Talking Philosophy Dialogues with Fifteen Leading Philosophers

Based on a highly successful BBC television series, this book presents fifteen dialogues between author and broadcaster Bryan Magee and some of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century.
Isaiah Berlin considers the fundamental question, "What is philosophy?," A. J. Ayer reviews logical positivism, and Iris Murdoch talks about the relation between philosophy and literature. Moral philosophy, political philosophy, the philosophy of language, and the philosophy of science are all treated in depth by the thinkers who have shaped these fields--including Noam Chomsky, W. V. O. Quine, and Herbert Marcuse. Written in an informal, conversational style, even the most difficult philosophical ideas are made accessible to the general reader.

This book consists of fifteen dialogues between Bryan Magee and some of the outstanding thinkers of the twentieth century. It is based on a highly successful BBC television series which had enormous impact. The informality and clarity of the conversational form makes even the most difficult ideas accessible to the general reader. Isaiah Berlin opens by considering the fundamental question 'What is philosophy?' Subsequent conversations examine such widely different schools as Marxism and existentialism. Chomsky, Quine, Marcuse, and others discuss their own work; A. J. Ayer reviews logical positivism; Iris Murdoch talks about the relation between philosophy and literature. Moral philosophy, political philosophy, the philosophy of language, and the philosophy of science are all treated in depth by the thinkers whose work has shaped the fields.

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

Bryan Magee was educated at Oxford, and has held academic positions at Yale University, King's College London, and Oxford University. He is an independent writer, critic, and broadcaster. His many books include The Great Philosophers, Confessions of a Philosopher, The Story of Philosophy, and Aspects of Wagner.