Arts & Ideas Folgen

Amalia Holst's defence of female education, published in 1802, was the first work by a woman in Germany to challenge the major philosophers of the age, including Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Immanuel Kant. Unlike Mary Wollstonecraft writing in England, Holst failed to make headway with her arguments. New Generation Thinker Andrew Cooper teaches in the philosophy department at the University of Warwick. His essay explores the publishing of Holst's book On The Vocation of Woman to Higher Intellectual Education.Andrew Cooper is a New Generation Thinker on the scheme run by the BBC and the Arts and Humanities Research Council, part of UKRI.Producer: Luke MulhallYou can hear more from Andrew in a Free Thinking discussion about The Sorrows of Young Werther by Goethe available as an Arts & Ideas podcast and on BBC Sounds

In 2024, Scotland marks two big anniversaries: David I ascended the throne nine centuries ago and James I of Scotland began his reign 600 years ago. Both Kings played a role in shaping Scotland's ideas about its monarchy. How did David shape Scotland, and what relevance does the Stone of Destiny have - then, and now, as it returns to its native Perthshire? We look at the Scottish dream-vision, initiated by James I in writing Scotland's first love poem, sparking a new tradition lasting through the Renaissance and beyond. Anne McElvoy hears about distinctly Scottish ideas of Kingship.Kylie Murray is the author of The Making of the Scottish Dream Vision and a BBC Radio 3 AHRC New Generation ThinkerAlexandra Sanmark is Professor of Medieval Archaeology at the University of the Highlands and IslandsDonna Heddle is Professor of Northern Heritage and Director of the UHI Institute for Northern Studies at the University of the Highlands and IslandsWilliam Murray is Viscount Stormont and owner of Scone PalaceProducer: Ruth WattsYou might be interested in other Free Thinking episodes exploring Scottish history and writing including programmes about The Declaration of Abroath; John McGrath's Scottish drama, Tales of Scotland: A Nation and its literature with Janice Galloway, Peter Mackay, Murray Pittock and Kathleen Jamie; The Battle of Culloden - Outlander and Peter Watkins; crime writer Ian Rankin talks to Tahmima Anam.

Rana Mitter explores looks at the role of writing in propagating ideas and exposing political tensions. He hears how writers have given voice to personal and political ambitions, from Ding Ling to the teenagers of modern China. Yuan Yang discusses her new book, Private Revolutions. Simon Ings talks about his latest book Engineers of Human Souls which examines four writers whose ideas shaped the careers of some of the twentieth century’s most infamous dictators. And Jeffrey Howard analyses the ethics of negotiating free speech and censorship today.Producer: Ruth WattsPrivate Revolutions: Coming of Age in a New China by Yuan Yang is out nowSimon Ings' book Engineers of Human Souls: Four Writers Who Changed Twentieth-Century Minds looks at Maurice Barrès, Gabriele D'Annunzio, Ding Ling and Maxim Gorky.Jeffrey Howard is Associate Professor of Political Philosophy and Public Policy at UCL and Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Ethics in AI at Oxford University. You can find an Essay called Prison Break which he wrote for BBC Radio 3 asking if it is ever ok to escape from prison available on BBC Sounds. He was chosen as a New Generation Thinker in 2020 on the scheme run by the BBC and the Arts and Humanities Research Council to put research on radio.