History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps: Recent Episodes
Peter Adamson
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". www.historyofphilosophy.net
Is Pierre Bayle’s pioneering reference work, the Historical and Critical Dictionary, a monument to skepticism or to fideism?
The “Quietists” Jeanne Guyon and François Fénelon argue that self-love can be overcome by cultivating a “pure love” for God. Their reward: to be accused of heresy.
How the “neo-classical” tragedies of Racine explore the battle between passion and reason.
Molière’s famous comedies scandalize Paris and dramatize themes from French moralism, especially the danger of hypocrisy.
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?
How the French formal garden embodied both Cartesian philosophy and the political ideology of the French monarchy.
How philosophy at the universities evolved in response to Cartesianism and the “new science.”
Arnauld’s attack on Malebranche’s theory of the “vision in God” leads to a nuanced debate over the nature of ideas.
What inspired the occasionalist theory embraced by the 17th century Cartesians? We find out from a leading specialist on the topic.
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?
We begin to explore Malebranche’s controversial development of Cartesian philosophy by looking at his theodicy.
Antoine Arnauld and Pierre Nicole update the study of logic to take account of the ideas of Descartes.
Antoine Arnauld combines Cartesian philosophy with Jansenism, one of the most controversial religious movements of the 17th century.
An interview on contemporary approaches to Pascal's Wager: where decision theory meets philosophy of religion.
Blaise Pascal was a pioneering scientist and deeply spiritual religious thinker; what united these two sides of his thought?
Why did Sébastian Basso and Pierre Gassendi think ancient atomism was the key to developing a new, modern science?
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?
An interview exploring Descartes' interest in medicine, how his medical ideas relate to his dualism, and his influence on medical science.
From comets to blood transfusions, embryology, and the debate over the pineal gland: Descartes’ impact on science, especially medicine.
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.
Early Cartesians including Cordemoy and de La Forge develop but also challenge Descartes’ ideas, defending atomism and occasionalism.
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.
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.
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.
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.
We're joined in this episode by a leading expert on one of the most famous works of philosophy ever written: Descartes' Meditations.
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?
How Descartes fashioned a “method” to repel even the strongest and most radical forms of doubt, with the cogito argument as its foundation.
For Descartes body is purely geometrical. So how does he understand features we can perceive, like color, and causation between bodies?
How René Descartes’ understanding of his own intellectual project evolved across his lifetime.
A look at the political and religious ferment that made up the historical context of philosophy in 17th century France and the Netherlands.
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.
How scholars around Europe created an international network of intellectual exchange. As examples we consider the activities of Mersenne, Peiresc, Leibniz, Calvet, and Hartlib.
We finish our look at philosophy in the Reformation era with an interview about Galileo's use of a revolutionary technology: the telescope.
The philosophical issues at the heart of the notorious condemnation of Galileo and Copernican astronomy.
Though most famous for his role in persecuting Galileo, Robert Bellarmine was a central figure of the Counter-Reformation, especially in his political thought.
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.
Natural philosophy and medicine in the work of two unorthodox thinkers of the late sixteenth century, both of them women.
Why do critics consider Don Quixote the first “modern” novel, and what does it tell us about the aesthetics of fiction?
We're joined by Tom Pink, who tells us about Suárez on ethics, law, religion, and the state.
Suárez and other Iberian scholastics ask where political power comes from and under what circumstances it is exercised legitimately.
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.
Did the metaphysics of Francisco Suárez mark a shift from traditional scholasticism to early modern philosophy?
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?
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.
We learn from Anna Tropia how Jesuit philosophy of mind broke new ground in the scholastic tradition.
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.”
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.
Cajetan, Bañez and other thinkers make Aquinas a central figure of Counter-Reformation thought; we focus on their theories about analogy and the soul.
Ignatius of Loyola’s movement begins modestly, but winds up having a global impact on education and philosophy.
Teresa of Ávila and John of the Cross push the boundaries of individual spirituality and offer philosophically informed accounts of mystical experience.
Fray Luis de Leon, Antonio Nebrija, Beatriz Galindo and other scholars bring the Renaissance to Spain.
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.
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.
Iberian expeditions to the Americas inspire scientists, and Matteo Ricci’s religious mission to Asia becomes an encounter between European and Chinese philosophy.
How religious persecution and censorship shaped the context of philosophy in Catholic Europe in the sixteenth century.
How the Counter-Reformation or Catholic Reformation created a context for philosophy among Catholics, especially in Spain, Portugal, and Italy.
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!
Our last figure of the English Renaissance undertakes daring investigations of chemistry, medicine, agriculture, and cosmology – and gets accused of magic and Rosicrucianism.
The cosmological and methodological implications of breakthroughs in the understanding of magnetism and electricity at the turn of the 17th century.
Changing ideas about eyesight, light, mirror images, and refraction – and the skeptical worries they may have inspired.
How scientists of the Elizabethan age anticipated the discoveries and methods of the Enlightenment (without necessarily publishing them).
Science, intrigue, exploration, angelic seances! It's the life and thought of Elizabethan mathematician and magician John Dee.
A discussion of the history and philosophical significance of scholasticism from medieval times to early modernity, and even today.
The evolution of Aristotelian philosophy from John Mair in the late 15th century to John Case in the late 16th century.
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.
How Macbeth reflects the anxieties and explanations surrounding witchcraft and witch-hunting in early modern Europe.
