Twitter: @HistPhilosophy
Site: historyofphilosophy.net
450 episodes
2010 to present
Average episode: 24 minutes
Open in Apple Podcasts • RSS
Categories: Course-Style • History of Philosophy
Podcaster's summary: 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. https://www.historyofphilosophy.net. NOTE: iTunes shows only the most recent 300 episodes; subscribe on iTunes or go to a different platform for the whole series.
| Episodes |
| 2024-Apr-14 • 22 minutes HoP 443 - Marketplace of Letters - Iberian Humanism Fray Luis de Leon, Antonio Nebrija, Beatriz Galindo and other scholars bring the Renaissance to Spain. |
| 2024-Mar-31 • 43 minutes 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. |
| 2024-Mar-17 • 21 minutes 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. |
| 2024-Mar-03 • 18 minutes 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. |
| 2024-Feb-18 • 24 minutes HoP 439 - Cancel Culture - The Inquisition How religious persecution and censorship shaped the context of philosophy in Catholic Europe in the sixteenth century. |
| 2024-Feb-04 • 18 minutes 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. |
| 2024-Jan-21 • 35 minutes 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! |
| 2024-Jan-07 • 19 minutes 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. |
| 2023-Dec-24 • 18 minutes 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. |
| 2023-Dec-10 • 20 minutes 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. |
| 2023-Nov-26 • 20 minutes 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). |
| 2023-Nov-12 • 22 minutes 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. |
| 2023-Oct-29 • 30 minutes 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. |
| 2023-Oct-15 • 21 minutes 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. |
| 2023-Oct-01 • 25 minutes 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. |
| 2023-Sep-17 • 26 minutes 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. |
| 2023-Sep-03 • 23 minutes 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? |
| 2023-Jul-23 • 21 minutes 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. |
| 2023-Jul-09 • 37 minutes 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. |
| 2023-Jun-25 • 18 minutes 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. |
| 2023-Jun-11 • 25 minutes 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". |
| 2023-May-28 • 24 minutes 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. |
| 2023-May-14 • 20 minutes 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. |
| 2023-May-07 • 22 minutes 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? |
| 2023-Apr-23 • 23 minutes 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. |
| 2023-Apr-09 • 30 minutes 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. |
| 2023-Mar-26 • 20 minutes 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. |
| 2023-Mar-12 • 27 minutes HoP 416 - God’s is the Quarrel - The English Reformation 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. |
| 2023-Feb-26 • 19 minutes HoP 415 - The Tenth Muse - Marie de Gournay Marie le Jars de Gourney, the “adoptive daughter” of Montaigne, lays claim to his legacy and argues for the equality of the sexes. |
| 2023-Feb-12 • 24 minutes HoP 414 - Henrik Lagerlund on Renaissance Skepticism 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. |
| 2023-Jan-29 • 21 minutes HoP 413 - Don’t Be So Sure - French Skepticism The sources and scope of the skepticism of Montaigne, Charron, and Sanches. |
| 2023-Jan-15 • 21 minutes HoP 412 - Not Matter, But Me - Michel de Montaigne In his “Essays” Montaigne uses his wit, insight, and humanist training to tackle his favorite subject: Montaigne. |
| 2023-Jan-01 • 18 minutes HoP 411 - Pen Pals - Later French Humanism Joseph Scaliger, Isaac Casaubon, and Guillaume du Vair grapple with history and the events of their own day. |
| 2022-Dec-18 • 31 minutes HoP 410 - Ann Blair on Jean Bodin’s Natural Philosophy A chat with Ann Blair about the "Theater of Nature" by Jean Bodin, and other encyclopedic works of natural philosophy. |
| 2022-Dec-04 • 26 minutes HoP 409 - One to Rule Them All - Jean Bodin The polymath Jean Bodin produces a pioneering theory of political sovereignty along the way to defending the absolute power of the French king. |
| 2022-Nov-20 • 25 minutes HoP 408 - Constitutional Conventions - the Huguenots Protestant French thinkers like François Hotman and Theodore Beza propose a radical political philosophy: the king rules at the pleasure of his subjects. |
| 2022-Nov-06 • 30 minutes HoP 407 - Maria Rosa Antognazza on Early Modern Toleration 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. |
| 2022-Oct-23 • 18 minutes HoP 406 - Believe at Your Own Risk - Toleration in France 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. |
| 2022-Oct-09 • 20 minutes HoP 405 - Divide and Conquer - the Spread of Ramism The methods of Peter Ramus sweep across Europe, winning adherents and facing stiff opposition in equal measure. |
| 2022-Sep-25 • 27 minutes HoP 404 - Robert Goulding on Peter Ramus A chat with Ramus expert Robert Goulding on the role of mathematics in Ramist philosophy. |
| 2022-Sep-11 • 21 minutes HoP 403 - Make It Simple - Peter Ramus Peter Ramus scandalizes his critics, and thrills his students and admirers, by proposing a new and simpler approach to philosophy. |
| 2022-Aug-14 • 45 minutes Bonus Episode: Don’t Think for Yourself, Chapter 1 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! |
| 2022-Jul-31 • 20 minutes HoP 402 - Life is Not Enough - Medicine in Renaissance France Challenges to Galenic medical orthodoxy from natural philosophy: Jean Fernel with his idea of the human’s “total substance,” and the Paracelsans. |
| 2022-Jul-17 • 24 minutes HoP 401 - Word Perfect - Logic and Language in Renaissance France Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples and Julius Caesar Scaliger fuse Aristotelianism with humanism to address problems in logic and literary aesthetics. |
| 2022-Jul-03 • 61 minutes HoP 400 - Philosophy Podcasters Peter chats with the hosts of three great philosophy podcasts: Elucidations, Hi-Phi Nation, and the Unmute Podcast. |
| 2022-Jun-19 • 22 minutes HoP 399 - Seriously Funny - Rabelais In his outrageous novel about Pantagruel and Gargantua, Rabelais engages with scholasticism, humanism, medicine, the reformation, and the querelle des femmes. |
| 2022-Jun-05 • 24 minutes HoP 398 - Pearls of Wisdom - Marguerite of Navarre A Renaissance queen supports philosophical humanism and produces literary works on spirituality, love, and the soul. |
