The Reith Lectures

In his fourth Reith Lecture from his series 'Minds, Brains and Science', John Searle, Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley, analyses the structure of human actions. In this lecture entitled 'Walk to Patagonia', Professor Searle draws together the mental and physical aspects to show how our mental activities can produce our behaviour. Can our ability to choose our movements be what separates us from machines? Professor Searle seeks to show how the structure of an action relates to the explanation of it.

In the third Reith Lecture from his series 'Minds, Brains and Science', John Searle, Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley, explores the discipline of cognitive science.In this lecture entitled 'Grandmother Knew Best', Professor John Searle investigates how and why scientists are developing the field of cognitive science. Exploring how the human brain processes information in order to do the action of thinking, John Searle links back to his previous lectures to debate the differences between human thought and computerised artificial intelligence.

In the second Reith Lecture of his series 'Minds, Brains and Science', John Searle, Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley, considers artificial intelligence. He debates whether scientists could create a digital computer which has its own thoughts.In this lecture entitled 'Beer Cans and Meat Machines', Professor Searle compares the relationship of the mind and the brain to that of computer programme software to computer hardware. But can a man-made machine ever think like a human?

In the first Reith Lecture of his series 'Minds, Brains and Science', John Searle, Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley, examines the so-called 'mind body problem'. Searle uses this paradox of the conscious mind verses the scientific brain to explore our understanding of the world.In this lecture entitled 'A Froth on Reality', Professor Searle considers how humans think of themselves as cognisant, free, rational beings but science tells us we are a chance occurrence, created in a world that consists entirely of mindless physical particles. From this viewpoint Professor Searle explores the question how can an essentially meaningless world contain meaning?

Former Permanent Secretary to HM Treasury, Sir Douglas Wass explores the concept of authority in his series 'Government and the Governed'.In his final lecture entitled 'Participation - the Sole Bond', Sir Douglas Wass concludes his discussion about responsive and effective governments with a suggestion for a single, permanent and more autonomous Royal Commission. He argues that this would be one way to promote a more open, participatory democracy.

Former Permanent Secretary to HM Treasury, Sir Douglas Wass explores the concept of authority in his series 'Government and the Governed'.In his fifth Lecture entitled 'Opening Up Government', Sir Douglas Wass discusses the need for, and the problems contingent on, greater public access to information affecting government decisions. He asks why there is a gap between the public and its representatives and questions the differences in perception of where public interest lies.

Former Permanent Secretary to HM Treasury, Sir Douglas Wass explores the concept of authority in his series 'Government and the Governed'.In his fourth Reith Lecture entitled 'Critical Opposition - Part of the Policy', Sir Douglas Wass asks how effective Parliament is at exercising today the functions of supervision and control which the 17th-century reformers allotted to it.

Former Permanent Secretary to HM Treasury, Sir Douglas Wass explores the concept of authority in his series 'Government and the Governed'. In his third Reith Lecture entitled 'The Privileged Adviser', Sir Douglas Wass explores the role of British Civil Servants. By tradition they should be neutral in their political philosophy, offer impartial advice to their political chiefs and pursue policies with energy, even when they disagree with them. In reality their definition is not so clear-cut; Ministers and civil servants often are in partnership and can only work together if there is mutual trust. That trust has now been questioned and Sir Wass asks which Civil Service reforms would strengthen it and which would weaken it.

In his second Reith Lecture entitled 'Cabinet: Directorate or Directory?', Sir Douglas Wass dissects the composition of the British Parliamentary Cabinet to answer the questions; how well does it do its job? And could it be more effective? Sir Wass analyses that the British Cabinet is filled with high ranking parliamentary ministers who very rarely function as a collective group. He claims this is because each have their own proposals that they wish to promote and so they work as a group of individuals rather than a community of decision makers with a collective responsibility. He explains how this often can lead to stagnation and an abstraction of policy that cannot be put into practice. How can we increase cohesion in the Cabinet?

Former Permanent Secretary to HM Treasury, Sir Douglas Wass explores the concept of authority in his series 'Government and the Governed'. In his first Reith Lecture entitled 'United Thoughts and Counsels', Sir Douglas Wass discusses what we mean by 'government'. Are we referring to the system, to the component parts of the political and administrative machinery? Or do we mean the policies which governments try to follow? He questions whether it is right to equate good government with prosperity and bad government with poverty.

Irish literary critic Denis Donoghue gives the sixth Reith lecture in his series entitled 'The Mystery of Art'. The current Henry James Professor of English and American Letters at New York University explores societies' need to over analyse art. In this lecture entitled 'A Talent for Conviction', Denis Donoghue debates how society can increase subjectivity into art without destroying its mystery. He blames critics and their desire to explain every structure of society for devastating the ambiguity of art and asks for the arts to be kept in the margins of society. He claims that it is only in these margins that people can reflect on the art and their own desires.

