Bryan Magee (born April 12, 1930) is a noted British broadcasting personality, politician, and author, best known as a popularizer of philosophy. April 12 is the 102nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (103rd in leap years). ... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ...

Early Life

Born of working class parents in Hoxton, Magee was close to his father, but had a difficult relationship with his abusive and overbearing mother. An evacuee during World War II, he was educated at Christ's Hospital school on a London County Council scholarship. He did National Service in the Army and served in the Army Intelligence Corps seeking possible spies among the refugees crossing the border between Yugoslavia and Austria. After demob he obtained a scholarship to Keble College, Oxford where he read History and Philosophy. Friends there included Robin Day, William Rees-Mogg, Jeremy Thorpe and Michael Heseltine. While at Oxford Magee became interested in socialist politics and was elected president of the Oxford Union. Hoxton Square, September 2005. ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths {{{notes}}} World War II, also known as the Second World War (sometimes WW2 or WWII or World War Two), was a mid-20th century conflict that engulfed much of the... Christs Hospitals buildings in London in 1770. ... London County Council emblem is still seen today on buildings, especially housing, from that era London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London from 1889 until 1965, when it was replaced by the Greater London Council. ... A scholarship is an award of access to an institution or a financial aid award for an individual (a scholar) for the purposes of furthering their education. ... National Service describes a form of military service where all members of one particular nation can participate (voluntarily or non-voluntarily. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Espionage is the practice of obtaining secrets (spying) from rivals or enemies for military, political, or economic advantage. ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in all south Slavic languages, in Macedonian and Serbian Cyrillic Југославија) is a term used for three separate but successive political entities that existed during most of the 20th century on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe. ... College name Keble College Named after John Keble Established 1870 Sister College Selwyn College Warden Prof. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: History History studies the past in human terms. ... These five broad types of question are not the only subjects of philosophical inquiry, and there are many overlaps between the categories which are subsumed within the discipline under the four major headings of Logic, Ontology, Epistemology, and Axiology. ... Sir Robin Day OBE, MA (Oxon. ... William Rees-Mogg, Baron Rees-Mogg (born July 14, 1928) is a journalist and politician in the United Kingdom. ... The Right Honourable John Jeremy Thorpe (born April 29, 1929) is a British politician, who was leader of the Liberal Party from 1967 to 1976. ... Michael Heseltine walks out of the cabinet meeting having resigned, January 9, 1986 The Right Honourable Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH, PC (born 21 March 1933), is a British Conservative politician and businessman. ...

Renegade Politician

After a period at Yale University, he returned to Britain in 1958 with hopes of becoming a Labour Member of Parliament. In this he was unsuccessful, and instead took up a job presenting the ITV current affairs television programme This Week. He made documentary programmes about subjects of social concern such as prostitution, sexually transmitted diseases, abortion and homosexuality (illegal in Britain at the time). Yale University is a private university in New Haven, Connecticut. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Labour Party is the principal centre-left political party in the United Kingdom (see British politics). ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ... Current ITV logo. ... A woman who exercises prostitution in Germany Prostitution is the sale of sexual services, such as oral sex or sexual intercourse. ... Sexually-transmitted infections (STIs), also known as sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs), are diseases that are commonly transmitted between partners through some form of sexual activity, most commonly vaginal intercourse, oral sex, or anal sex. ... Since the first coinage, the word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ...

He was eventually elected MP for Leyton in 1974, but found himself out of tune with the Labour Party's leftward tendencies under Michael Foot and was one of several Labour Members who joined the newly founded Social Democratic Party in 1981. He lost his seat in 1983 and returned to writing and broadcasting (which, indeed, he had continued during his parliamentary career). Leyton is a town in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... The Right Honourable Michael Mackintosh Foot (born 23 July 1913), British politician, was leader of the Labour Party from 1980 to 1983. ... This article is about the Social Democratic Party that existed from 1981 until 1988. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Broadcaster and Writer

Magee's most important influence on society though, remains his efforts to make philosophy accesible to the layman. Transcripts of his television series "Men of Ideas" are available in published form in the book Talking Philosophy. This book provides a readable and wide-ranging introduction to modern Anglo-American philosophy.

Another series and book, The Great Philosophers, covers the history of Western philosophy, as does Magee's The Story of Thought (also published as The Story of Philosophy). Magee has also published Confessions of a Philosopher (1997), which essentially offers an introduction to philosophy in the form of an autobiography. This latter book was involved in a libel lawsuit as a result of Magee repeating the rumor that Ralph Schoenman, a controversial associate of Bertrand Russell during the great philosopher's final decade, had been planted by the CIA in an effort to discredit Russell. Schoenman successfully sued Magee for libel, with the result that the British edition of the book was pulped. This article contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... The Right Honourable Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970), was an influential British logician, philosopher, and mathematician, working mostly in the 20th century. ... The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an American intelligence agency, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ...

In Confessions of a Philosopher, Magee emphasized the importance of Schopenhauer's philosophy as a serious attempt to solve philosophical problems. Arthur Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer (February 22, 1788 – September 21, 1860) was a German philosopher born in Gdańsk (Danzig), Poland. ...

His book, The Philosophy of Schopenhauer, (first published in 1983), remains one of the most substantial and wide-ranging treatments of Schopenhauer to be found, it is particularly appreciated for its several essay-appendices in which Magee assesses in depth his influence on Wittgenstein, Wagner and other creative writers. He also addresses Schopenhauer's thoughts on homosexuality and the influence of Buddhism on his philosophy. He regards the work as his "academic magnum opus". Arthur Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer (February 22, 1788 – September 21, 1860) was a German philosopher born in Gdańsk (Danzig), Poland. ... Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951), pictured here in 1930, made influential contributions to Logic and the philosophy of language, critically examining the task of conventional philosophy and its relation to the nature of language. ... Wagner may refer to more than one place in the United States: Wagner, South Dakota Wagner, Wisconsin Wagner may refer to more than one person: Richard Wagner, German composer Cosima Wagner, daughter of Franz Liszt and wife of Richard Wagner Heinrich Leopold Wagner, dramatist and author John Peter Honus Wagner... Since the first coinage, the word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ... A replica of an ancient statue of Gautama Buddha, found from Sarnath, near Varanasi Buddhism, a religion and philosophy from ancient India, is based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, of the Shakyas. ...

Magee has a particular interest in the life, thought and music of Richard Wagner and has written two notable books on the composer and his world 'Aspects of Wagner' (1988), and 'Wagner and Philosophy' (2001). He ios alos an admirer of the philosophy of Karl Popper on whom he has written an introduction (Modern Masters series, 1997). Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813 in Leipzig – February 13, 1883 in Venice) was an influential German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his groundbreaking symphonic-operas (or music dramas). His compositions are notable for their continuous contrapuntal texture, rich harmonies and orchestration, and elaborate... Sir Karl Raimund Popper (July 28, 1902 – September 17, 1994), was an Austrian and British philosopher of science and a professor at the London School of Economics. ...

His autobiography, Clouds of Glory: A Hoxton Childhood, won the J. R. Ackerley Prize for Autobiography in 2004. The J. R. Ackerley Prize for Autobiography is awarded annually by the English Centre for International PEN to an author resident in Britain who has written an outstanding autobiography in English. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External link

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Bryan Magee

Guardian Unlimited profile Image File history File links i would like to see some quotations by or about goebbels. ... Wikiquote logo Wikiquote is a sister project of Wikipedia, using the same MediaWiki software. ...