Can Shakespeare’s Tempest be read as a reflection on the English encounter with the peoples of the Americas?
How the Renaissance turn towards individual identity is reflected in Shakespeare's most famous play.
We're joined by Patrick Gray to discuss Shakespeare's knowledge of philosophy, his ethics, and his influence on such thinkers as Hegel.
How should we approach Shakespeare’s plays as philosophical texts? We take as examples skepticism and politics in Othello, King Lear, and Julius Caesar.
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".
Richard Hooker defends the religious and political settlement of Elizabethan England using rational arguments and appeals to the natural law.
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.
What is the message of the famous, but elusive, work "Utopia", and how can it be squared with the life of its author?
Humanism comes to England and Scotland, leading scholars like Thomas Eylot and Andrew Melville to rethink philosophical education.
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.
John Knox polemicizes against idolaters and female rulers, while the humanist George Buchanan argues more calmly for equally radical political conclusions.
The historical context of English philosophy in the sixteenth century, with particular focus on Thomas Cranmer, and the role of religion in personal conscience and social cohesion.
Marie le Jars de Gourney, the “adoptive daughter” of Montaigne, lays claim to his legacy and argues for the equality of the sexes.
No doubt that we're in good hands with interview guest Henrik Lagerlund, who brings his expertise in the history of skepticism to bear on the French Renaissance.
In his “Essays” Montaigne uses his wit, insight, and humanist training to tackle his favorite subject: Montaigne.
Joseph Scaliger, Isaac Casaubon, and Guillaume du Vair grapple with history and the events of their own day.
A chat with Ann Blair about the "Theater of Nature" by Jean Bodin, and other encyclopedic works of natural philosophy.
The polymath Jean Bodin produces a pioneering theory of political sovereignty along the way to defending the absolute power of the French king.
Protestant French thinkers like François Hotman and Theodore Beza propose a radical political philosophy: the king rules at the pleasure of his subjects.
An interview on the nature of religious tolerance, and the forms it took during the Reformation and in the thought of early modern thinkers like Locke and Leibniz.
Even as wars of religion in France prompt calls for toleration, hardly anyone makes a principled case for freedom of conscience… apart from Sebastian Castellio.
The methods of Peter Ramus sweep across Europe, winning adherents and facing stiff opposition in equal measure.
A chat with Ramus expert Robert Goulding on the role of mathematics in Ramist philosophy.
A chat with Ramus expert Robert Goulding on the role of mathematics in Ramist philosophy.
Peter Ramus scandalizes his critics, and thrills his students and admirers, by proposing a new and simpler approach to philosophy.
Peter Ramus scandalizes his critics, and thrills his students and admirers, by proposing a new and simpler approach to philosophy.
Peter reads the first chapter of his new book Don’t Think for Yourself: Authority and Belief in Medieval Philosophy, available from University of Notre Dame Press. Pre-order with the code 14FF20 from undpress.nd.edu, to get a 20% discount!
Challenges to Galenic medical orthodoxy from natural philosophy: Jean Fernel with his idea of the human’s “total substance,” and the Paracelsans.
Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples and Julius Caesar Scaliger fuse Aristotelianism with humanism to address problems in logic and literary aesthetics.
Peter chats with the hosts of three great philosophy podcasts: Elucidations, Hi-Phi Nation, and the Unmute Podcast.
In his outrageous novel about Pantagruel and Gargantua, Rabelais engages with scholasticism, humanism, medicine, the reformation, and the querelle des femmes.
A Renaissance queen supports philosophical humanism and produces literary works on spirituality, love, and the soul.
We begin to look at philosophy in Renaissance France, beginning with humanists like Budé and the use of classical philosophy by poets du Bellay and Ronsard.
Comets! Magnets! Armadillos! In this wide-ranging interview Lorraine Daston tells us how Renaissance and early modern scientists dealt with the extraordinary events they called "wonders".
Johannes Kepler fuses Platonist philosophy with a modified version of Copernicus’ astronomy.
Responses to Copernicus in the 16th century, culminating with the master of astral observation Tycho Brahe.
John Sellars returns to the podcast to discuss Lipsius' work on Seneca and the early modern Neo-Stoic movement.
Justus Lipsius draws on Seneca and other Stoics to counsel peace of mind in the face of political chaos, but also writes a work on how such chaos can be avoided.
Amidst religious conflict in the Netherlands, Dirck Coornhert pleads for religious toleration and freedom of expression.
Schegk, Taurellus, Gorlaeus, and Sennert revive atomism to explain chemical reactions, the composition of bodies, and the generation of organisms.
Paracelsus adapts the tradition of alchemical science for use in medicine, and in the process overturns the scientific theories of Aristotle and Galen.
An interview with Helen Hattab on the scope and impact of scholastic philosophy among Protestants.
In a surprise twist, some Protestant thinkers embrace the methods of scholasticism, and even find something to admire in the work of Catholic authors like Aquinas.
The Swiss theologian Zwingli launches the Reformation in Switzerland, but clashes with Luther and more radical Protestants.
Faced with massive political upheaval and the rise of the Anabaptists, Luther argues for a socially conservative version of the Reformation.
Luther’s close ally Melanchthon uses his knowledge of ancient philosophy and rhetoric in the service of the Reformation.
Erasmus clashes with Martin Luther over the question whether our wills are free or enslaved to sin.
How radical was Luther? We find out from Lyndal Roper, who also discusses Luther and the Peasants' War, sexuality, anti-semitism, and the visual arts.
