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Exploring various aspects of modern and ancient metaphysics as they relate to the hypothesis that powers (or dispositions) are the sole elementary building block in ontology.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ powers/dispositions metaphysics • emergence, reduction, modality • causation, persistence, grounding • process vs substance ontology • structure, relations, structuralism • Aristotle, Stoicism, Marcus Aurelius, Empedocles • perception, agency • ancient medicine powers/healthThis podcast presents scholarly talks on metaphysics and the history of philosophy, organized around the idea that powers or dispositions may be fundamental to what exists. Across the series, speakers examine how a powers-based ontology compares with alternatives such as structuralism, process ontology, hylomorphism, and law-based accounts of modality in science. A recurring concern is how to understand necessity, counterfactuals, and laws: whether powers produce their manifestations necessarily, how causal explanation can be grounded without heavy reliance on possible-worlds frameworks, and whether physics supports dispositional or instead more purely structural interpretations of properties.
Many episodes connect these contemporary debates to ancient sources. Aristotle is a frequent focus, especially on perception and cognition (including common sense, multimodal perception, singular thought, and “common sensibles”), on dynamics and explanation in the Physics, and on ethical and political notions such as moral development, responsibility, and the happiness of the city. The podcast also explores Stoic philosophy through Marcus Aurelius, including questions about freedom, ethical self-formation, and how closely the Meditations align with orthodox Stoicism, alongside related historical context.
Other strands extend to ancient and late-antique natural philosophy and medicine, treating powers in accounts of health, disease, and biological functioning (notably in Galen), and to Presocratic metaphysics (Empedocles on elements, cosmic cycles, and “superorganisms”). Additional topics include emergence and reduction, persistence and personal identity, collective agency, the metaphysics of relations, and methodological questions about how metaphysical knowledge is possible and how disputes (for example about quidditism) hinge on broader views about modality.