At the heart of the Enlightenment was the notion that the world could in principle be explained. Yet perplexingly the biggest questions seem to defy explanation. Is explanation an illusion, or does it function differently than we suppose? Or in our postmodern world are answers still possible after all?

Outspoken meteorologist and the brother of the British Labour Party Leader, Piers Corbyn, author of The Dappled World and former President of the APA’s Pacific Division Nancy Cartwright, and philosopher of physics James Ladyman reconsider certainty.

This video was produced by The Institute of Art and Ideas and is republished here with permission. It was filmed at HowTheLightGetsIn 2016 alongside 200 other debates and talks, all available for free at IAI TV. Their new podcast, Philosophy for our times, is available here.