History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps
Peter Adamson, Professor of Philosophy at the LMU in Munich and at King's College London, takes listeners through the history of philosophy, 'without any gaps.' The series looks at the ideas, lives and historical context of the major philosophers as well as the lesser-known figures of the tradition. It is available at www.historyofphilosophy.net.
Episodes
HoP 496 He Unwilling, She Unwilling: Jean Racine
How the “neo-classical” tragedies of Racine explore the battle between passion and reason.
HoP 495 Comedy of Errors: Molière
Molière’s famous comedies scandalize Paris and dramatize themes from French moralism, especially the danger of hypocrisy.
HoP 494 Tell the Truth While Laughing: The French Moralists
La Rochefoucauld and other “moralists” offer a penetrating and witty critique of human pride, selfishness, and hypocrisy. Is this just cynicism, or does it support a positive ethic?
HoP 493 Better Nature: The French Garden
How the French formal garden embodied both Cartesian philosophy and the political ideology of the French monarchy.
HoP 492 Changing By Degrees: French Scholasticism
How philosophy at the universities evolved in response to Cartesianism and the “new science.”
HoP 491 Image Problems: Arnauld vs Malebranche on Ideas
Arnauld’s attack on Malebranche’s theory of the “vision in God” leads to a nuanced debate over the nature of ideas.
HoP 490 Steven Nadler on Occasionalism
What inspired the occasionalist theory embraced by the 17th century Cartesians? We find out from a leading specialist on the topic.
HoP 489 All Power to Him: Malebranche and Occasionalism
What led Malebranche to his notorious view that all bodily motions and thoughts are caused by God, with created things serving only as “occasions” for divine action?
HoP 488 No Particular Reason: Nicolas Malebranche
We begin to explore Malebranche’s controversial development of Cartesian philosophy by looking at his theodicy.
HoP 487 Showing Good Judgment: The Port Royal Logic
Antoine Arnauld and Pierre Nicole update the study of logic to take account of the ideas of Descartes.
HoP 486 Friends of the Truth: Arnauld and Jansenism
Antoine Arnauld combines Cartesian philosophy with Jansenism, one of the most controversial religious movements of the 17th century.
HoP 485 Liz Jackson on Pascal's Wager
An interview on contemporary approaches to Pascal's Wager: where decision theory meets philosophy of religion.
HoP 484 You Bet Your Life: Pascal’s Wager
Should we gamble on belief in God to have a chance at infinite reward?
HoP 483 Between Infinity and the Void: Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal was a pioneering scientist and deeply spiritual religious thinker; what united these two sides of his thought?
HoP 482 Indivisible, Under God: the Revival of Atomism
Why did Sébastian Basso and Pierre Gassendi think ancient atomism was the key to developing a new, modern science?
HoP 481 True Fool’s Gold: Pierre Gassendi
Gassendi’s path from skepticism to “baptized Epicureanism.”
HoP 480 Honorable Ignorance: French Skepticism
So-called “libertines” like Mothe le Vayer revive ancient skepticism, provoking a backlash from Mersenne and Arnauld. Were they right to see the skeptics as anti-religious?
HoP 479 Gideon Manning on Cartesian Medicine
An interview exploring Descartes' interest in medicine, how his medical ideas relate to his dualism, and his influence on medical science.
HoP 478 This Gland Is Your Gland: Cartesian Science
From comets to blood transfusions, embryology, and the debate over the pineal gland: Descartes’ impact on science, especially medicine.
HoP 477 The Mind Has No Sex: Cartesianism and Gender
Why Cartesianism appealed to women and became the inspiration for a pioneering feminist, Poullain de la Barre; and why Cartesianism was not the only option for women philosophers of the age.
HoP 476 What He Should Have Said: the Early Cartesians
Early Cartesians including Cordemoy and de La Forge develop but also challenge Descartes’ ideas, defending atomism and occasionalism.
HoP 475 Ariane Schneck on Elisabeth and Descartes
We finish our look at Elisabeth of Bohemia and Descartes by talking to Ariane Schneck about their correspondence, focusing on the mind-body problem and the passions.
HoP 474 States of the Union: Descartes on the Passions
What do emotions reveal about the connection between mind and body? We turn to Descartes’ correspondence with Elisabeth and his On the Passions to find out.
HoP 473 As Rational As You: Elisabeth of Bohemia
A royal scholar and philosopher sets aside the tribulations of her family to debate Descartes over the relation between mind and body and the nature of happiness.
HoP 472 Less Cheer, More Knowledge: Descartes’ Ethics
Descartes’ “provisional” morality and his views on free will and virtue.
HoP 471 Unclear and Indistinct Ideas: Debating the Meditations
Descartes’ Meditations caused controversy as soon as it appeared. In this episode we look at criticisms including the “Cartesian Circle,” and how Descartes answered them.
HoP 470 Gary Hatfield on Descartes' Meditations
We're joined in this episode by a leading expert on one of the most famous works of philosophy ever written: Descartes' Meditations.
