If you have found the content of the 2002 Reith Lectures stimulating and would like to learn more about philosophy and the broader issue of trust, why not consider taking a course at the Open University?

The OU courses page allows you to search through all the subjects available. You may also like to look at some of the faculty pages, such as Arts, Science or Social Science for more information.

Philosophy and the Human Situation (A211)
Introducing philosophy for second level students, this course shows how philosophical issues arise in familiar questions about our own nature and situation, and is designed to show philosophy as an active enquiry.

Culture, Media and Identities (D318)
Exploring the interdisciplinary field of cultural and media studies. Some of the main topics include the growth of new technologies and their effects on everyday life and on popular culture; how culture constructs new identities and marks differences between groups; and the rise of the new multimedia cultural industries that dominate the networks of circulation.

Reading Political Philosophy: Machiavelli to Mill (AA311)
Read some of the most fascinating and influential books ever written, from Machiavelli's The Prince to John Stuart Mill's The Subjection of Women. All the books continue to exert an influence on present-day thought, and are all the more exciting to read. The works covered are written by seven of the most important political philosophers - Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx, Engels and Mill.

Issues in Contemporary Social and Political Philosophy (A851)
This course encourages Post Graduates to develop independence of thought and the ability to put across a full and coherent case for a philosophical position. The themes covered in the course include the metaphysics of social explanation, distributive justice, and liberalism versus communitarianism, which are then used to explore the topics of citizenship, nationalism, punishment and democracy.

Science and the Public (S802)
Part of the Postgraduate Science Studies strand in the MSc in Science programme, this course focuses on science and its relationship to the general public. In particular it includes a section on the question of trust between scientists and the public.

Content last updated: 01/04/2002