Medieval Philosophy - Bryan Magee & Anthony Kenny (1987)

In this program, Anthony Kenny discusses Medieval Philosophy with Bryan Magee. This is an episode from the 1987 series on the Great Philosophers. The full series can be found here: • The Great Philosophers...
00:00 Introduction
03:59 Augustine vs Aquinas
06:05 Universities & Disputation
09:49 Mostly British?
12:23 Reconciling Ancient Philosophy with Christianity
15:36 Work in Logic
20:14 Seeking Reasons for Beliefs
25:29 The Ontological Argument
30:45 Moral Philosophy
33:12 Just War Theory
35:53 Aquinas & the Catholic Church
37:17 Problem of Free Will
40:21 Recommended Reading
#philosophy #bryanmagee #aquinas

[@Philosophy_Overdose]

This is a reupload. I wanted a version with better audio quality. I’ll still leave the previous video up as unlisted, so as to not break any external links with it. Sorry about any inconvenience!

[@milhouse53]

Thank you for running this channel! It is amazing!

[@longcastle4863]

Imo, the best channel on KZbin just for Magee alone.

[@OurFoundingLiars]

These are gems man

[@hywelclifford9621]

Excellent quality of pedagogy and presentation - thank you. It's very good to see modern professional philosophers' open discussion of medieval theological issues without derision. (I found the comments at 21.00 hilarious.)

[@LeandroCapstick]

Thanks for uploading this!

[@mihail263]

thank you for the video!

[@skepticalgenious]

28:12 what a quote. "If I don't believe in something. I need a definition of what that something, I don't believe in is."

[@otthoheldring]

True. If there is no widely agreed on definition of something that some people believe exists and others don't, any discussion about that is bound to be fruitless at best, for example God, Soul, Time, Free Will, Heaven, Angels, Ghosts, ESP.

[@JS-dt1tn]

But of course, my ability to express something in thought does not necessitate its existence. I have no reason to believe unicorns exist but I can define a perfectly sound unicorn in my mind.

[@donaldist7321]

"Frege is from Germany, and Wittgenstein and Whitehead are from Cambridge". Priceless, Cambridge is not only the Other Place, but it is a foreign country. Being a German St Andrean I feel like that about Oxbridge.

[@johnlively7174]

Is that old George Costanza?

[@synon9m]

dumb comment

[@mz4637]

looool

[@VenusLover17]

❤❤❤

[@mihail263]

It's amazing to have this channel for us who enjoys philosophy. (1) I assume these are videos from the past. Are there any videos of similar high quality interviews/debates but modern ones? (2) What about other disciplines like sociology/psychology/cultural studies? And I emphasize on the cases of similar profound quality. Not just some channels with monologs or which retell works of X philosopher in 5 minutes.

[@skepticalgenious]

Some what similar would be sam Harris and Jordan Peterson. Christopher Hitchins or slightly in the past. 20 years or so Terrence Mkeena. These are some more modern ones as you requested that have great quality.

[@mihail263]

@@skepticalgenious I read Sam Harris in highschool. I'm an atheist but his arguments seem very superficial and too one-sided. Jordan Peterson mostly repeats the popular right-wing ideas. I'm not saying they necessarily good/bad, but I don't learn much new from that. I don't feel like he introduces something new in addition to what is known without him.

[@anthonykenny1320]

This series is designed for people like myself a curious amateur

[@mustafakandan2103]

I think Medieval philosophers were much more sophisticated in philosophy than Descartes (who is regarded as the first modern philosopher) . Of course Descartes was a formidable mathematician & scientist, but was deeply flawed in his philosophical methodology. Spinoza was a superior Cartesian (if we can call him that) than Descartes.

[@firstal3799]

Descartes gave a nice concept of I think therefore I am. That is Descartes and Frenchmen only interesting contribution to philosophy.

[@kiaa11]

@@firstal3799 initially, it wasn’t actually Descartes who came up with the concept of cogito ergo sum. It was saint Augustine who came with the notion: Fallor ergo sum - I err, therefore I am, or i make a mistake therefore i am.

[@firstal3799]

Thanks for that. And you can correct me as I only base my judgement on what you provide me.. but Augistines conclusion doesn't follow from the premise Descartes does. And that in itself would be very powerful.

[@addammadd]

Descartes’ doesn’t either, as Heidegger noted. He (Descartes) presupposed being without substantiating it, ergo his premises weren’t all supported.

[@jason8434]

Norris Clarke SJ has some good lectures on Aquinas. He says that for Aquinas, all knowledge is an interpretation of action i.e. experience. I act, therefore I think, therefore I am. Descartes cut out the connection between action and thought. Cartesian thinking then is pure disembodied intellect, if such a thing is possible.

[@graybow2255]

The tradition of the just war was spelt out in Islam centuries before. Aquinas himself was influenced by Muslim thinkers.

[@pxp175]

Though in practice, they didn't follow those principles 😂

[@LeandroCapstick]

The idea of a just war predates Islam too, with Saint Augustine and even Aristotle.

[@briandzwoniarek8952]

Plotinus was not in the medieval timeline but why no talk of him?. His philosophy of the Trinity and the afterlife greatly influenced Christian ideas according to Russell.

[@LeandroCapstick]

Plotinus lived during late antiquity. The earliest I've ever heard a historian place the beginning of the middle ages is 284, and Plotinus died in 270. Given, however, he did massively influence neoplatonism, and the Christian interpretations there of.

[@arawiri]

Aristotle was bc

[@firstal3799]

Why

[@jacobvandijk6525]

@ 38:30 Aha, so God is a male!

[@curaticac5391]

In the first 1/2 minute, the gentleman manages to spew out as many ineptitudes per second as possible. There cannot be a "love of wisdom" when wisdom simply disappeared in our times and "philosophy" is just language and syllogistic dexterity. Modern men cannot understand Saints Augustine or Thomas Aquinas; mixing them with "Spinoza", Descartes", "Kant" or Hegel" is just ignorant impiety.

[@samjackgreen]

you're amazing because you have opinions.

[@LeandroCapstick]

I understood Augustine just fine when I read him.