Philosophy: The Classics

Is it better to be a happy pig or a sad Socrates? John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism is the topic of this episode of Philosophy: The Classics.

Published in 1859, the same year as Darwin's Origin of Species, John Stuart Mill's On Liberty remains the classic statement of individual freedom. Here I summarise some of its main themes and outline some criticisms that have been made of it.

What is the nature of reality? Why can music be so profound? Are we doomed to suffer or is extended happiness possible? Should we choose a life of asceticism? These are some of the questions that Arthur Schopenhauer addressed in The World as Will and Idea. In this episode of Philosophy: The Classics Nigel Warburton outlines and criticizes Schopenhauer's great book.

What is our relation to reality? Are some features of our experience conditions of our having any experience at all? In this reading from his book Philosophy: The Classics Nigel Warburton attempts to summarise Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, a notoriously difficult yet important book.

How should society be organised? Can you force someone to be free? Jean-Jacques Rousseau's controversial The Social Contract is the subject of this podcast chapter of Nigel Warburton's book Philosophy: The Classics.

Does the apparent design in the natural world point to the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient and benevolent God? In his posthumous Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, perhaps his finest work, David Hume put some devastating criticisms of the Design Argument in the mouths of his characters. Listen to Nigel Warburton reading this summary of the book.

How do we learn about the world? David Hume's answer, like Locke's, was via experience. In this podcast, based on Nigel Warburton's Philosophy: The Classics, outlines Hume's views on a number of issues such as induction, causation, and miracles.

What are the legitimate powers of the State? This is the fundamental question John Locke addressed in his Second Treatise of Civil Government. Nigel Warburton sketches the main features of this work and outlines some criticisms of it in this podcast of a chapter from his book Philosophy: The Classics (3rd ed.)

Is a newborn's mind a blank slate? What makes you the same person that you were several years ago despite bodily changes? These are two central questions that John Locke addressed in his classic work An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Nigel Warburton outlines the key ideas from this book.

What kind of freedom can human beings achieve? Is the mind distinct from the body? Are we and everything in the universe part of God? In this episode of Philosophy: The Classics, Nigel Warburton outlines the key features of Spinoza's great book Ethics.