In Our Time features Anil Gomes on Kant’s Copernican Revolution

The flagship BBC Radio 4 programme In Our Time has featured Trinity philosophy fellow Anil Gomes discussing Immanuel Kant’s contribution to our understanding of our place in the world.

Airing on 3 June, the 45-minute discussion focussed on Kant’s 1781 Critique of Pure Reason and the insight into our relationship with the world that it provided. Dr Gomes discussed Kant's ideas on how the world depends on us, on the limits of human knowledge and why we are bound to ask questions we cannot answer.

Dr Gomes says: ‘It was huge fun to talk about Kant’s Copernican revolution with Melvyn and the other guests. Kant’s ideas are powerful but puzzling and it’s not straightforward to understand why he was worrying about the things he was worrying about, nor how he thought his philosophy avoided those worries. In broad terms, Kant thinks that the world (in some sense) depends on us (in some sense). Trying to make sense of that is a lovely intellectual challenge and I hope that the programme will demonstrate just why one might find it interesting to think through these problems with Kant.’

In Our Time has been broadcasting for over 20 years and is one of BBC Radio 4’s most successful discussion programmes.