Do we still believe in the idea of the common good, a concept that seemed ubiquitous through the 20th Century? This interview, with renowned philosopher Prof. Hans Sluga, seeks to explain what has happened, especially with regard to the diminishing understanding of the foundational role of Common Good within Europe and the European Union.
Hans Sluga is a senior Professor in the School of Philosophy at the University of California Berkeley. Prof. Sluga is one of the leading scholars on the work of Ludwig Wittgenstein, but his own work has taken him in the direction of political philosophy. Rather than taking the conventional linear path, he has increasingly seen the need to survey across the discipline, seeking to tie together the many different schools and strands of philosophy.
Hans Sluga’s book, Politics and the Search for the Common Good, is a perfect example of this panoramic approach. This is a conversation I had with Prof. Sluga’s in his office at Berkeley, just metres from the University’s famous Campanile.
You can listen to the program here …
Guests
Prof Hans Sluga—Philosophy Department, University of California Berkeley
Publications
Hans Sluga, Politics and the Search for the Common Good (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014)
Further Information
Hans Sluga, Truth and Power: Hans Sluga on Philosophy (Web blog)
Hans Sluga, The Common Good (Article written following this interview)
Hannah Arendt, Power and Violence (Lecture given at Bard University in the USA, 1968)
Credits
Producer—Michael Shirrefs
Series Producer—David Rutledge