HoP 469 Ghost in the Machine: Cartesian Dualism
The word “Cartesian” is synonymous with a radical contrast between mind and body. What led Descartes to his dualism, and how can he explain vital activities in humans and animals having rejected the Aristotelian theory of soul?
HoP 468 Perchance to Dream: Descartes’ Skeptical Method
How Descartes fashioned a “method” to repel even the strongest and most radical forms of doubt, with the cogito argument as its foundation.
HoP 467 Written in Mathematics: Descartes’ Physics
For Descartes body is purely geometrical. So how does he understand features we can perceive, like color, and causation between bodies?
HoP 466 Well Hidden: Descartes’ Life and Works
How René Descartes’ understanding of his own intellectual project evolved across his lifetime.
HoP 465 Modern Times: France and the Netherlands in the 17th Century
A look at the political and religious ferment that made up the historical context of philosophy in 17th century France and the Netherlands.
HoP 464 Howard Hotson on the Republic of Letters
In this interview we learn more about the Republic of Letters: its importance for the history of ideas, it geographic breadth, who was involved, and the contributions of figures including Leibniz and Hartlib.
HoP 463 Doctors without Borders: the Republic of Letters
How scholars around Europe created an international network of intellectual exchange. As examples we consider the activities of Mersenne, Peiresc, Leibniz, Calvet, and Hartlib.
HoP 462 Freedom to Philosophize: Introduction to Early Modern Philosophy
What is Enlightenment, anyway?
HoP 461 - Eileen Reeves on Galileo and the Telescope
We finish our look at philosophy in the Reformation era with an interview about Galileo's use of a revolutionary technology: the telescope.
HoP 460 - Trial and Error - Galileo and the Inquisition
The philosophical issues at the heart of the notorious condemnation of Galileo and Copernican astronomy.
HoP 459 - Cardinal Rule - Robert Bellarmine
Though most famous for his role in persecuting Galileo, Robert Bellarmine was a central figure of the Counter-Reformation, especially in his political thought.
HoP 458 - Outsider Philosophy - The Cheese and the Worms
Carlo Ginzburg’s innovative historical study The Cheese and the Worms looks at the ideas of an obscure 16th century miller, suggesting how popular culture might be integrated into the history of philosophy.
HoP 457 - Take Your Medicine - Oliva Sabuco and Camilla Erculiani
Natural philosophy and medicine in the work of two unorthodox thinkers of the late sixteenth century, both of them women.
HoP 456 - Touch Me With Your Madness - Cervantes’ Don Quixote
Why do critics consider Don Quixote the first “modern” novel, and what does it tell us about the aesthetics of fiction?
HoP 455 - Tom Pink on Francisco Suárez
We're joined by Tom Pink, who tells us about Suárez on ethics, law, religion, and the state.
HoP 454 - By Appointment Only - Political Philosophy in the Second Scholastic
Suárez and other Iberian scholastics ask where political power comes from and under what circumstances it is exercised legitimately.
HoP 453 - The Price is Right - Law and Economics in the Second Scholastic
Vitoria, Molina, Suárez and others develop the idea of natural law, exploring its relevance for topics including international law, slavery, and the ethics of economic exchange.
HoP 452 - Better Than Nothing - Metaphysics in the Second Scholastic
Did the metaphysics of Francisco Suárez mark a shift from traditional scholasticism to early modern philosophy?
HoP 451 - Could’ve, Would’ve, Should’ve - Free Will in the Second Scholastic
What was Luis de Molina trying to say about human free will with his doctrine of “middle knowledge,” and why did it provoke such controversy?
HoP 450 - Depicting What Cannot Be Depicted - Philosophy and Two Renaissance Artworks
To celebrate reaching 450 episodes, Peter looks at the philosophical resonance of two famous artworks from the turn of the 16th century: Dürer’s Self-Portrait and Michelangelo’s paintings in the Sistine Chapel.
HoP 449 - Anna Tropia on Jesuit Philosophy
We learn from Anna Tropia how Jesuit philosophy of mind broke new ground in the scholastic tradition.
HoP 448 - Secondary Schools - Iberian Scholasticism
The “School of Salamanca,” founded by Francisco Vitoria, and the commentators of Coimbra are at the center of a movement sometimes called the “Second Scholastic.”
HoP 447 - Andrés Messmer on Spanish Protestantism
Yes, there were Spanish Protestants! Andrew (Andrés) Messmer joins us to explain how they drew on humanism and philosophy to argue for their religious agenda.
HoP 446 - Not Doubting Thomas - the Aquinas Revival
Cajetan, Bañez and other thinkers make Aquinas a central figure of Counter-Reformation thought; we focus on their theories about analogy and the soul.
HoP 445 - Band of Brothers - the Jesuits
Ignatius of Loyola’s movement begins modestly, but winds up having a global impact on education and philosophy.
HoP 444 - The Dark Night Rises - Spanish Mysticism
Teresa of Ávila and John of the Cross push the boundaries of individual spirituality and offer philosophically informed accounts of mystical experience.