| 2022-May-22 • 23 minutes HoP 397 - Do As the Romans Did - French Humanism 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. |
| 2022-May-08 • 35 minutes HoP 396 - Lorraine Daston on Renaissance Science 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". |
| 2022-Apr-24 • 25 minutes HoP 395 - Music of the Spheres - Johannes Kepler Johannes Kepler fuses Platonist philosophy with a modified version of Copernicus’ astronomy. |
| 2022-Apr-10 • 23 minutes HoP 394 - Best of Both Worlds - Tycho Brahe Responses to Copernicus in the 16th century, culminating with the master of astral observation Tycho Brahe. |
| 2022-Mar-27 • 28 minutes HoP 393 - The World Doesn’t Revolve Around You - Copernicus How revolutionary was the Copernican Revolution? |
| 2022-Mar-12 • 30 minutes HoP 392 - John Sellars on Lipsius and Early Modern Stoicism John Sellars returns to the podcast to discuss Lipsius' work on Seneca and the early modern Neo-Stoic movement. |
| 2022-Feb-27 • 21 minutes HoP 391 - Everything is Mine and Nothing - Lipsius and the Revival of Stoicism 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. |
| 2022-Feb-13 • 27 minutes HoP 390 - Born to Be Contrary - Toleration in the Netherlands Amidst religious conflict in the Netherlands, Dirck Coornhert pleads for religious toleration and freedom of expression. |
| 2022-Jan-30 • 19 minutes HoP 389 - The Acid Test - Theories of Matter Schegk, Taurellus, Gorlaeus, and Sennert revive atomism to explain chemical reactions, the composition of bodies, and the generation of organisms. |
| 2022-Jan-16 • 22 minutes HoP 388 - Just Add Salt - Paracelsus and Alchemy Paracelsus adapts the tradition of alchemical science for use in medicine, and in the process overturns the scientific theories of Aristotle and Galen. |
| 2022-Jan-02 • 32 minutes HoP 387 - Helen Hattab on Protestant Philosophy An interview with Helen Hattab on the scope and impact of scholastic philosophy among Protestants. |
| 2021-Dec-19 • 21 minutes HoP 386 - Perhaps Not Wrong - Cornelius Agrippa Was Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa a dark magician, a pious skeptic, or both? |
| 2021-Dec-05 • 20 minutes HoP 385 - I Too Can Ask Questions - Protestant Scholasticism 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. |
| 2021-Nov-21 • 23 minutes HoP 384 - We Are Not Our Own - John Calvin John Calvin's views on predestination and the limits of human reason. |
| 2021-Nov-07 • 24 minutes HoP 383 - Slowly But Surely - Huldrych Zwingli The Swiss theologian Zwingli launches the Reformation in Switzerland, but clashes with Luther and more radical Protestants. |
| 2021-Oct-24 • 24 minutes HoP 382 - No Lord but God - the Peasants’ War and Radical Reformation Faced with massive political upheaval and the rise of the Anabaptists, Luther argues for a socially conservative version of the Reformation. |
| 2021-Oct-10 • 22 minutes HoP 381 - More Lutheran than Luther - Philip Melanchthon Luther’s close ally Melanchthon uses his knowledge of ancient philosophy and rhetoric in the service of the Reformation. |
| 2021-Sep-26 • 24 minutes HoP 380 - Take Your Choice - Erasmus vs Luther on Free Will Erasmus clashes with Martin Luther over the question whether our wills are free or enslaved to sin. |
| 2021-Sep-12 • 30 minutes HoP 379 - Lyndal Roper on Luther 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. |
| 2021-Aug-01 • 28 minutes HoP 378 - Faith, No More - Martin Luther How Luther’s doctrine of justification by faith alone and his attack on the Church relate to the history of philosophy. |
| 2021-Jul-18 • 22 minutes HoP 377 - One Way or Another - Northern Scholasticism 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. |
| 2021-Jul-04 • 26 minutes HoP 376 - Books That Last Forever - Erasmus The “learned piety” of Desiderius Erasmus, the greatest figure of northern humanism. |
| 2021-Jun-20 • 28 minutes HoP 375 - Paul Richard Blum on Nicholas of Cusa Learned ignorance, coincidence of opposites and religious peace: Paul Richard Blum discusses the central ideas of Nicholas Cusanus. |
| 2021-Jun-06 • 28 minutes HoP 374 - Opposites Attract - Nicholas of Cusa The radical negative theology of Nicholas of Cusa, and his hope of establishing peace between the religions of the world. |
| 2021-May-23 • 27 minutes HoP 373 - Lords of Language - Northern Humanism Rudolph Agricola, Juan Luis Vives and other humanist scholars spread the study of classical antiquity across Europe and mock the technicalities of scholastic philosophy. |
| 2021-May-09 • 23 minutes HoP 372 - Strong, Silent Type - the Printing Press The impact of the printing press on the history of philosophy, and its role in helping to trigger the Reformation. |
| 2021-Apr-25 • 26 minutes HoP 371 - European Disunion - Introduction to the Reformation How humanism and scholasticism came together with the Protestant Reformation to create the philosophy of 15-16th century Europe. |
| 2021-Apr-11 • 28 minutes HoP 370 - Ingrid Rowland on Rome in the Renaissance For our finale of the Italian Renaissance series we're joined by Ingrid Rowland, to speak about art, philosophy, and persecution in Renaissance Rome. |
| 2021-Mar-28 • 23 minutes HoP 369 - The Harder They Fall - Galileo and the Renaissance Did Galileo’s scientific discoveries grow out of the culture of the Italian Renaissance? |
| 2021-Mar-14 • 23 minutes HoP 368 - Boundless Enthusiasm - Giordano Bruno Giordano Bruno’s stunning vision of an infinite universe with infinite worlds, and his own untimely end. |
| 2021-Feb-28 • 35 minutes HoP 367 - Brian Copenhaver on Renaissance Magic Our guest Brian Copenhaver joins us to explain how Ficino and other Renaissance philosophers thought about magic. |
| 2021-Feb-14 • 24 minutes HoP 366 - The Men Who Saw Tomorrow - Renaissance Magic and Astrology Ficino, Pico, Cardano, and other Renaissance thinkers debate whether astrology and magic are legitimate sciences with a foundation in natural philosophy. |
| 2021-Jan-31 • 21 minutes HoP 365 - Spirits in the Material World - Telesio and Campanella on Nature Was the natural philosophy of Bernardino Telesio and Tommaso Campanella the first modern physical theory? |
| 2021-Jan-17 • 27 minutes HoP 364 - Guido Giglioni on Renaissance Medicine An interview with Guido Giglioni, who speaks to us about the sources and philosophical implications of medical works of the Renaissance. |
| 2021-Jan-03 • 21 minutes HoP 363 - Man of Discoveries - Girolamo Cardano The polymath Girolamo Cardano explores medicine, mathematics, philosophy of mind, and the interpretation of dreams. |
