Podcast
A History of Ideas animations
Hosted by BBC Radio · EN
Big questions and theories explained in under 2 minutes from A History of Ideas on BBC Radio 4. Animations voiced by Harry Shearer, Gillian Anderson, Stephen Fry and Aidan Turner. Scripted by Nigel Warburton. This project is made in collaboration with The Open University and the animations were created by Cognitive.
10episodes
Episodes
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Wittgenstein's Beetle in a Box Analogy
Aug 7, 201500:01:40Tap to summarizeYou can't know exactly what it is like to be another person or experience things from their perspective. Wittgenstein had an analogy for this. Narrated by Aidan Turner.
Transcribe →Esse est Percipi - ('To be is to be perceived')
Aug 6, 201500:01:50Tap to summarizeIf a tree falls in a forest and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound? Narrated by Aidan Turner.
Transcribe →Karl Popper's Falsification
Aug 5, 201500:01:50Tap to summarizeScience is based on fact. Isn't it? Narrated by Aidan Turner.
Transcribe →Should You Believe in Miracles?
Aug 4, 201500:01:36Tap to summarizePhilosopher David Hume thought you should look at the evidence. We've employed a Time Lord to investigate. Narrated by Aidan Turner.
Transcribe →The Oedipus Complex and the Westermarck Effect
Aug 3, 201500:01:41Tap to summarizeThe Oedipus Complex explained in under 2 minutes. Narrated by Aidan Turner.
Transcribe →The Myth of the Missing Half
Aug 3, 201500:01:43Tap to summarizeIn Plato’s dialogue The Symposium, Aristophanes presented a light-hearted creation myth that attempted to explain the human search for love. Narrated by Aidan Turner.
Transcribe →Jean Paul Sartre on Love
Aug 3, 201500:01:43Tap to summarizeFor Jean-Paul Sartre, freedom was everything. Real freedom means freedom to change your mind and freedom to fall out of love. Narrated by Aidan Turner.
Transcribe →Is Selfless Love Possible?
Aug 3, 201500:01:37Tap to summarizeWhy do people do good deeds? Are they being selfless or is there something else going on? Narrated by Aidan Turner.
Transcribe →Confucian Ancestor Worship
Jul 31, 201500:01:35Tap to summarizeThe family is at the heart of Confucian philosophy. Narrated by Aidan Turner.
Transcribe →Plato's Philosopher Kings
Jul 30, 201500:01:30Tap to summarizePlato thought leaders should be specially trained philosophers chosen because they were incorruptible and had a deeper knowledge of reality. Narrated by Aidan Turner.
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