Lawyer Harry Potter on Eyewitness Testimony

A History of Ideas by BBC

Aug 4, 201513:10Society & Culture

Barrister Harry Potter asks whether we can believe the evidence of our own eyes. It's a vital question for the justice system today and Harry traces it back to the work of 18th century Philosopher David Hume. Hume, a key...

Related Episodes

Continue listening to more episodes from A History of Ideas.

Neuropsychologist Paul Broks on Wittgenstein

Aug 7, 2015 - 12:59

Paul Broks looks at the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein and the problem of "other minds". How do I know y...

Philosopher Clare Carlisle on Reality and Perception

Aug 6, 2015 - 12:57

If a tree falls in a forest and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound? That's the kind of head...

Physicist Tara Shears on Falsification

Aug 5, 2015 - 12:42

Science is based on fact, right? Cold, unchanging, unarguable facts. Perhaps not, says physicist Tara She...

How Can I Know Anything at All?

Aug 3, 2015 - 13:02

A history of ideas. Presented by Melvyn Bragg but told in many voices. Each week Melvyn is joined by four...

Writer Lisa Appignanesi on the Love of Children

Jul 31, 2015 - 12:55

How should we love our children? Can we build on the feelings we experience when we see them for the firs...

Psychotherapist Mark Vernon on Freud

Jul 30, 2015 - 12:57

What is love? Psychotherapist Mark Vernon looks at Freud's ideas on the Greek god Eros, which he saw as a...

Theologian Giles Fraser on Altruism

Jul 29, 2015 - 12:59

Giles Fraser discusses gene theory versus altruism with playwright Tom Stoppard whose play The Hard Probl...

Classicist Edith Hall on Aristophanes in Plato

Jul 28, 2015 - 13:04

In 416BC the Greek playwright Aristophanes went to a drinking party. The guests included many famous Athe...