Irish literary critic Denis Donoghue gives his fifth Reith lecture in his series entitled 'The Mystery of Art'. The current Henry James Professor of English and American Letters at New York University explores the presence and charisma of art. In this lecture entitled 'The Anxious Object', Denis Donoghue argues that once critics are gone and titles are destroyed, art is left in its natural state. This intrinsic force and presence of art is the reason why society should give up all interpretations. He believes this is the only way that pretentiousness and vanity can be removed.

Irish literary critic Denis Donoghue gives the fourth Reith lecture in his series entitled 'The Mystery of Art'. The current Henry James Professor of English and American Letters at New York University explores how critics influence perception of art.In this lecture entitled 'A Cherishing Bureaucracy', Denis Donoghue identifies how the state has created a pluralist and populist approach to art. He believes that every piece of art can be enjoyed because they are sanctioned by the state. Art has become easily comprehendible and this understanding has lead to the death of mystery in art. He argues how the very act of naming pieces of art takes away peoples hesitancy; and without this hesitancy, the mystery art is lost.

Irish literary critic Denis Donoghue gives the third Reith lecture in his series entitled 'The Mystery of Art'. The current Henry James Professor of English and American Letters at New York University explores how critics influence perception of art.In this lecture entitled 'The Parade of Ideas', Dennis Donoghue examines the confusing discourse surrounding art by explaining it from a critic's perspective. He explores the politics of pluralism and the sociology of the zeitgeist and calls for art to be challenged instead of adored. He argues that aesthetics must stay antagonistic and not become aligned to politics or psychology.

Irish literary critic Denis Donoghue gives the second Reith lecture from his series entitled 'The Mystery of Art'. The current Henry James Professor of English and American Letters at New York University explores society's comprehension of art.In this lecture titled 'The Domestication of Outrage', Denis Donoghue assesses how casual materials are transformed into pieces of art and how society evaluates the finished pieces. Donoghue argues that the greatness of art lies in this theological space. He looks at the way people view art and considers the relationship between artists and the art that they create. Is it an expression of character or is the individual unimportant?

The Mystery of Art is the title of the 1982 Reith lectures given by Irish literary critic Denis Donoghue. The current Henry James Professor of English and American Letters at New York University explores how societies understand art in his first lecture entitled 'The Zealots of Explanation'.In this lecture entitled 'The Zealots of Explanation', Denis Donoghue investigates the arts in relation to the mystery that surrounds them. He claims that the mystery is to be acknowledged but not resolved or else the value of its anonymity will be destroyed. He dismisses the zealots of explanation as destroyers of art.

Professor Laurence Martin, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, considers the future of strategic policy in his series of Reith Lectures 'The Two-Edged Sword'In his sixth and final lecture entitled 'Who's Moving the Goal Post?', Professor Laurence Martin explores the future development of strategic defence policies. Following the evolving political relationships that correspond to security, he questions how Europe and Britain will develop their defences in the future.

Professor Laurence Martin, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, considers the strategic policy of the nuclear age in his series of Reith Lectures 'The Two-Edged Sword' In his fifth lecture entitled 'Not for the Sake of their Blue Eyes', Professor Martin debates the role that arms control and disarmament can play for a country. He questions how countries can reconcile the internal complexity of the modern military scene by asking whether diplomatic negotiation and an armament ceiling might be a better solution.

Professor Laurence Martin, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, considers the strategic policy of the nuclear age in his series of Reith Lectures 'The Two-Edged Sword'.In his fourth lecture entitled 'Conflicts of the Third World', Professor Martin explores the East and West scrabble for the Middle East. The grab, which was instigated by the US and the Soviet Union in order to secure their ideologies and resources, places Europe and other nations in a tough strategic position. Professor Martin evaluates America's request for Western Europe and Japan to reconsider their military abstention from Third World affairs. However the fear of the costs and the reprisals might be the biggest hindrance.

Professor Laurence Martin, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, considers the strategic policy of the nuclear age in his series of Reith Lectures 'The Two-Edged Sword'In his third lecture entitled 'Shadow over Europe', Professor Martin explores the strategic and political implications of nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union for Europe. Can Europe survive in the fault-line between American and European interests? Professor Martin explains that nuclear deterrence depends on more than just nuclear weapons: it also depends on the proper marriage of those weapons to the infrastructure of military' and political power.

