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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
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 “occa...
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.
Should we gamble on belief in God to have a chance at infinite reward?
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?
Gassendi’s path from skepticism to “baptized Epicureanism.”
So-called “libertines” like Mothe le Vayer revive ancient skepticism, provoking a backlash from Mersenne and Arnauld. Were they right to see...
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...
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...
What do emotions reveal about the connection between mind and body? We turn to Descartes’ correspondence with Elisabeth and his On the Passi...
A royal scholar and philosopher sets aside the tribulations of her family to debate Descartes over the relation between mind and body and th...
Descartes’ “provisional” morality and his views on free will and virtue.
Descartes’ Meditations caused controversy as soon as it appeared. In this episode we look at criticisms including the “Cartesian Circle,” an...
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...
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 invol...
How scholars around Europe created an international network of intellectual exchange. As examples we consider the activities of Mersenne, Pe...
What is Enlightenment, anyway?
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...
Carlo Ginzburg’s innovative historical study The Cheese and the Worms looks at the ideas of an obscure 16th century miller, suggesting how p...
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,...
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: Dür...
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 th...
Yes, there were Spanish Protestants! Andrew (Andrés) Messmer joins us to explain how they drew on humanism and philosophy to argue for their...
Cajetan, Bañez and other thinkers make Aquinas a central figure of Counter-Reformation thought; we focus on their theories about analogy and...
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...
Fray Luis de Leon, Antonio Nebrija, Beatriz Galindo and other scholars bring the Renaissance to Spain.