Desert Island Discs

Mary Midgley


Listen Later

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the philosopher Mary Midgley. For the last 30 years Mary Midgley has been one of Britain's leading moral philosophers. She has been called "the most frightening philosopher in the country" as a result of her ideas and the acuity with which she defends them. Her work is chiefly concerned with the role of science in our lives; whether human nature exists, and if so, what it tells us about ourselves; the concept of wickedness; and the part that art and religion have to play in telling us about human behaviour and experience.

Mary was born in 1919 in Greenford, the youngest of Cannon Scrutton and his wife Lesley's two children. She was educated at Sommerville College, Oxford and after university began working as a lecturer in the philosophy department at Reading University before moving to the University of Newcastle. She married Geoffrey Midgley, also a philosopher in 1950 and they went on to have three children. Her first philosophical book Beast and Man was published in 1979 when she was 50. Since then she has continued to publish books on a diverse range of issues. Now 86, Mary continues to live in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in the home she shared with her husband Geoffrey, who died in 1997.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis by Vaughan Williams

Book: The Variety of Religious Experiences by William James
Luxury: A solar hot water system

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Desert Island DiscsBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

1,418 ratings


More shows like Desert Island Discs

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,401 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,834 Listeners

Woman's Hour by BBC Radio 4

Woman's Hour

402 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,708 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,791 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,077 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,950 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,041 Listeners

Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000 by BBC Radio 4

Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000

50 Listeners

Desert Island Discs: Archive 2000-2005 by BBC Radio 4

Desert Island Discs: Archive 2000-2005

66 Listeners

Desert Island Discs: Archive 2005-2010 by BBC Radio 4

Desert Island Discs: Archive 2005-2010

150 Listeners

Desert Island Discs: Archive 1991-1996 by BBC Radio 4

Desert Island Discs: Archive 1991-1996

79 Listeners

Curious Cases by BBC Radio 4

Curious Cases

811 Listeners

Desert Island Discs: Archive 2011-2015 by BBC Radio 4

Desert Island Discs: Archive 2011-2015

52 Listeners

How To Fail With Elizabeth Day by Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment

How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

1,309 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

752 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

2,981 Listeners

The Rest Is Politics by Goalhanger

The Rest Is Politics

3,142 Listeners

Dish by Cold Glass Productions

Dish

612 Listeners

Desert Island Discs: Archive: 2016-2018 by BBC Radio 4

Desert Island Discs: Archive: 2016-2018

27 Listeners

Brydon & by Rob Brydon | Wondery

Brydon &

89 Listeners

Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth by Gyles Brandreth / Plain Jaine Productions / Keep It Light Media

Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth

302 Listeners

Young Again by BBC Radio 4

Young Again

52 Listeners

The Rest Is Entertainment by Goalhanger

The Rest Is Entertainment

807 Listeners

The Louis Theroux Podcast by Spotify Studios

The Louis Theroux Podcast

497 Listeners