| 2020-Dec-20 • 20 minutes HoP 362 - Just What the Doctor Ordered - Renaissance Medicine Connections between philosophy and advances in medicine, including the anatomy of Vesalius. |
| 2020-Dec-06 • 23 minutes HoP 361 - The Measure of All Things - Renaissance Mathematics and Art The humanist study of Pythagoras, Archimides and other ancient mathematicians goes hand in hand with the use of mathematics in painting and architecture. |
| 2020-Nov-22 • 26 minutes HoP 360 - Dag N. Hasse on Arabic Learning in the Renaissance An interview with Dag Nikolaus Hasse on the Renaissance reception of Averroes, Avicenna, and other authors who wrote in Arabic. |
| 2020-Nov-08 • 22 minutes HoP 359 - There and Back Again - Zabarella on Scientific Method Jacopo Zabarella outlines the correct method for pursuing, and then presenting, scientific discoveries. |
| 2020-Oct-25 • 22 minutes HoP 358 - Of Two Minds - Pomponazzi and Nifo on the Intellect Pietro Pomponazzi and Agostino Nifo debate the immortality of the soul and the cogency of Averroes’ theory of intellect. |
| 2020-Oct-11 • 26 minutes HoP 357 - David Lines on Aristotle's Ethics in the Renaissance An interview with David Lines on the role of Aristotle in Renaissance ethics. |
| 2020-Sep-27 • 23 minutes HoP 356 - I’d Like to Thank the Lyceum - Aristotle in Renaissance Italy Aristotle’s works are edited, printed, and translated, leading to new assessments of his thought among both humanists and scholastics. |
| 2020-Sep-13 • 23 minutes HoP 355 - Town and Gown - Italian Universities The blurry line dividing humanism and scholastic university culture in the Italian Renaissance. |
| 2020-Jul-26 • 26 minutes HoP 354 - Greed is Good - Economics 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. |
| 2020-Jul-12 • 23 minutes HoP 353 - The Good Place - Utopias in the Italian Renaissance 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. |
| 2020-Jun-28 • 23 minutes HoP 352 - The Teacher of Our Actions - Renaissance Historiography Bruni, Poggio, Machiavelli, and Guicciardini explore political ideas and historical method in works on Roman and Italian history. |
| 2020-Jun-14 • 35 minutes HoP 351 - Quentin Skinner on Machiavelli Leading Machiavelli scholar Quentin Skinner joins Peter to discuss morality, history, and religion in the Prince and the Discourses. |
| 2020-May-31 • 24 minutes HoP 350 - The Sentence - Machiavelli on Republicanism Peter celebrates reaching 350 episodes by explaining a single sentence in Machiavelli's "Discourses." |
| 2020-May-17 • 21 minutes HoP 349 - No More Mr Nice Guy - Machiavelli Machiavelli’s seminal work of political advice, "The Prince," tells the ruler how to be strong like a lion and cunning like a fox. |
| 2020-May-03 • 21 minutes HoP 348 - The Sweet Restraints of Liberty - Republicanism and Civic Humanism Did “civic humanism” really make republicanism a newly dominant political theory in the Italian Renaissance? |
| 2020-Apr-19 • 19 minutes HoP 347 - Bonfire of the Vanities - Savonarola The prophetic preacher Girolamo Savonarola attacks pagan philosophy and puts forward his own political ideas, before coming to an untimely end. |
| 2020-Apr-05 • 31 minutes HoP 346 - Cecilia Muratori on Animals in the Renaissance An interview with Cecilia Muratori, an expert on the surprisingly modern ideas about non-human animals that emerged in the Renaissance. |
| 2020-Mar-22 • 22 minutes HoP 345 - What a Piece of Work is Man - Manetti and Pico on Human Nature Pico della Mirandola and Giannozzo Manetti praise humans as the centerpiece of the created world. But what about the other animals? |
| 2020-Mar-08 • 21 minutes HoP 344 - The Count of Concord - Pico della Mirandola Pico della Mirandola argues for the harmony of the ancient authorities, draws on Jewish mysticism, and questions the value of humanist rhetoric. |
| 2020-Feb-23 • 23 minutes HoP 343 - As Far as East from West - Jewish Philosophy in Renaissance Italy Jewish philosophers in Renaissance Italy, focusing on Leone Ebreo’s Dialogues of Love, the Averroism of Elijah del Medigo, and Italian Kabbalah. |
| 2020-Feb-09 • 30 minutes HoP 342 - Denis Robichaud on Plato in the Renaissance An interview with Denis Robichaud on how, and why, Plato was read in the Italian Renaissance. |
| 2020-Jan-26 • 32 minutes HoP 341 - True Romance - Theories of Love Ficino describes a “Platonic” love purified of sexuality, prompting a debate carried on by Pico della Mirandola, Pietro Bembo, and Tullia d’Aragona. |
| 2020-Jan-12 • 24 minutes HoP 340 - Footnotes to Plato - Marsilio Ficino Marsilio Ficino’s revival of Platonism, with a focus on his proofs for the soul’s immortality in his magnum opus, the Platonic Theology. |
| 2019-Dec-29 • 22 minutes HoP 339 - I’d Like to Thank the Academy - Florentine Platonism The blossoming of Renaissance Platonism under the Medici, who supported the scholarship of Poliziano, Ficino, and Pico della Mirandola. |
| 2019-Dec-15 • 21 minutes HoP 338 - All About Eve - the Defense of Women Refutation of misogyny in Moderate Fonte and Lucrezia Marinella. |
| 2019-Dec-01 • 21 minutes HoP 337 - More Rare Than the Phoenix - Italian Women Humanists Cassandra Fedele, Isotta Nogarola, and Laura Cereta seek fame and glory through eloquence and learning. |
| 2019-Nov-17 • 21 minutes HoP 336 - We Built This City - Christine de Pizan Christine de Pizan's political philosophy, epistemology, and the refutation of misogyny in her "City of Ladies". |
| 2019-Nov-03 • 29 minutes HoP 335 - Sabrina Ebbersmeyer on Emotions in Renaissance Philosophy An interview with Sabrina Ebbersmeyer about the relation of emotion to reason and the body, and panpsychism, in the Renaissance. |
| 2019-Oct-20 • 22 minutes HoP 334 - Chance Encounters - Reviving Hellenistic philosophy The rediscovery of Epicurus, Lucretius, and Sextus Empiricus spreads challenging ideas about chance, atomism, and skepticism. |
| 2019-Oct-06 • 22 minutes HoP 333 - Difficult to Be Good - Humanist Ethics Humanists from Bruni and Valla to Pontano and Castiglione ask whether ancient ethical teachings can still help us learn how to live. |
| 2019-Sep-22 • 38 minutes HoP 332 - Jill Kraye on Humanism Jill Kraye returns to the podcast to discuss the nature of humanism, its relation to scholasticism, and its legacy. |
| 2019-Sep-08 • 21 minutes HoP 331 - Literary Criticism - Lorenzo Valla Lorenzo Valla launches a furious attack on scholastic philosophy, favoring the resources of classical Latin. |
| 2019-Jul-28 • 20 minutes HoP 330 - Republic of Letters - Italian Humanism Coluccio Salutati and Leonardo Bruni combine eloquence with philosophy, taking as their model the refined language and republican ideals found in Cicero. |
