Aristotle maintained that a human being capable of living outside society is either a wild beast or a god. Mrs Thatcher notoriously claimed society did not exist. For two thousand years, philosophers and politicians have argued over the nature of society and over man as a social animal. As sociologist
WG Runciman tackles the question in his new book The Social Animal, Night Waves joins the debate.
And in the second of this week's
Brecht Bites, Humphrey Carpenter explores the role of literary estates and executors, looking at the role of the Brecht estate which is famous for its protection of the performance and spirit of the dramatist's work. Producer Matthew Dodd