In this episode, I talk to Dr Matthew Barnard from Manchester Metropolitan University. We talk about the question of freedom and it's significance for Philosophy. To do this, we also explore Heidegger’s complex and often misunderstood theory of freedom . Rather than approaching freedom through the usual optic of free will versus determinism, Barnard argues that we need to think of freedom as beyond cause and effect. We also talk a lot about Kant!

Dr Matthew J. Barnard is Lecturer in Philosophy at Manchester Metropolitan University, where he also completed his BA, MA, and PhD in philosophy. A Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, his teaching spans contemporary continental philosophy, phenomenology, and existentialism, with a research focus on post-Kantian thought. He is the author of Heidegger’s Conception of Freedom: Beyond Cause and Effect (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024) and has published widely on themes in Continental Philosophy. You can follow Matt on Bluesky here.

If you would like to study with me you can find more information about our online education MAs in Philosophy here at Staffordshire University. You can find out more information on our MA in Continental Philosophy via this link. Or, join our MA in Philosophy of Nature, Information and Technology via this link. Find out more about me here. September intakes F/T or January intakes P/T. You can listen to more free back content from the Thales' Well podcast on TuneIn Radio, Player Fm, Stitcher and Pod Bean. You can also download their apps to your smart phone and listen via there. You can also subscribe for free on iTunes. Please leave a nice review.

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