| 2019-Jul-14 • 19 minutes HoP 329 - Greeks Bearing Gifts - Byzantine Scholars in Italy Bessarion and George Trapenzuntius, rival scholars from the Greek east who helped inspire the Italian Renaissance. |
| 2019-Jun-30 • 20 minutes HoP 328 - Old News - Introduction to the Italian Renaissance A first look at the themes and figures of philosophy in the Italian Renaissance. |
| 2019-Jun-16 • 24 minutes HoP 327 - Michele Trizio on Byzantine and Latin Medieval Philosophy The series on Byzantium concludes as Michele Trizio discusses the mutual influence of Byzantium and Latin Christendom. |
| 2019-Jun-02 • 26 minutes HoP 326 - Istanbul (Not Constantinople) - the Later Orthodox Tradition 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. |
| 2019-May-19 • 23 minutes HoP 325 - Platonic Love - Gemistos Plethon Was Gemistos Plethon, the last great thinker of the Byzantine tradition, a secret pagan or just a Christian with an unusual enthusiasm for Platonism? |
| 2019-May-05 • 20 minutes HoP 324 - United We Fall - Latin Philosophy in Byzantium Thomas Aquinas finds avid readers among Byzantines at the twilight of empire, and is used by both sides of the Hesychast controversy. |
| 2019-Apr-21 • 19 minutes HoP 323 - Through His Works You Shall Know Him - Palamas and Hesychasm Gregory Palamas and the controversy over his teaching that we can go beyond human reason by grasping God through his activities or “energies”. |
| 2019-Apr-07 • 21 minutes HoP 322 - Do the Math - Science in the Palaiologan Renaissance Mathematics and the sciences in Byzantium, focusing on scholars of the Palaiologan period like Blemmydes and Metochites. |
| 2019-Mar-24 • 33 minutes HoP 321 - Judith Herrin on Byzantium and Islam Historian Judith Herrin joins us to talk about competition and mutual influence between Islam and Byzantium. |
| 2019-Mar-10 • 20 minutes HoP 320 - People of the South - Byzantium and Islam Intellectual exchange between Christians and Muslims, and the later flowering of Syriac literature including the philosopher Bar Hebraeus. |
| 2019-Feb-24 • 19 minutes HoP 319 - Georgia on My Mind - Petritsi and the Proclus Revival 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. |
| 2019-Feb-10 • 36 minutes HoP 318 - Oliver Primavesi on Greek Manuscripts Peter's Munich colleague Oliver Primavesi tells us how Greek manuscripts are used to establish the text of authors like Aristotle. |
| 2019-Jan-27 • 24 minutes HoP 317 - Made by Hand - Byzantine Manuscripts Without handwritten copies produced by Byzantine scribes, we would know almost nothing about ancient philosophy. How and why were they made? |
| 2019-Jan-13 • 22 minutes HoP 316 - Just Measures - Law, Money, and War in Byzantium 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. |
| 2018-Dec-30 • 21 minutes HoP 315 - Wiser Than Men - Gender in Byzantium The role of women in Byzantine society and the complex attitudes surrounding eunuchs: did they make up a “third gender”? |
| 2018-Dec-16 • 31 minutes HoP 314 - Katerina Ierodiakonou on Byzantine Commentaries A chat about commentaries on Aristotle from Byzantium with guest Katerina Ierodiakonou. |
| 2018-Dec-02 • 21 minutes HoP 313 - Queen of the Sciences - Anna Komnene and her Circle Princess Anna Komnene makes good use of her political retirement by gathering a circle of scholars to write commentaries on Aristotle. |
| 2018-Nov-18 • 20 minutes HoP 312 - Past Masters - Byzantine Historiography The larger meaning of history in the chronicles written by Michael Psellos, Michael Attaleiates, Anna Komnene, and Niketas Choniates. |
| 2018-Nov-04 • 20 minutes HoP 311 - The Elements of Style - Rhetoric in Byzantium Psellos and other experts in rhetoric explore how this art of persuasion relates to philosophy. |
| 2018-Oct-21 • 24 minutes HoP 310 - Purple Prose - Byzantine Political Philosophy Byzantine political thought from the time of Justinian down to the Palaiologos dynasty wrestles with the nature and scope of imperial power. |
| 2018-Oct-07 • 20 minutes HoP 309 - Hooked on Classics - Italos and the Debate over Pagan Learning The trial of John Italos and other signs of Byzantine disquiet with the pagan philosophical tradition. |
| 2018-Sep-23 • 32 minutes HoP 308 - Dominic O'Meara on Michael Psellos Dominic O'Meara speaks to Peter about Michael Psellos, focusing especially on his political philosophy. |
| 2018-Sep-09 • 17 minutes HoP 307 - Consul of the Philosophers - Michael Psellos Michael Psellos and his attitude towards pagan philosophy and the political life. |
| 2018-Aug-11 • 31 minutes Bonus Episode - Glenn Adamson on Material Intelligence Peter's twin brother Glenn Adamson discusses the philosophical implications of craft. |
| 2018-Jul-29 • 20 minutes HoP 306 - Collectors’ Items - Photius and Byzantine Compilations Photius, “the inventor of the book review,” and other Byzantine scholars who preserved ancient learning. |
| 2018-Jul-15 • 30 minutes HoP 305 - Andrew Louth on John of Damascus Peter is joined by Andrew Louth for a discussion of John of Damascus and his theological use of philosophy. |
| 2018-Jul-01 • 20 minutes HoP 304 - Behind Enemy Lines - John of Damascus John of Damascus helps to shape the Byzantine understanding of humankind and the veneration of images, despite living in Islamic territory. |
| 2018-Jun-17 • 21 minutes HoP 303 - Don’t Picture This - Iconoclasm 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. |
| 2018-Jun-03 • 21 minutes HoP 302 - On the Eastern Front - Philosophy in Syriac and Armenian Eastern Christian philosophy outside of Constantinople, focusing on translation and exegesis in the languages of Syriac and Armenian. |
| 2018-May-20 • 23 minutes HoP 301 - The Empire Strikes Back - Introduction to Byzantine Philosophy 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. |
| 2018-May-06 • 73 minutes HoP 300b - The Relevance of Medieval Philosophy Today Peter King, Catarina Dutilh Novaes, and Russ Friedman discuss their approaches to medieval philosophy, and its contemporary relevance. |
| 2018-Apr-22 • 81 minutes HoP 300a - The Relevance of Ancient Philosophy Today Rachel Barney, Christof Rapp, and Mark Kalderon join Peter to discuss the importance of ancient philosophy for today's philosophers. |
| 2018-Apr-08 • 30 minutes HoP 299 - Robert Pasnau on Substance in Scholasticism Bob Pasnau joins Peter to discuss ideas about substance from Aquinas down to the time of Locke, Leibniz and Descartes. |
| 2018-Apr-06 • 2 minutes Africana Philosophy Announcement New paperbacks and a new series! |
