Conversations with History: Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley

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This interview is part of the Institute's "Conversations with History" series, and uses Internet technology to share with the public Berkeley's distinction as a global forum for ideas.

Welcome to a Conversation with History. I'm Harry Kreisler of the Institute of International Studies. Our guest is John R. Searle, who is Mills Professor of Philosophy at the University of California at Berkeley. Among his ten books are Speech Acts, Expression and Meaning, Campus Wars, Intentionality, The Rediscovery of the Mind, The Construction of Social Reality, and Minds, Brains and Science, based on his acclaimed Reith Lectures. He has taught at Cal for forty years and his works have been translated into twenty languages.

1. Background ... influence of parents ... need to know everything ... books read ... education ... fighting against the current ... learning to argue ... University of Wisconsin ... everything interests me ... bringing order to chaos ... Rhodes scholar
2. Philosophical Problems ... the brick wall ... transcending the mind-body dichotomy ... philosophy ends where science begins ... what is philosophy?
3. Being a Philosopher ... the importance of naïveté ... traits of a philosopher
4. The Chinese Room Argument ... trying out the theory ... symbols vs. meaning
5. The University ... the Free Speech Movement (FSM) ... expectations of revolution ... consequences ... comparng students of the 50s and the 60s ... unresponsiveness of the university ... quality matters ... goals of a humanistic education ... distinction of quality in texts ... teaching students to think
6. Conclusion ... what students should learn ... providing an example ... the passion of Berkeley students

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