Philosophy in the real world

Thought experiments use hypothetical questions to create philosophical dilemmas. 

Nigel Warburton and Professor Anthony Grayling discuss what defines personal identity. 

Philosophy may seem like a theoretical or abstract discipline in which unanswerable questions are debated to the point of tedium. But MIT professor Kieran Setiya believes that philosophical inquiry has a very practical and applicable purpose outside of the classroom — to help gui ...  Show more

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 Phil ...  Show more

Moral and Political Philosophy: how should we live? What constitutes a just state? 

Philosophy can sometimes be an exercise in abstract, "pure" reason, unsullied by the demands of the body or the contingencies of history. But this week we're placing history and corporeality front and centre, with a look at the intimate lives of four eminent philosophers, and ask ...  Show more