virtual philosopher

Michael Sandel on Justice - Philosophy Gets Its Virtual Socrates

Michael Sandel's Justice website is a superb example of how academics can use the Internet to reach out to a world audience. Based on his renowned Harvard lecture course, it combines slick recordings of his 12 lectures (first 3 available already via a YouTube link) - which are also being broadcast on public service TV in the States - with associated reading lists, back up material discussion groups, etc. And his new book: Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? Eventually all academics should be able to create resources like this...and the exclusive and insular idea of a University (symbolised by those Oxbridge colleges with high walls and gatekeepers) can evolve. Although he believes the website isn't a full substitute for sitting in that lecture theatre in Harvard, it is as close as most people will get to being there, and certainly one of the most important attempts to bring philosophical debate to a wider audience in recent years. Some of Hubert Dreyfus' worries about virtual learning may still apply, but the experience probably beats what most university students get these days in the lower-ranking colleges.

In the UK, many of us still look back fondly to Bryan Magee's BBC television series 'Men of Ideas' (not a title that would work today) and 'The Great Philosophers' (search 'Bryan Magee' in YouTube for long extracts), but since then, apart from  Michael Ignatieff's interviews with thinkers, philosophy on television hasn't really achieved what it might have done (instead we've got the sugared pill of biographical sketches which tend to play down the ideas, or else philosophy lite, or philosophy as self-help). TED.com's popularity, though, should make those commissioners realize the appeal of dynamic speakers presenting ideas they believe in.

It helps, of course, that Sandel is an excellent communicator, engaging in a quasi-Socratic dialogue with questioners even in a large lecture group. In fact, his presentation is so good, that it is easy to be drawn into his worldview (as an antidote, read Michael Sandel Wants To Talk To You About Justice which includes some interesting pointers about where he is coming from and why some philosophers disagree quite strongly with his approach).

I've interviewed Michael Sandel twice - for the podcasts Ethics Bites and Philosophy Bites

Michael Sandel interview on Genetic Enhancement in Sport

Michael Sandel interview on What Shouldn't Be Sold

Sandel gave the 2009 Reith Lecture Series on the theme of 'A New Citizenship' (basically, the themes from his Justice course). You can listen to all 4 Reith lectures here.

Oxford University interview about Philosophy Bites Podcast

Oxford University, which is launching on iTunesU on 7th October, has interviewed David Edmonds and me about our podcast Philosophy Bites and about podcasting in general for the Oxonians podcast (David is an Oxford graduate, and we have interviewed many Oxford philosophers).

Listen to Oxford University podcast about Philosophy Bites.

Philosophy Bites Podcast: Links to the Most Downloaded Interviews

The Philosophy Bites podcast interviews with philosophers which have been downloaded the most over the last year or so are listed below as links. You can listen to these on your computer or download them as mp3s. They are also all available on iTunes. We have had nearly 1.8 million downloads since we launched this podcast.

1. Simon Blackburn on Plato's Cave
2. John Cottingham on the Meaning of Life
3. Stephen Law on the Problem of Evil
4. Anthony Grayling on Atheism
5. Mary Warnock on Sartre's Existentialism
6. Roger Crisp on Utlitarianism
7. Adrian Moore on Infinity
8. Tim Crane on Mind and Body
9. Anne Phillips on Multiculturalism
10. Barry Smith on Wine
11. Simon Blackburn on Moral Relativism
12. Angie Hobbs on Plato on Erotic Love
13. Alain de Botton on the Aesthetics of Architecture
14. Myles Buryneat on Aristotle on Happiness
15. David Papineau on Physicalism
16. Miranda Fricker on Epistemic Injustice
17. Edward Craig on What is Philosophy?
18. Richard Norman on Humanism
19. Mary Warnock on Philosophy in Public Life
20. Brad Hooker on Consequentialism
21. Hugh Mellor on Time
22. Stewart Sutherland on Hume on Design
23. Quentin Skinner on Hobbes on the State
24. Timothy Williamson on Vagueness
25. Anthony Kenny on his New History of Philosophy

Philosophy Bites - More than 1.5 Million Downloads

Philosophy Bites has been downloaded more than one and a half million times in just over a year!

Listen to the latest episode: Nigel Warburton interviews Will Kymlicka on Minority Rights.

Philosophy Bites One Year Old Today!

We have just posted the 52nd episode of our Philosophy Bites podcast series:

Listen to Chandran Kukathas on Hayek's Liberalism

A year into the series and the download figures are amazing - beyond anything we expected. And we are currently at no. 15 of the US iTunes top 100 podcasts.

