History of Virtue Ethics
Philosopher Martha Nussbaum briefly traces the history of virtue ethics, from Aristotle through Kant. She notes that the major theories of virtue have all included strong criticism of traditional social norms, and rejects the notion that virtue ethi...
How Old Is The Mind? (Part 1)
Philosopher Hilary Putnam talks about the concept of the mind, and how it's changed since the time of the early Greeks. He notes that Descartes was the first to say intellect, soul and mind are one and the same thing.
Human Flourishing
Philosopher Martha Nussbaum looks at Aristotle's ideas about the goal of both personal life and political planning. She says it was based on the idea of human flourishing, rather than simply happiness or contentment.
Plato, Artistotle and Scientific Theory
Philosopher Stephen Toulmin talks about Plato's preference for theories that take a mathematical form. Professor Toulmin adds that this preference was carried over to modern times, so that a discipline like psychology might be deemed inferior to the...
Philosophy, Justice, and the Meaning of Life
Philosopher Martha Nussbaum explains that Greek philosophers tried to convince people to consult them with their problems, rather than going to astrologers and magicians. Professor Nussbaum notes that philosophy can play an important role in society...
Ancient Philosophers
Philosopher Martha Nussbaum talks about Aristotle and other ancient Greek philosophers, arguing that philosophy at that time provided an alternative approach to problem-solving that offered more than magic and astrology.
Prime Numbers: Prime and Composite Numbers
This clip explains the difference between prime numbers and composite numbers. It also talks about how the Greeks figured out which numbers are primes and which are not.
Developing Ethics From Childhood
Philosopher Martha Nussbaum talks about ethics as part of character development starting from early childhood. She points out that there are multiple perspectives on early childhood and it can be difficult to focus on the "right account."
Darwin and Human Nature
Philosopher Hubert Dreyfus talks about Charles Darwin, who wrote at about the same time as Kierkegaard, but wasn't drawn in by the same existentialist concerns. Darwin believed there is something like a human nature, even if unplanned by God. In fac...
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...