| 2018-Mar-25 • 22 minutes HoP 298 - Renaissance Men - Ramon Llull and Petrarch The Renaissance ideals of humanism and universal science flourish already in the medieval period, in the works of Petrarch and Ramon Llull. |
| 2018-Mar-11 • 21 minutes HoP 297 - The Prague Spring - Scholasticism Across Europe 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. |
| 2018-Feb-25 • 19 minutes HoP 296 - Morning Star of the Reformation - John Wyclif John Wyclif refutes nominalism and inspires the Lollard movement, which anticipated Reformation thought with its critique of the church. |
| 2018-Feb-11 • 21 minutes HoP 295 - The Most Christian Doctor - Jean Gerson 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. |
| 2018-Jan-28 • 32 minutes HoP 294 - Isabel Davis on Sexuality and Marriage in Chaucer Peter is joined by Isabel Davis to discuss marriage, sex and chastity in Chaucer, focusing on the Wife of Bath's speech. |
| 2018-Jan-14 • 23 minutes HoP 293 - The Good Wife - Gender and Sexuality in the Middle Ages Medieval attitudes towards homosexuality, sex and chastity, and the status of women. Authors discussed include Aquinas, Catherine of Siena, and Chaucer. |
| 2017-Dec-31 • 20 minutes HoP 292 - Say it With Poetry - Chaucer and Langland Philosophical themes in Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” and “Troilus and Criseyde,” as well as Langland’s “Piers Plowman.” |
| 2017-Dec-17 • 19 minutes HoP 291 - Alle Maner of Thyng Shall be Welle - English Mysticism Julian of Norwich’s Shewings and the Cloud of Unknowing lay out challenging paths to knowledge of, and union with, God. |
| 2017-Dec-03 • 29 minutes HoP 290 - Martin Pickavé on Emotions in Medieval Philosophy Martin Pickavé returns to the podcast to talk about theories of the emotions in Aquinas, Scotus and Wodeham. |
| 2017-Nov-19 • 21 minutes HoP 289 - A Wing and a Prayer - Angels in Medieval Philosophy 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). |
| 2017-Nov-05 • 20 minutes HoP 288 - Men in Black - The German Dominicans Dietrich of Freiberg, Berthold of Moosburg, John Tauler and Henry Suso explore Neoplatonism and mysticism. |
| 2017-Oct-22 • 19 minutes HoP 287 - Down to the Ground - Meister Eckhart The scholastic and mystic Meister Eckhart sets out his daring speculations about God and humankind in both Latin and German. |
| 2017-Oct-08 • 22 minutes HoP 286 - On the Money - Medieval Economic Theory Changing ideas about money, just price, and usury, up to the time of Buridan, Oresme, and Gregory of Rimini. |
| 2017-Sep-24 • 29 minutes HoP 285 - Dominik Perler on Medieval Skepticism The medievals were too firm in their beliefs to entertain skeptical worries, right? Don't be so sure, as Peter learns from Dominik Perler. |
| 2017-Aug-13 • 22 minutes HoP 284 - Seeing is Believing - Nicholas of Autrecourt’s Skeptical Challenge The debate between Nicholas of Autrecourt and John Buridan on whether it is possible to achieve certain knowledge. |
| 2017-Jul-30 • 32 minutes HoP 283 - Jack Zupko on John Buridan Peter speaks to Jack Zupko about John Buridan's secular and parsimonious approach to philosophy. |
| 2017-Jul-16 • 20 minutes HoP 282 - Portrait of the Artist - John Buridan 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. |
| 2017-Jul-02 • 37 minutes HoP 281 - Monica Green on Medieval Medicine An interview with Monica Green reveals parallels between medicine and philosophy in the middle ages. |
| 2017-Jun-18 • 21 minutes HoP 280 - Get to the Point - Fourteenth Century Physics Ockham, Buridan, Oresme and Francis of Marchia explore infinity, continuity, atomism, and the impetus involved in motion. |
| 2017-Jun-04 • 22 minutes HoP 279 - Quadrivial Pursuits - the Oxford Calculators Bradwardine and other thinkers based at Oxford make breakthroughs in physics by applying mathematics to motion. |
| 2017-May-21 • 43 minutes HoP 278 - Sara Uckelman on Obligations Sara Uckelman soundly defeats Peter in the medieval logical game of "obligations." |
| 2017-May-07 • 20 minutes HoP 277 - Trivial Pursuits - Fourteenth Century Logic The scholastics discuss the ambiguity of terms, the nature of logical inference, and logical paradoxes, and play the game of “obligations.” |
| 2017-Apr-23 • 21 minutes HoP 276 - Back to the Future - Foreknowledge and Predestination Scotus, Ockham, and Bradwardine ask how we can be free if God knows and chooses the things we will do in the future. |
| 2017-Apr-09 • 20 minutes HoP 275 - Keeping it Real - Responses to Ockham Walter Burley flies the flag for realism against Ockham and other nominalists. |
| 2017-Mar-26 • 29 minutes HoP 274 - Susan Brower-Toland on Ockham's Philosophy of Mind An interview with Susan Brower-Toland covering Ockham's views on cognition, consciousness, and memory. |
| 2017-Mar-12 • 22 minutes HoP 273 - What Do You Think? - Ockham on Mental Language How the language of thought relates to spoken and written language, according to William of Ockham. |
| 2017-Feb-26 • 21 minutes HoP 272 - A Close Shave - Ockham’s Nominalism Ockham trims away the unnecessary entities posited by other scholastics. |
| 2017-Feb-12 • 19 minutes HoP 271 - Do As You’re Told - Ockham on Ethics and Political Philosophy William of Ockham on freedom of action and freedom of thought. |
| 2017-Jan-29 • 22 minutes HoP 270 - Render unto Caesar - Marsilius of Padua In his book Defender of the Peace, Marsilius of Padua develops new theories of representative government, rights, and ownership. |
| 2017-Jan-21 • 14 minutes Democracy and the History of Philosophy Peter muses on recent political events in light of the history of philosophy. |
| 2017-Jan-15 • 19 minutes HoP 269 - Our Power is Real - The Clash of Church and State Giles of Rome and Dante on the rival claims of the church and secular rulers. |
| 2017-Jan-01 • 20 minutes HoP 268 - To Hell and Back - Dante Alighieri Italy’s greatest poet Dante Alighieri was also a philosopher, as we learn from his Convivio and of course the Divine Comedy. |
| 2016-Dec-18 • 20 minutes HoP 267 - After Virtue - Marguerite Porete Marguerite Porete is put to death for her exploration of the love of God, The Mirror of Simple Souls. |
| 2016-Dec-04 • 32 minutes HoP 266 - Tom Pink on the Will A conversation with Tom Pink about medieval theories of freedom and action. |
| 2016-Nov-20 • 21 minutes HoP 265 - Time of the Signs - the Fourteenth Century An introduction to philosophy in the 14th century, focusing on two big ideas: nominalism and voluntarism. |
| 2016-Nov-06 • 31 minutes HoP 264 - Giorgio Pini on Scotus on Knowledge Peter hears about Duns Scotus' epistemology from expert Giorgio Pini. |
