Carlos Gramuglia
Description
This program chronicles the life and work of John Locke, the 17th-century English philosopher and political theorist considered by many to be the first notable thinker of the Enlightenment. Without a doubt, Locke's legacy is vast: his articulation of empiricism laid the intellectual groundwork for an explosion of scientific activity that continues to this day, and his political philosophy is widely seen as the genesis of modern liberalism-an inspiration...
2) Adam Smith
Description
Details Smith's life and traces the impact of The wealth of nations as Europe began the arduous transition from mercantilism to the laissez-faire philosophy of the Physiocrats. Quotes from The wealth of nations are woven into the narrative, including the famous passage describing how an "invisible hand" guides individuals towards the common good.
Description
This program explores three major areas of philosophical inquiry into religion: religious epistemology, or the exploration of the rational grounds for religious beliefs and, in particular, the existence of God; the metaphysics of religion, which inquires into the nature of God; and theodicy, which examines the philosophical implications of the presence of evil in the world. Commentary by Alvin Plantinga, of the University of Notre Dame; Fordham University's...
Description
During the 16th century, a new breed of thinker arose, equal parts philosopher and scientist, that threw off the received wisdom of the past and started afresh. In this program, Paul Guyer, of the University of Pennsylvania; Rutgers University's Colin McGinn; and Princeton University's Kwame Anthony Appiah and Daniel Garber address the major philosophical currents of that era-and the explosive controversies surrounding them. Bacon's Novum Organum,...
5) Ethics
Description
Moral philosophy lies at the heart of today's most heated issues-abortion, human cloning, assisted suicide, financial conflicts of interest, and environmental stewardship. In this program, Harvard University's Frances Kamm; Rutgers University's Larry Temkin; and Richard Sorabji, honorary fellow at Wolfson College, the University of Oxford, describe the three major categories of ethics: metaethics; applied ethics; and normative ethics, including virtue...