HoP 443 - Marketplace of Letters - Iberian Humanism
Fray Luis de Leon, Antonio Nebrija, Beatriz Galindo and other scholars bring the Renaissance to Spain.
HoP 442 - Scott Williams on Disability and the New World
In this interview we learn about the main issues in modern-day philosophy of disability, and the relevance of this topic for the European encounter with the Americas.
HoP 441 - Lambs to the Slaughter - Debating the New World
Bartholomé De las Casas argues against opponents, like Sepúlveda, who believed that Europeans had a legal and moral right to rule over and exploit the indigenous peoples of the Americas.
HoP 440 - Longitudinal Studies - Exploration and Science
Iberian expeditions to the Americas inspire scientists, and Matteo Ricci’s religious mission to Asia becomes an encounter between European and Chinese philosophy.
HoP 439 - Cancel Culture - The Inquisition
How religious persecution and censorship shaped the context of philosophy in Catholic Europe in the sixteenth century.
HoP 438 - Don't Give Up Pope - Catholic Reformation
How the Counter-Reformation or Catholic Reformation created a context for philosophy among Catholics, especially in Spain, Portugal, and Italy.
HoP 437 - Jennifer Rampling on Renaissance Alchemy
An expert on Renaissance alchemy tells us how this art related to philosophy at the time... and how she has tried to reproduce its results!
HoP 436 - Unpathed Waters, Undreamed Shores - Robert Fludd
Our last figure of the English Renaissance undertakes daring investigations of chemistry, medicine, agriculture, and cosmology – and gets accused of magic and Rosicrucianism.
HoP 435 - Metal More Attractive - William Gilbert and Magnetism
The cosmological and methodological implications of breakthroughs in the understanding of magnetism and electricity at the turn of the 17th century.
HoP 434 - The Eye Sees Not Itself But By Reflection - Theories of Vision
Changing ideas about eyesight, light, mirror images, and refraction – and the skeptical worries they may have inspired.
HoP 433 - Nature’s Mystery - Science in Renaissance England
How scientists of the Elizabethan age anticipated the discoveries and methods of the Enlightenment (without necessarily publishing them).
HoP 432 - If This Be Magic, Let It Be an Art - John Dee
Science, intrigue, exploration, angelic seances! It's the life and thought of Elizabethan mathematician and magician John Dee.
HoP 431 - Calvin Normore on Scholasticism
A discussion of the history and philosophical significance of scholasticism from medieval times to early modernity, and even today.
HoP 430 - I’ll Teach You Differences - British Scholasticism
The evolution of Aristotelian philosophy from John Mair in the late 15th century to John Case in the late 16th century.
HoP 429 - She Uttereth Piercing Eloquence - Women’s Spiritual Literature
How women’s writing in England changed from the early fifteenth century, the time of Margery Kempe, to the late sixteenth century, the time of Anne Lock.
HoP 428 - Weird Sisters - Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Witchcraft
How Macbeth reflects the anxieties and explanations surrounding witchcraft and witch-hunting in early modern Europe.
HoP 427 - Brave New World - Shakespeare’s Tempest and Colonialism
Can Shakespeare’s Tempest be read as a reflection on the English encounter with the peoples of the Americas?
HoP 426 - A Face Without a Heart - Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Individualism
How the Renaissance turn towards individual identity is reflected in Shakespeare's most famous play.
HoP 425 - Patrick Gray on Shakespeare
We're joined by Patrick Gray to discuss Shakespeare's knowledge of philosophy, his ethics, and his influence on such thinkers as Hegel.
HoP 424 - Hast Any Philosophy In Thee? - William Shakespeare
How should we approach Shakespeare’s plays as philosophical texts? We take as examples skepticism and politics in Othello, King Lear, and Julius Caesar.
HoP 423 - Heaven-Bred Poesy - Philip Sidney and Edmund Spenser
We begin to look at Elizabethan literature, as Sidney argues that poetry is superior to philosophy, and philosophy is put to use in Spenser’s "Fairie Queene".
HoP 422 - The World’s Law - Richard Hooker
Richard Hooker defends the religious and political settlement of Elizabethan England using rational arguments and appeals to the natural law.
HoP 421 - With Such Perfection Govern - English Political Thought
The evolution of ideas about kingship and the role of the “three estates” in 15th and 16th century England, with a focus on John Fortescue and Thomas Starkey.
HoP 420 - No Place Will Please Me So - Thomas More
What is the message of the famous, but elusive, work "Utopia", and how can it be squared with the life of its author?
HoP 419 - Write Till Your Ink Be Dry - Humanism in Britain
Humanism comes to England and Scotland, leading scholars like Thomas Eylot and Andrew Melville to rethink philosophical education.
HoP 418 - Diarmaid MacCulloch on the British Reformations
A leading expert on the history of the Reformation joins us to explain the very different stories of England and Scotland in the 16th century.
HoP 417 - To Kill a King - The Scottish Reformation
John Knox polemicizes against idolaters and female rulers, while the humanist George Buchanan argues more calmly for equally radical political conclusions.