| 2016-Oct-23 • 24 minutes HoP 263 - One in a Million - Scotus on Universals and Individuals Scotus explains how things can share a nature in common while being unique individuals. |
| 2016-Oct-09 • 22 minutes HoP 262 - On Command - Scotus on Ethics Scotus argues that morality is a matter of freely choosing to follow God’s freely issued commands. |
| 2016-Sep-25 • 20 minutes HoP 261 - To Will or Not to Will - Scotus on Freedom Scotus develops a novel theory of free will and, along the way, rethinks the notions of necessity and possibility. |
| 2016-Sep-11 • 21 minutes HoP 260 - Once and for All - Scotus on Being Duns Scotus attacks the proposal of Aquinas and Henry of Ghent that being is subject to analogy. |
| 2016-Jul-31 • 26 minutes HoP 259 - Richard Cross on Philosophy and the Trinity Medieval discussions of the Trinity charted new metaphysical territory, as we see in this interview with Richard Cross. |
| 2016-Jul-17 • 21 minutes HoP 258 - Here Comes the Son - The Trinity and the Eucharist Philosophy is pushed to its limits to provide rational explanations of two Christian theological doctrines. |
| 2016-Jul-03 • 27 minutes HoP 257 - Martin Pickave on Henry of Ghent and Freedom An interview with Martin Pickavé on voluntarism in Henry of Ghent. |
| 2016-Jun-19 • 21 minutes HoP 256 - Frequently Asked Questions - Henry of Ghent 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. |
| 2016-Jun-05 • 33 minutes HoP 255 - Andreas Speer on Medieval Aesthetics Does medieval art tell us anything about medieval theories of aesthetics? Peter finds out from Andreas Speer. |
| 2016-May-22 • 23 minutes HoP 254 - Love, Reign Over Me - The Romance of the Rose Sex, reason, and religion in Jean de Meun’s completion of an allegory of courtly love, the Roman de la Rose. |
| 2016-May-08 • 21 minutes HoP 253 - Let Me Count the Ways - Speculative Grammar The “modistae” explore the links between language, the mind, and reality. |
| 2016-Apr-24 • 22 minutes HoP 252 - Neverending Story - the Eternity of the World 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. |
| 2016-Apr-10 • 23 minutes HoP 251 - Masters of the University - “Latin Averroism" Did Siger of Brabant and Boethius of Dacia, who have been called “Latin Averroists” and “radical Aristotelians,” really embrace a doctrine of “double truth”? |
| 2016-Mar-27 • 41 minutes HoP 250 - Q&A Peter answers listener questions on the nature of philosophy and the podcast series. |
| 2016-Mar-13 • 21 minutes HoP 249 - Paris When it Sizzles - the Condemnations Two rounds of condemnations at Paris declare certain philosophical teachings as heretical. But what were the long term effects? |
| 2016-Feb-28 • 28 minutes HoP 248 - Scott MacDonald on Aquinas Scott MacDonald joins Peter to discuss Thomas Aquinas' views on human knowledge. |
| 2016-Feb-14 • 22 minutes HoP 247 - Onward, Christian Soldiers - Just War Theory Aquinas follows medieval legal thinkers in defining the conditions under which war may be justified, and proposes his famous doctrine of double effect. |
| 2016-Jan-31 • 24 minutes HoP 246 - What Pleases the Prince - The Rule of Law Natural law and political legitimacy in thirteenth century thinkers up to and including Thomas Aquinas. |
| 2016-Jan-17 • 21 minutes HoP 245 - What Comes Naturally - Ethics in Albert and Aquinas Natural and supernatural virtue and happiness in Thomas Aquinas and his teacher, Albert the Great. |
| 2016-Jan-03 • 20 minutes HoP 244 - Everybody Needs Some Body - Aquinas on Soul and Knowledge Thomas Aquinas makes controversial claims concerning the unity of the soul and the empirical basis of human knowledge. |
| 2015-Dec-20 • 22 minutes HoP 243 - The Ox Heard Round the World - Thomas Aquinas An introduction to Thomas Aquinas, his views on faith and reason, and his famous “five ways” of proving God’s existence. |
| 2015-Dec-06 • 34 minutes HoP 242 - Therese Cory on Self-Awareness in Albert and Aquinas Therese Cory tells Peter what Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas thought about self-awareness. |
| 2015-Nov-22 • 19 minutes HoP 241 - The Shadow Knows - Albert the Great’s Metaphysics 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. |
| 2015-Nov-08 • 20 minutes HoP 240 - Animal, Vegetable, Mineral - Albert the Great’s Natural Philosophy 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. |
| 2015-Oct-25 • 33 minutes HoP 239 - Catarina Dutilh Novaes on Medieval Logic Was medieval logic "formal"? Peter finds out from Catarina Dutilh Novaes. |
| 2015-Oct-11 • 22 minutes HoP 238 - Binding Arbitration - Robert Kilwardby Robert Kilwardby is infamous for his ban on teaching certain philosophical ideas at Oxford, yet made contributions in logic and on the soul. |
| 2015-Sep-27 • 22 minutes HoP 237 - Begin the Beguine - Hadewijch and Mechthild of Magdeburg Two Beguine authors, Hadewijch and Mechthild of Magdeburg, deploy the tropes of courtly love in vernacular writings about their mystical experiences. |
| 2015-Sep-19 • 4 minutes Indian Philosophy Announcement! New feed for Philosophy in India: http://hopwag2.podbean.com/feed/ |
| 2015-Aug-09 • 22 minutes HoP 236 - None for Me, Thanks - Franciscan Poverty Bonaventure and Peter Olivi respond to critics of the Franciscan vow of poverty, in a debate which produced new ideas about economics and rights. |
| 2015-Aug-02 • 25 minutes HoP 235 - Juhana Toivanen on Animals in Medieval Philosophy Medieval ideas about what animals do and do not have in common with humans, and how we should treat them. |
| 2015-Jul-26 • 24 minutes HoP 234 - Your Attention Please - Peter Olivi Peter Olivi proposes that awareness occurs not through passively being affected by things, but by actively paying attention to them. |
| 2015-Jul-19 • 22 minutes HoP 233 - Stairway to Heaven - Bonaventure Bonaventure argues that human knowledge depends on an illumination from God. |
| 2015-Jul-12 • 31 minutes HoP 232 - Charles Burnett on Magic Charles Burnett tells Peter about the role of magic in medieval intellectual life. |
| 2015-Jul-05 • 23 minutes HoP 231 - Origin of Species - Roger Bacon Roger Bacon extols the power of science based on experience and uses a general theory of "species" to explain light and vision. |
| 2015-Jun-28 • 20 minutes HoP 230 - A Light That Never Goes Out - Robert Grosseteste Translator, scientist and theologian Robert Grosseteste sheds light on the cosmos, human understanding, and the rainbow. |
| 2015-Jun-21 • 19 minutes HoP 229 - Do the Right Thing - Thirteenth Century Ethics The scholastics explore Aristotle’s ethical teaching and the concept of moral conscience. |