How Luther’s doctrine of justification by faith alone and his attack on the Church relate to the history of philosophy.
Trends in Aristotelian philosophy in northern and eastern Europe in the fifteenth century, featuring discussion of the “Wegestreit” and the nominalist theology of Gabriel Biel.
Learned ignorance, coincidence of opposites and religious peace: Paul Richard Blum discusses the central ideas of Nicholas Cusanus.
The radical negative theology of Nicholas of Cusa, and his hope of establishing peace between the religions of the world.
Rudolph Agricola, Juan Luis Vives and other humanist scholars spread the study of classical antiquity across Europe and mock the technicalities of scholastic philosophy.
The impact of the printing press on the history of philosophy, and its role in helping to trigger the Reformation.
How humanism and scholasticism came together with the Protestant Reformation to create the philosophy of 15-16th century Europe.
For our finale of the Italian Renaissance series we're joined by Ingrid Rowland, to speak about art, philosophy, and persecution in Renaissance Rome.
Did Galileo’s scientific discoveries grow out of the culture of the Italian Renaissance?
Giordano Bruno’s stunning vision of an infinite universe with infinite worlds, and his own untimely end.
Our guest Brian Copenhaver joins us to explain how Ficino and other Renaissance philosophers thought about magic.
Ficino, Pico, Cardano, and other Renaissance thinkers debate whether astrology and magic are legitimate sciences with a foundation in natural philosophy.
Was the natural philosophy of Bernardino Telesio and Tommaso Campanella the first modern physical theory?
An interview with Guido Giglioni, who speaks to us about the sources and philosophical implications of medical works of the Renaissance.
The polymath Girolamo Cardano explores medicine, mathematics, philosophy of mind, and the interpretation of dreams.
Connections between philosophy and advances in medicine, including the anatomy of Vesalius.
The humanist study of Pythagoras, Archimides and other ancient mathematicians goes hand in hand with the use of mathematics in painting and architecture.
An interview with Dag Nikolaus Hasse on the Renaissance reception of Averroes, Avicenna, and other authors who wrote in Arabic.
Jacopo Zabarella outlines the correct method for pursuing, and then presenting, scientific discoveries.
Pietro Pomponazzi and Agostino Nifo debate the immortality of the soul and the cogency of Averroes’ theory of intellect.
Aristotle’s works are edited, printed, and translated, leading to new assessments of his thought among both humanists and scholastics.
The blurry line dividing humanism and scholastic university culture in the Italian Renaissance.
Leon Battista Alberti, Benedetto Cotrugli, and Poggio Bracciolini grapple with the moral and conceptual problems raised by the prospect of people getting filthy rich.
Tommaso Campanella’s “The City of the Sun” and other utopian works of the Italian Renaissance describe perfect cities as an ideal for real life politics.
Bruni, Poggio, Machiavelli, and Guicciardini explore political ideas and historical method in works on Roman and Italian history.
Leading Machiavelli scholar Quentin Skinner joins Peter to discuss morality, history, and religion in the Prince and the Discourses.
Peter celebrates reaching 350 episodes by explaining a single sentence in Machiavelli's "Discourses."
Machiavelli’s seminal work of political advice, "The Prince," tells the ruler how to be strong like a lion and cunning like a fox.
Did “civic humanism” really make republicanism a newly dominant political theory in the Italian Renaissance?
The prophetic preacher Girolamo Savonarola attacks pagan philosophy and puts forward his own political ideas, before coming to an untimely end.
An interview with Cecilia Muratori, an expert on the surprisingly modern ideas about non-human animals that emerged in the Renaissance.
Pico della Mirandola and Giannozzo Manetti praise humans as the centerpiece of the created world. But what about the other animals?
Pico della Mirandola argues for the harmony of the ancient authorities, draws on Jewish mysticism, and questions the value of humanist rhetoric.
Jewish philosophers in Renaissance Italy, focusing on Leone Ebreo’s Dialogues of Love, the Averroism of Elijah del Medigo, and Italian Kabbalah.
An interview with Denis Robichaud on how, and why, Plato was read in the Italian Renaissance.
Ficino describes a “Platonic” love purified of sexuality, prompting a debate carried on by Pico della Mirandola, Pietro Bembo, and Tullia d’Aragona.
Marsilio Ficino’s revival of Platonism, with a focus on his proofs for the soul’s immortality in his magnum opus, the Platonic Theology.
The blossoming of Renaissance Platonism under the Medici, who supported the scholarship of Poliziano, Ficino, and Pico della Mirandola.
Cassandra Fedele, Isotta Nogarola, and Laura Cereta seek fame and glory through eloquence and learning.
Christine de Pizan's political philosophy, epistemology, and the refutation of misogyny in her "City of Ladies".
An interview with Sabrina Ebbersmeyer about the relation of emotion to reason and the body, and panpsychism, in the Renaissance.
The rediscovery of Epicurus, Lucretius, and Sextus Empiricus spreads challenging ideas about chance, atomism, and skepticism.
Humanists from Bruni and Valla to Pontano and Castiglione ask whether ancient ethical teachings can still help us learn how to live.
Jill Kraye returns to the podcast to discuss the nature of humanism, its relation to scholasticism, and its legacy.
Lorenzo Valla launches a furious attack on scholastic philosophy, favoring the resources of classical Latin.
Coluccio Salutati and Leonardo Bruni combine eloquence with philosophy, taking as their model the refined language and republican ideals found in Cicero.
