philosophy bites

Peter Adamson on Avicenna's Flying Man Thought Experiment

Are we simply material beings? Do we have an immaterial soul? Can we know this? These questions have vexed philosophers for millenia. Avicenna, who was born in the 10th Century believed he could show that we are not simply physical through a thought experiment, the Flying Man. Peter Adamson discusses this idea with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. 

Listen to Peter Adamson on the Flying Man Thought Experiment

Listen to an earlier interview with Peter Adamson on Avicenna on God

Listen to an earlier interview with Peter Adamson on Plotinus on Evil

Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

Peter Adamson has his own podcast History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

Melissa Lane on Plato and Sustainability

What can the ancients teach us about sustainability? According to Melissa Lane of Princeton University, author of Eco-Republic, quite a lot. She discusses the relevance of Plato to modern environmental problems in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

Listen to Melissa Lane on Plato and Sustainability

Listen to an earlier Philosophy Bites interview with Melissa Lane on Rousseau and Modern Society

Listen to an earlier Philosophy Bites interview with Melissa Lane on Plato and Totalitarianism

Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

M.M. McCabe on the Paradox of Inquiry

In Plato's dialogue The Meno, Socrates presents an apparent paradox that makes our ability to learn anything new puzzling. M.M. McCabe discusses this apparent paradox and its relevance in this episode of Philosophy Bites.

Listen to MM McCabe on the Paradox of Inquiry

Raymond Tallis on Parmenides

Parmenides was possibly the greatest of the pre-Socratic philosophers. Raymond Tallis, author of a recent book on this philosopher, The Enduring Significance of Parmenides, discusses his ideas and influences with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

Listen to Raymond Tallis on Parmenides

Read Raymond Tallis' article on Parmenides from Prospect

Roger Crisp on Virtue

What is a virtue? Is ethics a matter of cultivating appropriate virtues, patterns of behaviour prized by particular people at a particular time? Roger Crisp discusses the nature of virtue in this interview with Nigel Warburton for the Philosophy Bites podcast.

Listen to Roger Crisp on Virtue

MM McCabe on Socratic Method

What is Socratic Method and does it have any present day applications? In this interview for Philosophy Bites MM McCabe explains the significance of Socrates' impertinent questioning and contrasts his approach with present day university teaching.

Listen to M.M. McCabe on Socratic Method

Alex Neill on the Paradox of Tragedy

In this Philosophy Bites interview Alex Neill addresses the question of whether there really is a paradox of tragedy. How is it that we can enjoy tragedies when they show pain and suffering? He also considers the related question of how we can take pleasure in horror movies.

Listen to Alex Neill on The Paradox of Tragedy

Peter Adamson on Plotinus on Evil

Plotinus, who lived in the 3rd Century A.D. was the founder of neo-platonism. In this episode of Philosophy Bites Peter Adamson of Kings' College London explains what Plotinus had to say about evil. As will become clear, for Plotinus the Problem of Evil was quite different from the contemporary discussion of the topic.

Listen to Peter Adamson on Plotinus on Evil

Melissa Lane on Plato and Totalitarianism

Was Plato's ideal state a totalitarian one? Karl Popper, thought so, and made his case in The Open Society and Its Enemies. Melissa Lane, author of Plato's Progeny discusses Popper's critique of Plato in this episode of Philosophy Bites.

Listen to Melissa Lane on Plato on Totalitarianism

Angie Hobbs on Plato on War

Is war inevitable, given the human condition? What causes human agression? For Plato's Socrates it comes from innate tendencies nurtured in the wrong way. And that's where war comes from. Angie Hobbs gives a fascinating introduction to this aspect of Plato's Republic in this episode of Philosophy Bites.

Listen to Angie Hobbs on Plato on War

Other Audio Resources

Listen to why Angie Hobbs thinks Plato the greatest of all philosophers

Listen to Angie Hobbs on Plato on Erotic Love (an earlier episode of Philosophy Bites)

Listen to Angie Hobbs discussing Socrates on In Our Time

Article by Angie Hobbs on Plato on War
Forthcoming in Maieusis edited by Dominic Scott (see below) a collection of pieces by eminent classics scholars in honour of the work of Myles Burnyeat.

Listen to Myles Burnyeat on Aristotle on Happiness (an earlier episode of Philosophy Bites)