Episodes
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Philosophy and the Future of Warfare
Can there be such a thing as a ‘moral’ war? Can it ever be right to kill innocent people, even in self-defence? Can there be such a thing as a ‘moral’ war? Can it ever be right to kill innocent people, even in self-defence? How do autonomous weapons, remote control weapons and drones change the...
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Was Schubert a musical brain?
Prof. Raymond Tallis deepens his argument against the idea that we are our brains. He believes there is a distinction in kind between humans and other animals. This he illustrates by appeal to the differences between the music of Schubert and the singing
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Spiders, yes, but why cats?
Prof.Iain McGilchrist illustrates his argument by appeal to a number of paintings done by psychotic patients. He points to various commonalities between these paintings and speculates on the ways in which they support claims about the two hemispheres and
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Am I my mind?
Prof. Iain McGilchrist, whilst agreeing with Tallis that we are not our brains argues that we can learn a great deal about our culture by learning more about our brain. In particular we should recognise we have two hemispheres, each with a different funct
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Am I my brain?
Prof. Raymond Tallis argues that extraordinary claims have been made for neurophysiology. For example it has been said that a person is nothing but his or her brain. Professor Raymond Tallis rejects this ‘neuromania’. He shows why it is attractive, but al
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The Truth about Art 3 - Aesthetics
Another ancient belief held that an art should be governed by rules. Another ancient belief held that an art should be governed by rules. This assumption was discredited in 1674, when Longinus' treatise On the Sublime was translated into French. Technology might be written up in a manual…
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The Truth about Art 1 - Mystery or Mastery
E.H. Gombrich famously observed that 'there really is no such thing as Art' (with a capital A). Instead he described the practice of art as 'mastery', which equates to the Quality recovered by Robert M. Pirsig in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974). Quality is also a better word than...
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Learning and Work in Medieval England
Did Medieval people go on learning through their adult life? If so, what kind of things did they learn about, who taught them, and how was it done? This lecture was delivered 23rd May 2013 as part of national Adult Learners' Week.
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Talking to Camera
A new one-day course at the Department for Continuing Education taught by Paul Heiney, writer and broadcaster, this course is intended to help people face a video camera with confidence, and communicate through the fast-growing video media. The course (details are available on the Department for...
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John Milton: poet, pamphleteer and patriot
Dr Anna Beer gives an overview of the life and works of the poet John Milton.
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If I were you, I wouldn't start from here: understanding Oxford through its past
Local history lecture, by Chris Day, giving an overview of the history of the University of Oxford. Visit http://media.conted.ox.ac.uk/lh01 to view the full presentation from Chris Day, including his slides.
About this show
A collection of audio and video resources of lectures, seminars and presentations from the Department's humanities' programmes.
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Oxford University
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