Bessarion and George Trapenzuntius, rival scholars from the Greek east who helped inspire the Italian Renaissance.
The series on Byzantium concludes as Michele Trizio discusses the mutual influence of Byzantium and Latin Christendom.
When the Byzantine empire ended in 1453, philosophy in Greek did not end with it. In this episode we bring the story up to the 20th century.
Was Gemistos Plethon, the last great thinker of the Byzantine tradition, a secret pagan or just a Christian with an unusual enthusiasm for Platonism?
Thomas Aquinas finds avid readers among Byzantines at the twilight of empire, and is used by both sides of the Hesychast controversy.
Gregory Palamas and the controversy over his teaching that we can go beyond human reason by grasping God through his activities or “energies”.
Mathematics and the sciences in Byzantium, focusing on scholars of the Palaiologan period like Blemmydes and Metochites.
Historian Judith Herrin joins us to talk about competition and mutual influence between Islam and Byzantium.
Intellectual exchange between Christians and Muslims, and the later flowering of Syriac literature including the philosopher Bar Hebraeus.
The Neoplatonist Proclus gets mixed reviews from Christians, as Nicholas of Methone refutes him but the Georgian philosopher Ioane Petritsi helps to revive his thought.
Peter's Munich colleague Oliver Primavesi tells us how Greek manuscripts are used to establish the text of authors like Aristotle.
Without handwritten copies produced by Byzantine scribes, we would know almost nothing about ancient philosophy. How and why were they made?
Legal and economic thought in Byzantium: the sources of the law’s authority, the relation of church and civil law, just price, and just war.
The role of women in Byzantine society and the complex attitudes surrounding eunuchs: did they make up a “third gender”?
A chat about commentaries on Aristotle from Byzantium with guest Katerina Ierodiakonou.
Princess Anna Komnene makes good use of her political retirement by gathering a circle of scholars to write commentaries on Aristotle.
The larger meaning of history in the chronicles written by Michael Psellos, Michael Attaleiates, Anna Komnene, and Niketas Choniates.
Psellos and other experts in rhetoric explore how this art of persuasion relates to philosophy.
Byzantine political thought from the time of Justinian down to the Palaiologos dynasty wrestles with the nature and scope of imperial power.
The trial of John Italos and other signs of Byzantine disquiet with the pagan philosophical tradition.
Dominic O'Meara speaks to Peter about Michael Psellos, focusing especially on his political philosophy.
Photius, “the inventor of the book review,” and other Byzantine scholars who preserved ancient learning.
Peter is joined by Andrew Louth for a discussion of John of Damascus and his theological use of philosophy.
John of Damascus helps to shape the Byzantine understanding of humankind and the veneration of images, despite living in Islamic territory.
Is it idolatry to venerate an icon of a saint, or of Christ? The dispute leads the Byzantines to ponder the relation between an image and its object.
Eastern Christian philosophy outside of Constantinople, focusing on translation and exegesis in the languages of Syriac and Armenian.
We begin to look at the third tradition of medieval philosophy, in which the heritage of classical antiquity is preserved and debated by the Byzantines.
Peter King, Catarina Dutilh Novaes, and Russ Friedman discuss their approaches to medieval philosophy, and its contemporary relevance.
Rachel Barney, Christof Rapp, and Mark Kalderon join Peter to discuss the importance of ancient philosophy for today's philosophers.
Bob Pasnau joins Peter to discuss ideas about substance from Aquinas down to the time of Locke, Leibniz and Descartes.
The Renaissance ideals of humanism and universal science flourish already in the medieval period, in the works of Petrarch and Ramon Llull.
New ideas and and new universities in Italy and greater Germany including Vienna and Prague, where Jan Hus carries on the radical ideas of Wyclif.
John Wyclif refutes nominalism and inspires the Lollard movement, which anticipated Reformation thought with its critique of the church.
Jean Gerson’s role in the political disputes of his day, the spread of lay devotion and affective mysticism, and the debate over the Romance of the Rose initiated by Christine de Pizan.
Peter is joined by Isabel Davis to discuss marriage, sex and chastity in Chaucer, focusing on the Wife of Bath's speech.
Medieval attitudes towards homosexuality, sex and chastity, and the status of women. Authors discussed include Aquinas, Catherine of Siena, and Chaucer.
Philosophical themes in Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” and “Troilus and Criseyde,” as well as Langland’s “Piers Plowman.”
Julian of Norwich’s Shewings and the Cloud of Unknowing lay out challenging paths to knowledge of, and union with, God.
Martin Pickavé returns to the podcast to talk about theories of the emotions in Aquinas, Scotus and Wodeham.
Be surprised by how many philosophical problems arise in connection with angels (how many can dance on the head of a pin is not one of them).
Dietrich of Freiberg, Berthold of Moosburg, John Tauler and Henry Suso explore Neoplatonism and mysticism.
The scholastic and mystic Meister Eckhart sets out his daring speculations about God and humankind in both Latin and German.
Changing ideas about money, just price, and usury, up to the time of Buridan, Oresme, and Gregory of Rimini.
The medievals were too firm in their beliefs to entertain skeptical worries, right? Don't be so sure, as Peter learns from Dominik Perler.
The debate between Nicholas of Autrecourt and John Buridan on whether it is possible to achieve certain knowledge.
Peter speaks to Jack Zupko about John Buridan's secular and parsimonious approach to philosophy.
