famous both as a philosopher and as an activist in political and social causes. Explains how Russell's pioneering work in mathematical logic influenced the whole of philosophy.

Title

Wittgenstein 1

Synopsis

15: John Searle, University of California, Berkeley, on Wittgenstein, who transformed our conception of the role of language in human thinking. His influence now spreads beyond philosophy and continues to grow.

Production Company

Name

BBC Television

Distributor

Name

BBC Active Video for Learning - now BBC Learning

Contact

Carolina Fernandez Jeremy Wilcox (CF - for educational enquiries JW - channel sales manager)

Email

BBCStudiosLearning@bbc.com

Web

https://www.bbcstudioslearning.com/ External site opens in new window

Phone

+44 (0) 20 8433 1009

Address

BBC Studios Limited
Television Centre
101 Wood Lane
London
W12 7FA
UK

Notes

The BBC Active company has now been absorbed within BBC Learning, a division of BBC Studios. It was originally a joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Pearson Education. Formerly known as ‘BBC Worldwide Learning Studies’ and before that as ‘Videos for Education & Training’