Readership of leading UK political magazine, The New Statesman, 26,000
Attendance at today's Liverpool v Manchester City, 43,074
Last week's downloads for Philosophy Bites, 56,633

Podcast on Mill's On Liberty

Richard Reeves, author of a recent biography of John Stuart Mill, is the interviewee on this episode of Philosophy Bites:

Listen to Richard Reeves on Mill's On Liberty

Read 'Mill is Dead White Male with Something to Say'

Philosophy Bites Podcast - Half Century!

We have now posted 50 episodes of Philosophy Bites the series of podcast interviews with top philosophers (also available on iTunes)...if you include the interviews we've released on the Open University sponsored Ethics Bites, the total is 60.

You can subscribe to the RSS feed of Philosophy Bites here.

The 50th episode of Philosophy Bites, posted today, is David Miller on National Responsibility.

The total number of downloads to date is 1,192,071. Thank you to our subscribers and thank you for all the messages of support and encouragement. Thanks too to our excellent contributors.

David Hume WAS an atheist

Hume specialist Peter Millican is the interviewee for the latest episode of Philosophy Bites on the topic of David Hume's Significance. In the course of the interview Peter explains why he believes that Hume died an atheist...

Listen to Peter Millcan on Hume's Significance

For textual evidence of Hume's Atheism, see this post (added April 27th)

Peter Millican has also provided a very detailed linked bibliography on David Hume:

Peter Millican's Bibliography on Hume

My thoughts on Alan Ramsay's portraits of Hume and Rousseau

Philosophy Bites has had more than a million downloads!

Philosophy BItes, the weekly podcast series of interviews with philosophers that I started with David Edmonds less than a year ago has already had more than a million downloads! Of course not everyone who downloads listens to what they download any more than people who buy books all read them. But it has to indicate a serious interest in Philosophy worldwide. Perhaps as gratifying is the stream of fan emails that we are getting from all over the world. There are people listening to us as they drive to work in Australia, as they walk through the streets of Tokyo, and as they do the washing up in small towns across the USA. Thanks very much for your encouragement.

Here are links to the first 44 episodes...

1. Simon Blackburn on Plato's Cave

2. Mary Warnock on Philosophy in Public Life

3. Stephen Law on The Problem of Evil

4. John Cottingham on The Meaning of Life

5. Miranda Fricker on Epistemic Injustice

6. Barry Smith on Wine

7. Alain de Botton on The Aesthetics of Architecture

8. Anne Phillips on Multiculturalism

9. Edward Craig on What is Philosophy?

10. Roger Crisp on Mill's Utilitarianism

11. Adrian Moore on Infinity

12. Anthony Grayling on Atheism

13. David Papineau on Physicalism

14. Timothy Williamson on Vagueness

15. Jonathan Wolff on Disadvantage

16. Simon Blackburn on Moral Relativism

17. Brad Hooker on Consequentialism

18. Peter Adamson on Avicenna

19. Mary Warnock on Sartre's Existentialism

20. Jonathan Rée on Philosophy as an Art

21. Tim Crane on Mind and Body

22. Anthony Kenny on his History of Philosophy

23. Quentin Skinner on Hobbes on the State

24. Onora O'Neill on Medical Consent

25. Stewart Sutherland on Hume on Design

26. Angie Hobbs on Plato on Erotic Love

27. Alain de Botton on Philosophy Within and Outside the Academy

28. Myles Burnyeat on Aristotle on Happiness

29. Henry Hardy on Isaiah Berlin's Pluralism

30. Susan James on Spinoza on the Passions

31. Julian Baggini on Thought Experiments

32. Barry Stroud on Scepticism

33. G.A. Cohen on Inequality of Wealth

34. Mark Vernon on Friendship

35. Barry Smith on Wittgenstein's Conception of Philosophy

36. Angie Hobbs on Plato on War

37. Richard Bourke on Edmund Burke on Politics

38. Richard Norman on Humanism

39. Stephen Mulhall on Film as Philosophy

40. Richard Tuck on Free Riding

41. Hugh Mellor on Time

42. A.C.Grayling on Descartes' Cogito

43. Anthony Appiah on Cosmopolitanism

44. Thomas Pink on Free Will

 

Anthony Appiah interview on Cosmopolitanism

Anthony Appiah, author of the excellent book  Cosmpolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers, explains how he believes it is possible to combined universalism about ethics with acknowledgement and celebration of difference...This is part of the podcast Philosophy Bites. David Edmonds introduces the interview.

Listen to Anthony Appiah interviewed on Cosmopolitanism