The hipster’s choice for favorite scholastic, John Buridan, sets out a nominalist theory of knowledge and language, and explains the workings of free will.
An interview with Monica Green reveals parallels between medicine and philosophy in the middle ages.
Ockham, Buridan, Oresme and Francis of Marchia explore infinity, continuity, atomism, and the impetus involved in motion.
Bradwardine and other thinkers based at Oxford make breakthroughs in physics by applying mathematics to motion.
The scholastics discuss the ambiguity of terms, the nature of logical inference, and logical paradoxes, and play the game of “obligations.”
Scotus, Ockham, and Bradwardine ask how we can be free if God knows and chooses the things we will do in the future.
An interview with Susan Brower-Toland covering Ockham's views on cognition, consciousness, and memory.
How the language of thought relates to spoken and written language, according to William of Ockham.
In his book Defender of the Peace, Marsilius of Padua develops new theories of representative government, rights, and ownership.
Italy’s greatest poet Dante Alighieri was also a philosopher, as we learn from his Convivio and of course the Divine Comedy.
Marguerite Porete is put to death for her exploration of the love of God, The Mirror of Simple Souls.
An introduction to philosophy in the 14th century, focusing on two big ideas: nominalism and voluntarism.
Scotus explains how things can share a nature in common while being unique individuals.
Scotus argues that morality is a matter of freely choosing to follow God’s freely issued commands.
Scotus develops a novel theory of free will and, along the way, rethinks the notions of necessity and possibility.
Duns Scotus attacks the proposal of Aquinas and Henry of Ghent that being is subject to analogy.
Medieval discussions of the Trinity charted new metaphysical territory, as we see in this interview with Richard Cross.
Philosophy is pushed to its limits to provide rational explanations of two Christian theological doctrines.
Henry of Ghent, now little known but a leading scholastic in the late 13th century, makes influential proposals on all the debates of his time.
Does medieval art tell us anything about medieval theories of aesthetics? Peter finds out from Andreas Speer.
Sex, reason, and religion in Jean de Meun’s completion of an allegory of courtly love, the Roman de la Rose.
Aquinas, Bonaventure, and the so-called “Latin Averroists” take up the question of whether the universe has always existed, and settle once and for all which comes first, the chicken or the egg.
Did Siger of Brabant and Boethius of Dacia, who have been called “Latin Averroists” and “radical Aristotelians,” really embrace a doctrine of “double truth”?
Two rounds of condemnations at Paris declare certain philosophical teachings as heretical. But what were the long term effects?
Aquinas follows medieval legal thinkers in defining the conditions under which war may be justified, and proposes his famous doctrine of double effect.
Natural law and political legitimacy in thirteenth century thinkers up to and including Thomas Aquinas.
Natural and supernatural virtue and happiness in Thomas Aquinas and his teacher, Albert the Great.
Thomas Aquinas makes controversial claims concerning the unity of the soul and the empirical basis of human knowledge.
An introduction to Thomas Aquinas, his views on faith and reason, and his famous “five ways” of proving God’s existence.
Therese Cory tells Peter what Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas thought about self-awareness.
Albert the Great’s theory of being and his attempt to explain what changes in the human mind when we come to see God in the afterlife.
Albert the Great earns his nickname “universal doctor” by devoting himself to the whole of nature, from geology and botany to the study of human nature.
Robert Kilwardby is infamous for his ban on teaching certain philosophical ideas at Oxford, yet made contributions in logic and on the soul.
Two Beguine authors, Hadewijch and Mechthild of Magdeburg, deploy the tropes of courtly love in vernacular writings about their mystical experiences.
Bonaventure and Peter Olivi respond to critics of the Franciscan vow of poverty, in a debate which produced new ideas about economics and rights.
Medieval ideas about what animals do and do not have in common with humans, and how we should treat them.
Peter Olivi proposes that awareness occurs not through passively being affected by things, but by actively paying attention to them.
Roger Bacon extols the power of science based on experience and uses a general theory of "species" to explain light and vision.
Translator, scientist and theologian Robert Grosseteste sheds light on the cosmos, human understanding, and the rainbow.
The scholastics explore Aristotle’s ethical teaching and the concept of moral conscience.
Philip the Chancellor introduces the transcendentals, a key idea in medieval metaphysics and aesthetics.
John Blund and William of Auvergne draw on Aristotle and Avicenna to argue that the soul is immaterial and immortal.
Richard Rufus and anonymous commentators on Aristotle explore the nature of motion, time, infinity and space.
The terminist logicians William of Sherwood and Peter of Spain classify the various ways that language can relate to the world.
Kent Emery joins Peter to discuss the effects of monastic and university culture on medieval philosophy.
The emergence of universities in Paris, Oxford, Bologna and elsewhere provide the main setting for medieval philosophy in the 13th century and beyond.
Greek and Arabic sources are rendered into Latin in a translation movement that will revolutionize medieval philosophy.
The life, visions, political intrigues and scientific interests of Hildegard of Bingen.
A discussion about Roman law and its reception in the medieval period, with ancient law expert Caroline Humfress.
Gratian and Peter Lombard help bring scholasticism to maturity by systematizing law and theology.
The “Investiture Contest” between church and state and the first major work of medieval political philosophy, John of Salisbury’s Policraticus.
Andrew Arlig joins Peter to discuss medieval discussions of mereology (the study of parts and wholes).
