[Past Event] Contemporary Philosophy with Bryan Magee | Ryan Ranch

Course Description:

In 1978 British broadcaster Bryan Magee presented fifteen dialogues with noted philosophers in a special series for "BBC Television." "The Daily Telegraph" hailed the series for achieving “the near-impossible feat of presenting to a mass audience recondite issues of philosophy without compromising intellectual integrity or losing ratings.” Considered as a whole, the series is a lively and accessible introduction to twentieth-century thought. In this seminar, we will screen four of these classic interviews, with each screening followed by an engaging discussion. Short preparatory readings will be assigned for each week. Join us for Iris Murdoch on philosophy and literature, Noam Chomsky on the universal grammar, Herbert Marcuse on the Frankfurt School, and A.J. Ayer on logical positivism.