Making Sense of Humanity
Bernard Williams, one of the 20th century’s best and most influential philosophers, tries to make sense of humanity in the clip below.
Much that Williams has to say here is relevant to the questions of being human and of being a person, which we’ve discussed and will continue to discuss. By the way, I only heard Williams speak a few times in person, and he was already quite unwell at the time. Nevertheless, I found him to be to be an exemplary academic lecturer and dangerously persuasive in part because of this. Certainly, Williams’ use of English makes me wonder whether I even count as speaking the same language.
Jump forward to 7.00 do get past the introductions and right to Williams’ talk. The remaining parts of the talk are easy to follow on YouTube.