Gilbert of Poitiers proposes a unique way to explain how each individual is the individual it is.
In this special episode, Peter chats with the hosts of the History of the Crusades, History of Byzantium, and British History podcasts.
As early medieval science blossoms, Bernard Silvestris and Alan of Lille personify Nature in their philosophical prose-poems.
The controversial role of Chartres in the philosophical Renaissance of the twelfth century.
Discussion, debate and denunciation of philosophical attempts to explain the Trinity in Abelard, Richard of St Victor and Bernard of Clairvaux.
Hugh of Saint Victor and other scholars of the same abbey combine secular learning with spirituality.
John Marenbon returns to the podcast to discuss Abelard's views on necessity and freedom..
Peter Abelard sets out an innovative ethical theory that identifies intentions as the core of moral life.
Peter Abelard and Heloise prove themselves to be fascinating thinkers as well as star-crossed lovers.
Abelard and other logicians of the 12th century argue over the status of universals: are they words or things?
Anselm expert Eileen Sweeney discusses his approach to philosophy and the devotional aspect of his works.
The most famous argument in medieval philosophy is Anselm's proof of God's existence. But how is it supposed to work?
Anselm offers more than his famous ontological argument, including a subtle account of human freedom.
Peter Damian takes up a question with surprising philosophical implications: can God restore virginity to a woman who has lost it?
Little-known authors prepare the way for scholasticism with glosses on logic, metaphysical debate, and a poem about a cat.
Stephen Gersh (who was Peter's doctoral advisor!) joins him to discuss the sources and influence of Platonism in the Middle Ages.
We celebrate reaching episode 200 with a special double interview on the problem of defining medieval philosophy.
Eriugena delves into the Greek tradition to produce his masterpiece of metaphysics and theology, the Periphyseon.
John Scotus Eriugena debates free will with his rival Gottschalk, arguing that God predestines the saved but not the damned.
Alcuin leads a resurgence of interest in philosophy and the liberal arts at the court of Charlemagne.
Peter launches the series of podcasts on philosophy in medieval Latin Christendom with a look ahead at what’s to come.
Anke von Kügelgen joins Peter to discuss developments over the last century or so, including attitudes towards past thinkers like Avicenna, Averroes and Ibn Taymiyya.
From Sabzawārī in the 19th century to Seyyed Hossein Nasr today, Iranian thinkers promote and respond to the thought of Mullā Ṣadrā.
Muḥammad 'Abdūh and Muḥammad Iqbāl challenge colonialism and the traditional religious scholars of Islam.
Fatema Mernissi and others challenge the long-standing (but not complete) exclusion of women from the intellectual traditions of Islam.
18th and 19th century intellectuals in India and the Ottoman empire, from Shāh Walī Allāh to the Young Turks, continue Islamic traditions and grapple with European science.
Kātib Çelebi defends cigarettes and coffee, in just one of several philosophical and religious debates in the Ottoman empire.
Ideas spread to Mughal India from Iran, and prince Dārā Shikūh seeks to unite the wisdom of the Upanishads with the Koran.
Sajjad Rizvi talks to Peter about Mullā Ṣadrā's views on eternity, God's knowledge and the afterlife.
Mullā Ṣadrā, greatest thinker of early modern Iran, unveils his radical new understanding of existence.
Robert Wisnovsky joins Peter to discuss the enormous body of unstudied philosophical commentaries in the later Eastern Islamic world.
The roots of the Safavid philosophical tradition in some rather ill-tempered debates at Shīrāz.
The controversial jurist Ibn Taymiyya sets forth an originalist theory of law and a searching criticism of the philosophers’ logic.
Later Islamic logicians try to solve the Liar Paradox and take on the advances of Avicenna's logic.
Peter is joined by Mohammed Rustom in a discussion about Sufi authors including Ibn 'Arabī and Rūmī
The Persian poet Rūmī and mystical philosopher al-Qūnawī carry on the legacy of Sufism.
Avicenna’s distinction between essence and existence triggers a running debate among philosophers and theologians.
Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī’s controversial career sees him adopt and then abandon Ismāʿīlism, team up with the Mongols, and offer a staunch defense of Avicenna.
The Illuminationists carry on Suhrawardī’s critique of “Peripatetic” philosophy and wonder if they will be reborn as giraffes.
Suhrawardī, founder of the Illuminationist (ishrāqī) tradition, proposes a metaphysics of light on the basis of his theory of knowledge by presence
The hugely influential Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī weaves Avicenna and Islamic theology into complex dialectical treatments of time, God, the soul, and ethics.
Abū l-Barakāt al-Baghdādī makes up his own mind about physics and the soul, and along the way inaugurates a new style of doing philosophy.
An introduction to later developments in philosophical theology, sufism, and Illuminationism, focusing on the reception and critique of Avicenna.
Leading scholar of medieval Jewish thought Gad Freudenthal joins Peter in a concluding episode on Andalusian thought.
Joseph Albo and Isaac Abravanel critique Maimonides’ attempt to lay down foundations for the Jewish law.
The rich symbolism of the Zohar and the spiritual practices of Abraham Abluafia feature in the mystical movement known as Kabbalah.
The Book of Job provokes Saadia, Maimonides, Ibn Tibbon and Gersonides to reflect on why God allows suffering.
Tamar Rudavsky joins Peter to talk about the two great medieval Jewish thinkers after Maimonides: Gersonides and Crescas.