Professor Laurence Martin, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, considers the strategic policy of the nuclear age in his series of Reith lectures 'The Two-Edged Sword'.In his second lecture entitled 'Plausibility and Horror', Professor Martin questions how to avoid a nuclear war. Is the horror of mutually assured destruction enough to deter countries from using their nuclear weapons? Professor Martin debates how countries protect their own security at the same time as averting the total destruction of the world. Evaluating the role of the Strategic Arms Limitations Talks or SALT for short, he asks, can any policy provide absolute assurance of not allowing a nuclear war?

Professor Laurence Martin, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, evaluates the subject of war and peace in a nuclear age in his series of Reith Lectures entitled 'The Two-Edged Sword'. Looking at the question of nuclear armament, Professor Martin surveys the landscape of the strategic policies relating to nuclear weapons. In his first lecture entitled 'If you knows of a better 'ole…', he asks how we can avert all out nuclear war. He brings in to question how nations govern and protect national security, whilst exploring the question; does an arms race naturally lead to war? He argues that new technology, rather than nastier technology, is not necessarily a bad thing for society.

British academic lawyer Professor Sir Ian Kennedy explores the concepts of modern medicine in his sixth Reith lecture from his series entitled 'Unmasking Medicine'.In this lecture entitled 'Let's Kill All the Lawyers', Sir Ian Kennedy explores how consumerism can regulate the medical industry. He explains how consumerism sets standards, measures performances and provides sanctions for the medical profession. He compares Britain's free National Health Service with the privatised American Health Care System to analyse the best ways of managing the accountability of doctors.

British academic lawyer Professor Sir Ian Kennedy explores the concepts of modern medicine in the fifth Reith lecture from his series entitled 'Unmasking Medicine'.In this lecture entitled 'The Doors of Mental Illness', Professor Kennedy explores the concepts of mental illness. Professor Kennedy questions the responsibility and power placed in the hands of medical experts and evaluates how mental differences are treated in society. He considers what mental health really is and demonstrates the shaky ground that the concept of mental illness rests on. Is it a medical complaint or is it a judgement created by society to highlight abnormalities?

British academic lawyer Professor Sir Ian Kennedy explores the concepts of modern medicine in the fourth Reith lecture from his series entitled 'Unmasking Medicine'.In this lecture entitled 'If I Were You, Mrs B', Professor Kennedy contemplates the ethical medical issues that doctors have to make and debates whether they are trained enough to decide such complex issues. He argues that doctors are making principled and moral decisions rather than just technically medical ones and with this blurring of boundaries comes consequences. He explores some examples to argue his point that doctors need to be trained in the humanities and not just the sciences.

British academic lawyer Professor Sir Ian Kennedy explores the concepts of modern medicine in the third Reith lecture from his series entitled 'Unmasking Medicine'.In this lecture entitled 'Suffer the Little Children', Professor Kennedy considers how the National Health Service needs reforming and gives a conceptual blue print of how he believes improvements should be completed. Exploring the political, economic and social decisions which influence the way the NHS is run, he questions whether more preventative measures could be taken to stop certain illnesses reaching hospitalisation level?

British academic lawyer Professor Sir Ian Kennedy explores the concepts of modern medicine in the second Reith lecture in his series entitled 'Unmasking Medicine'.In this lecture entitled 'The New Magicians', Sir Ian Kennedy compiles a list of the inappropriate directions that modern medicine has taken, revealing how he believes that it can be pinpointed to the medical education system. He complains medical practitioners have become driven by solving problems of science to the detriment of humanity.

This year's lecturer is the British academic lawyer Professor Sir Ian Kennedy. He founded of the Centre of Law, Medicine and Ethics in 1978 and has lectured at prestigious universities in London, California and Mexico. Professor Kennedy explores the concepts of modern medicine in his Reith lecture series entitled 'Unmasking Medicine'. In his first lecture entitled 'The Rhetoric of Medicine', Professor Kennedy reviews how we define illnesses. Examining the role of the doctor in the modern world, Professor Kennedy questions the power medical authorities have over our minds and bodies. He calls for the public to become masters of medicine by learning its complicated language. He explores the political and social judgement centred on the definition of ill health, and asks, what is illness?

In his sixth Reith Lecture, Professor Ali Mazrui examines Africa's physical location on the globe in relation to its economic, political and military destiny. The Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan gives his last lecture in the series entitled 'The African Condition'. In this lecture entitled 'In Search of Pax Africana', Professor Mazrui explains that geographically, Africa is the most central of all continents, but politically and militarily it is probably the most marginal. What are the implications of this paradox, and how is Africa to get out of the prison-house of political dwarfs situated in the middle of the City of Man?

Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan, Ali Mazrui, explores Africa's lack of cohesion in his fifth Reith lecture from his series entitled 'The African Condition'. In this lecture entitled 'Patterns of Identity', Professor Ali Mazrui argues that an understanding of the size and fragmentation of Africa is essential in diagnosing the nature of its aches and pains.

Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan, Ali Mazrui, considers Africa's lack of economic development in his fourth Reith lecture from his series entitled 'The African Condition'. In this lecture entitled 'The Burden of Underdevelopment', Professor Ali Mazrui questions how such a resource rich region of the world accommodates some of the poorest countries in the world.

Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan, Ali Mazru, explores the conflict between African and Western cultures in his third Reith Lecture. Delivering his third lecture from his series entitled 'The African Condition' In this lecture entitled 'A Clash of Cultures', Professor Mazrui argues that African societies are not the closest culturally to the Western world, yet they have been undergoing what is perhaps the most rapid pace of Westernisation of the 20th century. He explains that Africans are therefore caught up between rebellion against the West and imitation of the West.

Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan, Ali Mazrui considers the injustices that have been inflicted on the African people over time in his second Reith lecture. Delivering his lecture from the series entitled 'The African Condition' he explores the sufferances of the African people.In this lecture entitled 'The Cross of Humiliation', Professor Ali Mazrui argues that Africans and people of African ancestry have suffered more humiliation in modern history than any other race.

Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan, Ali Mazrui gives the first Reith lecture from his series entitled 'The African Condition'. The Kenyan-born university lecturer questions why Africa is the last continent to be made truly habitable. In this lecture entitled 'The Garden of Eden in Decay', Professor Mazuri analyses the problems Africa faces in his lecture and compares it to the Garden of Eden in decay. He argues that the long-term solutions to Africa's crisis of habitability depend on the continent acquiring two things: the capacity for self-pacification and the capacity for self-development.

Reverend Dr Edward Norman, Dean of Peterhouse, Cambridge, considers the Christian situation in Africa in his fifth Reith lecture. Speaking from his series entitled 'Christianity and the World Order' he considers the persistence of religion in a secular society. In this lecture entitled 'The Indwelling Christ', Reverend Norman explores the contemporary understanding of Christianity. He evaluates its change from spiritual devotion to a sanctification of political morals. However, Reverend Norman explains that Christianity is far more than just morality and warns we should not forget the role of spirituality in our lives.

Reverend Dr Edward Norman, Dean of Peterhouse, Cambridge, considers the Christian situation in Africa in his fifth Reith lecture. Speaking from his series entitled 'Christianity and the World Order' Norman explores the politicisation of Christianity in specific areas of Africa. He investigates how political alignment of religion with politics is causing blurred boundaries between the two and asks how can acts of war be sanctified by religion?

Reverend Dr Edward Norman, Dean of Peterhouse, Cambridge, explores the imperialist perspective of Christianity in his fourth Reith lecture. Speaking from his series entitled 'Christianity and the World Order' Norman explores Christianity around the globe. He evaluates the way in which Western Christians view the Latin-American radical churches and believe that they are listening to the Christian word of the Third World. But are they really hearing from the oppressed and exploited majority of its society?

Reverend Dr Edward Norman, Dean of Peterhouse, Cambridge, reflects on the close relationship between Christianity and Western liberal ideals in his third Reith lecture. Speaking from his series entitled 'Christianity and the World Order' Norman reviews how civil rights have followed the paths of religious doctrines.There is no great dissimilarity between secular and religious outlooks on the moral question of human rights, but Reverend Norman asks, what happens when human rights violations happen under the authority of a Christian state?

Reverend Dr Edward Norman, Dean of Peterhouse, Cambridge, explores who the 'Ministers of Change' are in society in his second Reith lecture.Speaking from the series entitled 'Christianity and the World Order' Norman investigates the effect of the secular states' political values on Christianity. Christianity preaches love thy neighbour but do Christian countries follow their own doctrine? Reverend Norman considers the link between religion and politics by investigating the increased influence of The World Council of Churches in developing countries.

Reverend Dr Edward Norman, Dean of Peterhouse, Cambridge, discusses how and why faith has been transformed by political values in his first Reith lecture.Speaking from his series entitled 'Christianity and the World Order' Norman examines the authenticity of religion and considers its potential decay as it becomes progressively aligned with a secularised state. He explains that with the politicisation of Christianity, it is now essentially concerned with social morality rather than with the ethereal qualities of spirituality. Halsey questions what effect this has on the religion.