| 2015-Jun-14 • 23 minutes HoP 228 - It's All Good - The Transcendentals Philip the Chancellor introduces the transcendentals, a key idea in medieval metaphysics and aesthetics. |
| 2015-Jun-07 • 21 minutes HoP 227 - Stayin’ Alive - Thirteenth Century Psychology John Blund and William of Auvergne draw on Aristotle and Avicenna to argue that the soul is immaterial and immortal. |
| 2015-May-31 • 22 minutes HoP 226 - Full of Potential - Thirteenth Century Physics Richard Rufus and anonymous commentators on Aristotle explore the nature of motion, time, infinity and space. |
| 2015-May-24 • 23 minutes HoP 225 - No Uncertain Terms - Thirteenth Century Logic The terminist logicians William of Sherwood and Peter of Spain classify the various ways that language can relate to the world. |
| 2015-May-17 • 28 minutes HoP 224 - Kent Emery on Institutions of Learning Kent Emery joins Peter to discuss the effects of monastic and university culture on medieval philosophy. |
| 2015-May-10 • 22 minutes HoP 223 - Straw Men - The Rise of the Universities The emergence of universities in Paris, Oxford, Bologna and elsewhere provide the main setting for medieval philosophy in the 13th century and beyond. |
| 2015-May-03 • 24 minutes HoP 222 - Rediscovery Channel - Translations into Latin Greek and Arabic sources are rendered into Latin in a translation movement that will revolutionize medieval philosophy. |
| 2015-Apr-26 • 22 minutes HoP 221 - Leading Light - Hildegard of Bingen The life, visions, political intrigues and scientific interests of Hildegard of Bingen. |
| 2015-Apr-19 • 34 minutes HoP 220 - Caroline Humfress on the Roots of Medieval Law A discussion about Roman law and its reception in the medieval period, with ancient law expert Caroline Humfress. |
| 2015-Apr-12 • 22 minutes HoP 219 - Law and Order - Gratian and Peter Lombard Gratian and Peter Lombard help bring scholasticism to maturity by systematizing law and theology. |
| 2015-Apr-05 • 22 minutes HoP 218 - Two Swords - Early Medieval Political Philosophy The “Investiture Contest” between church and state and the first major work of medieval political philosophy, John of Salisbury’s Policraticus. |
| 2015-Mar-28 • 29 minutes HoP 217 - Andrew Arlig on Parts and Wholes Andrew Arlig joins Peter to discuss medieval discussions of mereology (the study of parts and wholes). |
| 2015-Mar-22 • 23 minutes HoP 216 - One of a Kind - Gilbert of Poitiers on Individuation Gilbert of Poitiers proposes a unique way to explain how each individual is the individual it is. |
| 2015-Mar-15 • 61 minutes HoP 215 - The Medieval Podcasters In this special episode, Peter chats with the hosts of the History of the Crusades, History of Byzantium, and British History podcasts. |
| 2015-Mar-08 • 19 minutes HoP 214 - The Good Book - Philosophy of Nature As early medieval science blossoms, Bernard Silvestris and Alan of Lille personify Nature in their philosophical prose-poems. |
| 2015-Feb-27 • 22 minutes HoP 213 - On the Shoulders of Giants - Philosophy at Chartres The controversial role of Chartres in the philosophical Renaissance of the twelfth century. |
| 2015-Feb-22 • 23 minutes HoP 212 - Like Father, Like Son - Debating the Trinity Discussion, debate and denunciation of philosophical attempts to explain the Trinity in Abelard, Richard of St Victor and Bernard of Clairvaux. |
| 2015-Feb-15 • 23 minutes HoP 211 - Learn Everything - the Victorines Hugh of Saint Victor and other scholars of the same abbey combine secular learning with spirituality. |
| 2015-Feb-08 • 28 minutes HoP 210 - John Marenbon on Peter Abelard John Marenbon returns to the podcast to discuss Abelard's views on necessity and freedom.. |
| 2015-Feb-01 • 21 minutes HoP 209 - It’s the Thought that Counts - Abelard’s Ethics Peter Abelard sets out an innovative ethical theory that identifies intentions as the core of moral life. |
| 2015-Jan-25 • 19 minutes HoP 208 - Get Thee to a Nunnery - Heloise and Abelard Peter Abelard and Heloise prove themselves to be fascinating thinkers as well as star-crossed lovers. |
| 2015-Jan-18 • 23 minutes HoP 207 - All or Nothing - The Problem of Universals Abelard and other logicians of the 12th century argue over the status of universals: are they words or things? |
| 2015-Jan-11 • 24 minutes HoP 206 - Eileen Sweeney on Anselm Anselm expert Eileen Sweeney discusses his approach to philosophy and the devotional aspect of his works. |
| 2015-Jan-04 • 20 minutes HoP 205 - Somebody's Perfect - Anselm's Ontological Argument The most famous argument in medieval philosophy is Anselm's proof of God's existence. But how is it supposed to work? |
| 2014-Dec-28 • 20 minutes HoP 204 - A Canterbury Tale - Anselm's Life and Works Anselm offers more than his famous ontological argument, including a subtle account of human freedom. |
| 2014-Dec-21 • 20 minutes HoP 203 - Virgin Territory - Peter Damian on Changing the Past Peter Damian takes up a question with surprising philosophical implications: can God restore virginity to a woman who has lost it? |
| 2014-Dec-13 • 23 minutes HoP 202 - Philosophers Anonymous - the Roots of Scholasticism Little-known authors prepare the way for scholasticism with glosses on logic, metaphysical debate, and a poem about a cat. |
| 2014-Dec-05 • 31 minutes HoP 201 - Stephen Gersh on Medieval Platonism Stephen Gersh (who was Peter's doctoral advisor!) joins him to discuss the sources and influence of Platonism in the Middle Ages. |
| 2014-Nov-29 • 39 minutes HoP 200 - Jill Kraye and John Marenbon on Medieval Philosophy We celebrate reaching episode 200 with a special double interview on the problem of defining medieval philosophy. |
| 2014-Nov-22 • 22 minutes HoP 199 - Much Ado About Nothing - Eriugena's Periphyseon Eriugena delves into the Greek tradition to produce his masterpiece of metaphysics and theology, the Periphyseon. |
| 2014-Nov-16 • 22 minutes HoP 198 - Grace Notes - Eriugena and the Predestination Controversy John Scotus Eriugena debates free will with his rival Gottschalk, arguing that God predestines the saved but not the damned. |
| 2014-Nov-09 • 21 minutes HoP 197 - Charles in Charge - The Carolingian Renaissance Alcuin leads a resurgence of interest in philosophy and the liberal arts at the court of Charlemagne. |
| 2014-Nov-03 • 20 minutes HoP 196 - Arts of Darkness - Introduction to Medieval Philosophy Peter launches the series of podcasts on philosophy in medieval Latin Christendom with a look ahead at what’s to come. |
| 2014-Oct-26 • 44 minutes HoP 195 - Anke von Kügelgen on Contemporary Islamic Thought 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. |
