Thomas Kuhn
Philosopher Ian Hacking talks about Thomas Kuhn's notion that science is very much a historical process--one in which breakthroughs often come at unexpected or unpredictable times, rather than at regular intervals. He al..
Thomas Kuhn: His Core Ideas
Philosopher Ian Hacking talks about Thomas Kuhn's core ideas, including the notion that scientists generally practice what Kuhn terms "normal science," but that at times there are tremendous breakthroughs that usually co..
Time and Cosmology
Philosopher Stephen Toulmin talks about the efforts of Immanuel Kant and others to come to grips with questions about time and whether it's possible to produce an overall theoretical description of the whole process by w..
Truth
Philosopher W.V. Quine talks about truth, pointing out paradoxes that often crop up in such discussions. As an example, he cites the contradiction inherent in the sentence, "This sentence is false."
Turning Away From Functionalism
Philosopher Hilary Putnam talks about turning away from his earlier view of functionalism, to another perspective which recognizes the impact and significance of experience and one's social environment on the way one thi..
Unconceptualized Reality
Professor of Philosophy Hilary Putnam explains his belief that the world we can think about and talk about is a world that is conceptualizable by us.
Utilitarianism (Part One)
Philosopher Martha Nussbaum distinguishes between classical utilitarian theory, with its emphasis on doing what's best for all humanity, and the economic version of utilitarianism, which says that people make choices on ..
Utilitarianism (Part Two)
Philosopher Martha Nussbaum offers a critical analysis of classical utilitarian theory. On the positive side, she states that classical utilitarianism valued everyone equally, regardless of social class. However, in the ..
Virtue Ethics
Philosopher Martha Nussbaum explains what appeals to her about virtue ethics, as opposed to other ways of looking at moral choice. She mentions that it looks at human life as a whole, rather in terms of narrow moral part..
What Is Philosophy?
Philosopher Stephen Toulmin talks about the challenge of defining philosophy. During the course of his remarks, Professor Toulmin mentions Ludwig Wittgenstein, with whom he studied in Cambridge. Wittgenstein used to say ..