Philosophy: The Social Context

World-renowned author and professor Bryan Magee and London School of Economics professor Ernest Gellner discuss contemporary philosophy, its historical and social backgrounds, and its role in modern society. Gellner examines the radical expansion of scientific knowledge and its dehumanizing effect on society as expressed by sociologist Max Weber. Marxism’s messianic expectation is blamed for its failure to reconstruct society. Gellner dismisses today’s philosophy of relativism as unworkable.

Writing:
  • Bryan Magee

Stars:
Release Date: 1978-01-19
Seasons: 1
TMDb: 8.5/10
  • Country: GB
  • Language: English

Other episodes for this season

An Introduction to Philosophy
Episode 1 - An Introduction to Philos...
Marxist Philosophy
Episode 2 - Marxist Philosophy
Marcuse and the Frankfurt School
Episode 3 - Marcuse and the Frankfurt...
Martin Heidegger and Modern Existentialism
Episode 4 - Martin Heidegger and Mode...
The Two Philosophies of Wittgenstein
Episode 5 - The Two Philosophies of W...
Logical Positivism and its Legacy
Episode 6 - Logical Positivism and it...
The Spell of Linguistic Philosophy
Episode 7 - The Spell of Linguistic P...
Moral Philosophy
Episode 8 - Moral Philosophy
The Ideas of Quine
Episode 9 - The Ideas of Quine
The Philosophy of Language
Episode 10 - The Philosophy of Languag...
The Ideas of Chomsky
Episode 11 - The Ideas of Chomsky
The Philosophy of Science
Episode 12 - The Philosophy of Science
Philosophy and Politics
Episode 13 - Philosophy and Politics
Philosophy and Literature
Episode 14 - Philosophy and Literature
Philosophy: The Social Context
Episode 15 - Philosophy: The Social Context