Ḥasdai Crescas shows Aristotelian physics who’s boss, by defending alternative conceptions of time, place and infinity.
Maimonides’ works provoke a bitter dispute among Jews in France and Spain over the relation of philosophy to Judaism.
The great Jewish philosopher and legal scholar Maimonides, and the ideas in his Mishneh Torah and Guide for the Perplexed.
Baḥya Ibn Paquda and Maimonides explore the ethical dimension of the Jewish scriptures and legal tradition.
Abraham Ibn Ezra, Ibn Daud and Maimonides consider the philosophical implications of astrology as science flourishes in the Jewish culture of Andalusia.
Judah Hallevi argues that Judaism has a better claim to belief than philosophy, Christianity, or Islam.
Peter chats with Sarah Pessin about the Neoplatonism of Jewish philosophers such as Isaac Israeli, Ibn Gabirol, and Maimonides.
Neoplatonism returns in Ibn Gabriol, who controversially holds that everything apart from God has both matter and form.
The historian Ibn Khaldūn applies the methods of philosophy to understand the rise and fall of political regimes.
Sufism, the mystical tradition of Islam, collides with philosophy in the work of Ibn ʿArabī.
Averroes scholar Richard C. Taylor joins Peter to talk about Averroes' views on the relation between Islam and philosophy.
Averroes defends the rather surprising notion that all of mankind shares a single intellect.
A special 150th double interview episode on the transmission of philosophy from Arabic into Latin.
An introduction to “the Commentator” Averroes, and his defense of philosophy in the Decisive Treatise.
Intellect and alienation in Ibn Bājja and Ibn Ṭufayl, author of the philosophical desert island castaway tale “Ḥayy Ibn Yaqẓān.”
The development of Islamic law and jurisprudence (fiqh), and the many-sided output of the legal theorist Ibn Ḥazm.
The flowering of philosophy among Muslims and Jews in al-Andalus (Muslim-controlled Spain and Portugal).
Why did al-Ghazālī judge "the philosophers" to be apostates? Peter finds out from Frank Griffel.
In his “Incoherence of the Philosophers,” al-Ghazālī attacks Avicenna’s theories about the eternity of the universe and insists on the possibility of miracles.
Al-Ghazālī’s search for truth leads him to philosophy, Asharite theology, and ultimately the mystical tradition of Sufism.
Peter talks to Dimitri Gutas about Avicenna's sources, philosophical methods, and influence.
With his Flying Man argument, Avicenna explores self-awareness and the relation between soul and body.
Avicenna’s proof of the Necessary Existent is ingenious and influential; but does it amount to a proof of God’s existence?
Avicenna revolutionizes metaphysics with groundbreaking ideas about necessity and contingency, and his new distinction between essence and existence.
Despite a tumultuous life, Avicenna manages to become the most influential of all medieval philosophers.
Al-Ash‘arī puts his stamp on the future of Islamic theology by emphasizing God’s untrammeled power and freedom.
Peter is joined by Farhad Daftary, a leading expert on the Shiite group known as the Ismā'īlīs.
Miskawayh, al-‘Amiri, al-Tawhidi, the Brethren of Purity and Ismaili missionaries bring together philosophy with Persian culture, literature and Islam.
Drawing on Galen and Aristotle, philosophers from al-Kindi to Miskawayh compose ethical works designed us to achieve health in soul, as well as body.
Peter turns DJ, with some actual music interspersed with discussion about theories of music in Arabic philosophical texts.
Ibn al-Haytham draws on the tradition of geometrical optics to explain the mystery of human eyesight.
Deborah Black joins Peter to talk about al-Farabi's innovations concerning knowledge and certainty.
Al-Fārābī combines Islam and Greek sources to present the ideal ruler as a philosopher who is also a prophet.
Peter begins to look at the systematic rethinking of Hellenic philosophy offered by al-Farabi, focusing on his logic and metaphysics.
A group of mostly Christian philosophers transpose the practices of antique Aristotelian philosophy to 10th century Baghdad.
A double dose of Peters, as Pormann joins Adamson to discuss medicine and philosophy in the Islamic world.
The doctor and philosopher Abu Bakr al-Razi sets out a daring philosophical theory involving five eternal principles: God, soul, matter, time and place.
Saadia Gaon draws on Greek philosophy and Islamic theology to provide a rational account of Jewish belief.
The roots of Jewish philosophy in the Islamic world, focusing on the Rabbinic background in the Mishnah and Talmud, and the thought of early figures like Isaac Israeli.
Al-Kindī uses Hellenic materials to discuss the eternity of the world, divine attributes, and the nature of the soul.
Greek philosophy and science make their way into the Islamic world via Syriac and Arabic translations and interpretations.
A first look at the philosophical contributions of Islamic theology (kalām) and its political context, focusing on the Muʿtazilites Abū l-Hudhayl and al-Naẓẓām.
The rise of Islam creates a new context for philosophy not only among Muslims, but also Jews and Christians.
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John Marenbon joins Peter to discuss Boethius' solution to the problem of divine foreknowledge.
Boethius ushers in the medieval age with expert works on Aristotle, subtle treatises on theology, and the Consolation of Philosophy, written while he awaited execution.
Apuleius, Victorinus, Martianus Cappella, Macrobius and Calcidius present and interpret Platonic teachings for readers of Latin.
In a final episode on Augustine, Charles Brittain joins Peter to discuss On the Trinity.
Peter speaks with Sarah Byers about the Stoic influence on Augustine's ethics and theory of action.
