In the Beginning, there was ... Philosophy.

This episode continues the investigation into the nature of time. In particular it introduces two philosophical models of time, which are more in tune with scientific thinking. One is Newton's realist view of time. The other, in direct opposition to Newton, is the relational view of time. It was defended by Gottfried Wilhlem Leibniz (1646-1716) in the 17th century. Modern physics seems to be s...

Episodes 10 and 11 are an inquiry into the nature of time. It is so large a topic that I have split it into two parts. The current episode, 10, discusses aspects of the measurement of time and the use of clocks. It is easier to discuss the measurement of time than to deal with the philosophical question of the nature of time. In the current episode, after having argued that clocks need to rely on...

In this episode I look at an important aspect of the history of science, namely the occurrence of scientific revolutions. I start with a brief history of the Scientific Revolution (1543-1687), discussing the contributions of Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo and Newton. Their achievements suggest some useful criteria, which help to understand what a scientific revolution is. I look at Kuhn's work on...

In this episode my aim is a comparison of the natural and the social sciences. My purpose is to understand the similarities and dissimilarities between the natural and the social sciences. Their respective remit is to understand the natural and the social world. How do they achieve understanding of their respective areas of research? They both employ explanation and prediction as tools. These are...

Given the enormous prestige of science, the temptation to call a discipline 'scientific' is understandable; astrology, creationism, Marxism and even psychoanalysis are examples. But how do we distinguish genuine science from pseudo-science? After having defined 'knowledge' I aim to answer this question by proposing some criteria, which should help to draw a line. Traditionally, it...

In this episode, I describe and explain what history and philosophy of science is all about. I like to compare science to a workshop with lots of tools for scientists to understand the natural and the social world. There is of course a lot of mathematics, especially in the hard sciences and economics. They employ theories and models. Scientists also use tools such as explanations, predictions, the...

In this episode I discuss the distinction between open and closed societies. Although this distinction dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, it is as topical today as it was 100 years ago. The rise of populism and the impact of social media have made a discussion of this distinction urgent again. And there are still numerous countries around the world, which we would regard as closed. S...

In this episode I concentrate on the notion of social or distributive justice. That is the question of how the social benefits and burdens are to be distributed amongst citizens in a given society. It is one of the fundamental principles which every society must address. The question already occupied the Greeks but I will focus on some modern views. These views attribute to the State various degre...

In this episode I discuss freedom in a political sense, especially republican freedom. This notion was already discussed in antiquity: I begin with a quote from Cicero. But the focus is on republican freedom from the Age of Enlightenment to the present day. I look at the compatibility or incompatibility of republicanism with monarchy and distinguish republican freedom from more liberal views of fr...

In this episode I address the question of the nature of power. A philosophical enquiry demands answers to a number of questions: How should power be characterised? Who possesses power? And under what circumstances can they resist power? The question can be addressed from various perspectives. I discuss Nietzsche's 'will to power', Foucault's micro-conception of power and Weber'...

In this Episode, I define Political Philosophy as an 'investigation into the nature, causes and effects of good and bad government.' I explain what this means and argue that we need Political Philosophy because it constructs conceptual models of fundamental notions - democracy, fairness, freedom, justice - which influence the laws, rules and regulations in society. I characterise conceptua...

In these podcasts I will concentrate on some topical issues in Political Philosophy, and later in the History and Philosophy of Science. Broadly speaking, Political Philosophy is a social science. So there is a natural transition from issues in Political Philosophy to topics in the Philosophy of Science. The Introduction explains my approach to philosophy. It focuses on philosophical problems - I...