Sociologist A H Halsey is Professor of Social and Administrative studies at the University of Oxford. In his final lecture from his series 'Change in British Society', Halsey investigates the problem of fraternity in society. He argues that there are native traditions in social and political values which join people together. Yet, can social order in the shape of class, status and party affect these feelings of belonging? In this lecture entitled 'The Social Order', Professor Halsey explains how societies are made through cohesion in group interests, but Societies are also broken by arguments and competition. He analyses how the authoritative power of the state presides over its society.

Sociologist A H Halsey is Professor of Social and Administrative studies at the University of Oxford. In his fifth lecture from his series entitled 'Change in British Society', Halsey investigates the relation between the generations of the nuclear family and focuses in on the primordial link between parents and dependent children. In this lecture entitled 'Between the Generations', Professor Halsey explains how the family is the basic unit of our society. He analyses how it is a miniature reproduction of the social cells of class, of status and of culture. In examining the history of the collective memory of family, one is able to discover the changes of social structure in Britain.

Sociologist A H Halsey is Professor of Social and Administrative studies at the University of Oxford. He evaluates how the expansion of Britain's industrial and economic sectors changed the need for class and status for the fourth Reith lecture from his series entitled 'Change in British Society'.In this lecture entitled 'The Rise of Party', Professor Halsey follows the growth of organisation in relation to the changing structure of class and status in Britain and explains that the growth of companies, trade unions and eventually the Labour Party changed the face of the British society.

Sociologist A H Halsey is Professor of Social and Administrative studies at the University of Oxford. He explores the concept of Status in Society for his third Reith lecture from his series entitled 'Change in British Society'. In this lecture entitled 'The Reconstitution of Status', Professor Halsey looks at the theory of class and status in order to argue the importance of position and power in influencing social mobility. He investigates how class and status can either support or oppose each other and how persistent inequalities are less and less protected from challenge.

Sociologist A H Halsey is Professor of Social and Administrative studies at the University of Oxford. He explores the structures of class in Britain for his second Reith lecture from his series entitled 'Change in British Society'. In this lecture entitled 'Class-Ridden Prosperity', Professor A H Halsey explores how far inequality can be explained by status. He evaluates the ways in which power and advantage form the stratified system of 'Class' and asks the question, why is there still social inequality in this developed and wealthy nation?

Sociologist A H Halsey, Professor of Social and Administrative studies at the University of Oxford, explores the characteristics of the British culture in his first Reith lecture from the series entitled 'Change in British Society'. In this lecture entitled 'To Know Ourselves' Professor Halsey explains that to know ourselves we must explore the sources of consensus and conflict. How are differences between classes, sexes, generations and ethnic groups to be depicted? How have they been changing? Considering different division of sociological thought, Professor Halsey evaluates how society tries to bond under the classifications of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.

Neurobiologist and lecturer of Physiology at the University of Cambridge Colin Blakemore considers mental illness and morality in his sixth and final Reith lecture from his series 'Mechanics of the Mind'. He questions why society attempts to regulate the behaviour of its members and tries to order them into normal and abnormal. In this lecture entitled 'Madness and Morality', Professor Colin Blakemore expands on the many ways cerebral irregularities have been treated throughout history; invasive psychosurgery and electro-therapy were the precursors to modern day medicines and psychiatry.

Neurobiologist and lecturer of Physiology at the University of Cambridge Colin Blakemore explores speech as the vehicle of our language in the fifth Reith lecture from his series entitled 'Mechanics of the Mind'. He investigates how we evolved to speak and questions whether human brains are mentally better equipped to interpret the syntax of language. In this lecture entitled 'A Burning Fire', Professor Blakemore moves between scientific experiments with chimpanzees using sign language to the legendary tales of children growing up without a language. Through these examples he tries to explain why humans have advanced their communications into the complicated language we have today.

Neurobiologist and lecturer of Physiology at the University of Cambridge Colin Blakemore explores the human memory in his fourth Reith lecture from his series entitled 'Mechanics of the Mind'.In this lecture entitled 'A Child of the Moment', Professor Blakemore discusses how we create and store the memories which create our identity. He explains how scientists believe that memories consist of synthesized chemical molecules in the brain and reveals examples of how cerebral cortex damage can halt memory formation or lead to an overload.

Neurobiologist and lecturer of Physiology at the University of Cambridge explores human sight in his third Reith Lecture from his series entitled 'Mechanics of the Mind'. We build up a miraculous understanding of the world around us by interpreting the light that enters our eyes. Professor Blakemore explains how the brain interprets these lights to create sight. In this lecture entitled 'An Image of Truth', Professor Blakemore argues that our perception provides us with a representation of our world, which we trust as a measure of reality, but what happens when this part of the brain is affected? To answer this question he shows how science uses case studies to investigate and develop our understanding.