In his City of God Augustine traces the histories and philosophical underpinnings of two “cities,” one devoted to worldly glory, the other to heavenly bliss.
Augustine defends free will, but rejects the Pelagian claim that we can be good without God's help.
In the Confessions Augustine weaves autobiography with reflections on the nature of God, man, and time.
George Boys-Stones joins Peter to discuss philosophy in the Bible and the Greek Fathers.
Christian ascetics like Antony, Macrina and Evagrius create a new ethical ideal by pushing the human capacity for self-control to its limits.
The early Byzantine thinker Maximus uses Aristotle to defend the orthodox view of Christ's two natures
Basil of Caesarea, his brother Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus use philosophy to help the poor and to defeat their theological opponents
Origen of Alexandria weaves Platonic ideas into new and controversial theological ideas
Irenaeus, Clement and Justin Martyr consider the relevance of philosophy for Christianity
A special double interview celebrates reaching 100 episodes by looking at the cultural status of philosophy in the ancient world
John Philoponus refutes Aristotle’s and Proclus’ arguments for the eternity of the universe, and develops new ideas in physics.
Julian the Apostate and the philosophers of Athens and Alexandria try to keep pagan philosophy alive in the late Roman empire
Dominic O'Meara speaks with Peter about political philosophy and mathematics in Neoplatonism
Iamblichus fuses Platonism with pagan religious conviction and sets the agenda for Neoplatonism in generations to come.
James Wilberding joins Peter to examine what Plotinus and Porphyry contributed to the philosophy of nature
Plotinus struggles to explain the presence of suffering, evil and ugliness in a world caused by purely good principles – and tells us what role we should play in that world.
For Plotinus, Soul is on the border between the physical and intelligible realms. Can he convince us to identify ourselves with its highest part?
Plotinus posits an absolutely transcendent first principle, the One. What is it (or isn’t it), and how does it relate to Intellect?
Peter introduces Plotinus, the greatest philosopher of late antiquity and the founder of Neoplatonism
How did the mathematics of figures like Euclid and Archimides relate to ancient philosophy? Peter finds out in an interview with Serafina Cuomo
Ptolemy uses philosophy in the service of studying the stars, while philosophers of all persuasions evaluate the widespread practice of astrology.
Themistius, Quintilian, Lucian and other authors tell us about the connections between rhetoric and late ancient philosophy
Alexander of Aphrodisias writes the greatest ancient commentaries on Aristotle and tries to demolish the Stoic teaching on fate
Peter looks at the history of Aristotelianism up the time of the Roman Empire and the beginning of commentaries on his works
Jan Opsomer helps Peter to understand principles, Plato interpretation, and Plutarch in a wide-ranging discussion of Middle Platonism
Pioneering thinkers Eudorus, Alcinous, and Numenius fuse Pythagoreanism with Platonism and pave the way for Plotinus.
In late antiquity, Aristotelianism and Platonism made a comeback, and pagan philosophy developed alongside Judaism and Christianity.
Jim Hankinson tells Peter about the life, work and philosophical contributions of Galen
Leading Hellenistic philosophy scholar Tony Long talks to Peter about the self, ethics and politics in the Stoics, Epicureans and Skeptics
Cicero, inspired by the skepticism of the New Academy, uses his literary talents to present the wisdom of the Greeks
Peter begins to examine ancient Skepticism, beginning with Pyrrho's life and doctrines, or lack thereof
Marcus Aurelius' Meditations are a classic of Stoicism written by the most powerful philosopher who ever lived
The Stoic ethical theory insists that perfection is possible, and that moral responsibility is compatible with determinism
The Stoics set out and defend an ambitious theory of knowledge, where it is possible to avoid all error
Introducing the early Stoics, Zeno, Cleanthes and Chrysippus, and their innovations in logic
Epicurus sets out an empiricist theory of knowledge and atomist physics, in support of hedonism
A recording of Peter's lecture delivered on Oct 25, 2011, at the Arts and Humanities festival on "The Power of Stories" at King's College London.
Diogenes and the other Cynics “deface the currency” by exposing the hypocrisy of Greek society.
Introducing the Stoics, Skeptics, Epicureans and Cynics, the schools of the Hellenistic age
Peter's colleagues MM McCabe and Raphael Woolf join him for a special 50th episode interview, to discuss Aristotle's reactions to his teacher Plato
In the Rhetoric and Poetics, Aristotle explores persuasive speech and engages with ancient tragedy
Aristotle's Politics responds to Plato's Republic and sets out its own ideas about the ideal state, the types of political constitution, and the role of women and slaves
Drawing on the De Anima, On the Heavens, Physics and Metaphysics, Peter tackles Aristotle’s theory of mind and its relation to his theology.
What place does Aristotle leave for pleasure and friendship in his vision of the good life?
In his zoology, Aristotle divides and defines all kinds of animals, and so invents the science of biology
Aristotle's Physics explains change, time and place with the help of his actuality/potentiality distinction
Aristotle's invention of logic in the Organon (especially Categories, On Interpretation, Prior Analytics)
Plato's attack on the poets and his own use of myth in the Republic and other dialogues
Plato's Republic defends and defines justice at the level of the ideal city and the person
Socratic virtue, ignorance and irony in the Platonic dialogues Socrates' claim that no one does wrong willingly
In this first episode, Peter discusses the goals of the series and Thales, the first Greek philosopher.