Aristotle on Man as a Social and Political Animal
Philosopher Martha Nussbaum talks about Aristotle's fundamental belief that human beings are not satisfied unless they are in "...a rich scheme of relationships with other people." Professor Nussbaum explains that Aristotle believed these relations ...
Aristotle on the State
Philosopher Charles Taylor talks about Aristotle's focus on free political society and self-rule. It was Aristotle who originated the concept of politics as a moral activity, a means by which people can act together not because they are ordered to d...
Aristotle and Social Justice
Philosopher Martha Nussbaum talks about Aristotle, whom she credits for inspiring modern day perspectives about what constitutes the quality of life in a country.
Bentham, Mill and Human Flourishing
Philosopher Martha Nussbaum explores the different approaches to utilitarianism as expressed in the works of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. She suggests that Bentham focuses primarily on pleasure, while Mill is more akin to Aristotle in his em...
What is Justice?: What is Justice?
From the day they are born, people's chances in life differ. Some inherit money, social status, and good health; others are given far less. Justice, for some, is about redistributing the benefits and burdens, and providing an equality of opportunity...
Changes in Our Conception of Human Nature (Part One)
Philosopher Ian Hacking talks about changes in the way human nature has been viewed over time. From the time of Aristotle through the Enlightenment, human nature was seen as being an essential characteristic of what it is to be human, in which the v...
What is Human Nature?: Existentialism and Human Nature
The 20th century existentialist Jean-Paul Satre asserts that man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself. There is no human nature because there is no God to have a conception of it. The bond among humans is the universality of condition,...
Descartes and the Greeks (Part One)
Philosopher Stephen Toulmin draws parallels between Descartes and Plato, arguing that both lived in a perilous time during which they tried to demonstrate "... in a quasi-mathematical way that we have a system of ideas which carry a certainty on the...
Descartes and the Greeks (Part Two)
Philosopher Stephen Toulmin talks about the origins of differing branches of philosophy. On the one hand, Professor Toulmin notes, there have been those like Plato and Descartes, who have wanted theoretical certainty above all else. On the other han...
Descartes and the Greeks (Part 3)
Philosopher Stephen Toulmin concludes his discussion of the contrasting origins of philosophy, focusing here on Aristotle. Professor Toulmin notes that Aristotle had grown up in a medical family and was more impressed by the pragmatic underpinnings ...