These podcasts are devoted to selected topics in Political Philosophy, and the History and Philosophy of the Natural and Social Sciences. In the Introduction I explain that my starting point is philosophical problems, rather than, say, the history of great thinkers. Each episode of Political Philosophy deals one topical issue: The issue of Power; the notion of (Republican) Liberty and the problem of Social Justice and the contrast between Open and Closed Societies Episodes in History and Philosophy of science will deal with the notion of time, scientific revolutions and the nature of science.
In the Beginning, there was ... Philosophy.
Claim This Podcastby Friedel Weinert (Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Bradford)
42 episodes
Updated Weekly
Accepts GuestsHas Sponsors
32
Podcast Authority
BetaPoorBased on show quality, social media presence, reviews, charts, and more
Quality65
Social0
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Engagement0
Podcast Overview
These podcasts are devoted to selected topics in Political Philosophy, and the History and Philosophy of the Natural and Social Sciences. In the Introduction I explain that my starting point is philosophical problems, rather than, say, the history of great thinkers. Each episode of Political Philosophy deals one topical issue: The issue of Power; the notion of (Republican) Liberty and the problem of Social Justice and the contrast between Open and Closed Societies Episodes in History and Philosophy of science will deal with the notion of time, scientific revolutions and the nature of science.
Language
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Publishing Since
1/28/2024
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32
Podcast Authority
BetaPoorBased on show quality, social media presence, reviews, charts, and more
Quality65
Social0
YouTube0
Engagement0
7
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10
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excellent
Episode Length
31 minutes
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36 episodes over 1.6 years
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Every 16 days
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Recent Episodes
May 25, 2026
Episode 33 Part II: The Social Functions of Humour
<p>This is the second part of the episode on humour. It looks at the emotional and sociological functions of humour. Humour is a social phenomenon. The most important distinction is that between conservative and critical functions of humour. Conservative functions re-confirm us a members of a community which shares a sense of humour. Critical functions highlight deficiencies in the way we act, talk and think.</p><p><br></p><p>Literature:</p><p><a href="https://jonathansandling.com" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://jonathansandling.com</a></p><p><a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/humor/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Stanford Encylopedia of Philosophy</a></p><p><a href="https://iep.utm.edu/humor/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Internet Encylopedia of Philosophy</a></p><p>Carroll, N.: Humour. A Very Short Introduction. Oxford UP 2014</p><p>Critchley, S.: On Humour. Ebook Bradford 2002. Routledge 2002</p><p><br></p>
May 25, 2026
Episode 33 Part I: Four Theories of Humour
<p>Episode 33 is devoted to the question of humour or why we humans laugh. It consists of two parts.</p><p> Part I discusses the pros and cons of the main theories of humour (Superiority theory; Relief theory; Play theory; Incongruity theory).</p><p>Part II discusses the social functions of humour. It distinguishes a conservative from a critical function of humour.</p><p>I give examples of different types of humour in each part.</p><p><br /></p><p>Literature:</p><p><a href="https://jonathansandling.com" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://jonathansandling.com</a></p><p><a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/humor/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Stanford Encylopedia of Philosophy</a></p><p><a href="https://iep.utm.edu/humor/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Internet Encylopedia of Philosophy</a></p><p>Carroll, N.: Humour. A Very Short Introduction. Oxford UP 2014</p><p>Critchley, S.: On Humour. Ebook Bradford 2002. Routledge 2002</p><p><br /></p>
February 2, 2026
Episode 32: Trust: Its Role in Private and Public Life
<p>In this episode I discuss the role of trust in personal relationships - called interpersonal trust - and in people's relationships with institutions - called institutional trust. In both cases an expectation of benefits from the trustee to the truster is involved. We make inductive inferences from past experience of benefits to the future. When the trustee turns out to be reliable we tend to trust them. Such expectations can be disappointed. When this happens it leads to distrust on the part of the truster. </p><p>In the second part I emphasise the importance of trust in social and political institutions. A free society cannot function properly, if people have no trust in the institutions (say, the government, the health system, the police etc.). In a dictatorship, trust is not needed because it is replaced by intimidation, fear violence. A democracy needs trust, because people always have the choice of alternatives (different political parties, newspapers, organizations). </p><p>There is a vast amount of literature on trust. The following are good starting points:</p><ul><li>Katherine Hawley, Trust. A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press (2012)</li><li>The Ethics and Epistemology of Trust, in <a href="https://iep.utm.edu/trust/#H2" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.</a></li></ul><p>On the notion of trust, you may consult my paper:</p><ul><li>Weinert, F.: ‘The Role of Trust in Political Systems. A Philosophical Perspective.’ Open Political Science <strong>1</strong> (2018): 7-15</li></ul><p><br /></p>
42 total episodes available
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This podcast updates weekly.
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