| 2014-Oct-19 • 23 minutes HoP 194 - Iran So Far - After Ṣadrā From Sabzawārī in the 19th century to Seyyed Hossein Nasr today, Iranian thinkers promote and respond to the thought of Mullā Ṣadrā. |
| 2014-Oct-12 • 23 minutes HoP 193 - All for One and One for All - Muḥammad 'Abdūh and Muḥammad Iqbāl Muḥammad 'Abdūh and Muḥammad Iqbāl challenge colonialism and the traditional religious scholars of Islam. |
| 2014-Oct-06 • 23 minutes HoP 192 - The Stronger Sex - Women Scholars and Islam Fatema Mernissi and others challenge the long-standing (but not complete) exclusion of women from the intellectual traditions of Islam. |
| 2014-Oct-03 • 25 minutes HoP 191 - The Young Ones: Encounters with European Thought 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. |
| 2014-Aug-24 • 22 minutes HoP 190 - Turkish Delights - Philosophy under the Ottomans Kātib Çelebi defends cigarettes and coffee, in just one of several philosophical and religious debates in the Ottoman empire. |
| 2014-Aug-17 • 24 minutes HoP 189 - Subcontinental Drift - Philosophy in Islamic India Ideas spread to Mughal India from Iran, and prince Dārā Shikūh seeks to unite the wisdom of the Upanishads with the Koran. |
| 2014-Aug-10 • 30 minutes HoP 188 - Sajjad Rizvi on Mulla Sadra Sajjad Rizvi talks to Peter about Mullā Ṣadrā's views on eternity, God's knowledge and the afterlife. |
| 2014-Aug-03 • 21 minutes HoP 187 - Return to Sender - Mulla Sadra on Motion and Knowledge Mullā Ṣadrā proposes that all things are like sharks: in constant motion. |
| 2014-Jul-27 • 22 minutes HoP 186 - To Be, Continued - Mulla Sadra on Existence Mullā Ṣadrā, greatest thinker of early modern Iran, unveils his radical new understanding of existence. |
| 2014-Jul-20 • 24 minutes HoP 185 - Follow the Leader - Philosophy under the Safavids Philosophy in Safavid Iran, and a look back at earlier philosophy among Shiites. |
| 2014-Jul-13 • 30 minutes HoP 184 - Robert Wisnovsky on Commentary Culture Robert Wisnovsky joins Peter to discuss the enormous body of unstudied philosophical commentaries in the later Eastern Islamic world. |
| 2014-Jul-06 • 22 minutes HoP 183 - Family Feud - Philosophy at Shiraz The roots of the Safavid philosophical tradition in some rather ill-tempered debates at Shīrāz. |
| 2014-Jun-29 • 22 minutes HoP 182 - Aftermath - Philosophy and Science in the Mongol Age Philosophy and science survive and even thrive through the coming of the Mongols. |
| 2014-Jun-22 • 21 minutes HoP 181 - By the Book - Ibn Taymiyya The controversial jurist Ibn Taymiyya sets forth an originalist theory of law and a searching criticism of the philosophers’ logic. |
| 2014-Jun-16 • 23 minutes HoP 180 - Proof Positive - The Logical Tradition Later Islamic logicians try to solve the Liar Paradox and take on the advances of Avicenna's logic. |
| 2014-Jun-08 • 37 minutes HoP 179 - Mohammed Rustom on Philosophical Sufism Peter is joined by Mohammed Rustom in a discussion about Sufi authors including Ibn 'Arabī and Rūmī |
| 2014-Jun-01 • 23 minutes HoP 178 - Eyes Wide Shut - Rumi and Philosophical Sufism The Persian poet Rūmī and mystical philosopher al-Qūnawī carry on the legacy of Sufism. |
| 2014-May-24 • 22 minutes HoP 177 - To Be or Not to Be - Debating Avicenna’s Metaphysics Avicenna’s distinction between essence and existence triggers a running debate among philosophers and theologians. |
| 2014-May-18 • 23 minutes HoP 176 - A Man for all Seasons - al-Tusi 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. |
| 2014-May-11 • 22 minutes HoP 175 - Bright Ideas - Illuminationism The Illuminationists carry on Suhrawardī’s critique of “Peripatetic” philosophy and wonder if they will be reborn as giraffes. |
| 2014-May-04 • 23 minutes HoP 174 - Leading Light - Suhrawardi Suhrawardī, founder of the Illuminationist (ishrāqī) tradition, proposes a metaphysics of light on the basis of his theory of knowledge by presence |
| 2014-Apr-27 • 23 minutes HoP 173 - For the Sake of Argument - Fakhr al-Din al-Razi The hugely influential Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī weaves Avicenna and Islamic theology into complex dialectical treatments of time, God, the soul, and ethics. |
| 2014-Apr-19 • 21 minutes HoP 172 - All Things Considered - Abu l-Barakat al-Baghdadi 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. |
| 2014-Apr-13 • 24 minutes HoP 171 - Golden Ages - The Later Eastern Traditions An introduction to later developments in philosophical theology, sufism, and Illuminationism, focusing on the reception and critique of Avicenna. |
| 2014-Apr-06 • 33 minutes HoP 170 - Gad Freudenthal on Jewish Philosophy and Science Leading scholar of medieval Jewish thought Gad Freudenthal joins Peter in a concluding episode on Andalusian thought. |
| 2014-Mar-30 • 22 minutes HoP 169 - A Matter of Principles - Albo and Abravanel Joseph Albo and Isaac Abravanel critique Maimonides’ attempt to lay down foundations for the Jewish law. |
| 2014-Mar-23 • 24 minutes HoP 168 - Chariot of Fire - Kabbalah The rich symbolism of the Zohar and the spiritual practices of Abraham Abluafia feature in the mystical movement known as Kabbalah. |
| 2014-Mar-16 • 23 minutes HoP 167 - When Bad Things Happen to Good People - Suffering in Jewish Philosophy The Book of Job provokes Saadia, Maimonides, Ibn Tibbon and Gersonides to reflect on why God allows suffering. |
| 2014-Mar-09 • 29 minutes HoP 166 - Tamar Rudavsky on Gersonides and Crescas Tamar Rudavsky joins Peter to talk about the two great medieval Jewish thinkers after Maimonides: Gersonides and Crescas. |
| 2014-Mar-02 • 24 minutes HoP 165 - Neither the Time Nor the Place - Hasdai Crescas Ḥasdai Crescas shows Aristotelian physics who’s boss, by defending alternative conceptions of time, place and infinity. |
| 2014-Feb-23 • 22 minutes HoP 164 - Man and Superman - Gersonides and the Jewish Reaction to Averroes The super-commentator Gersonides and other Jews digest the ideas of Averroes. |
| 2014-Feb-16 • 22 minutes HoP 163 - Burnt Offerings - The Maimonides Controversy Maimonides’ works provoke a bitter dispute among Jews in France and Spain over the relation of philosophy to Judaism. |
| 2014-Feb-08 • 27 minutes HoP 162 - Sarah Stroumsa on Maimonides Maimonides as a "Mediterranean thinker": Peter is joined by Sarah Stroumsa. |
| 2014-Feb-02 • 21 minutes HoP 161 - He Moves in Mysterious Ways - Maimonides on Eternity Maimonides tries to settle the eternity of the world debate by declaring a draw. |
| 2014-Jan-26 • 20 minutes HoP 160 - The Great Eagle - Maimonides The great Jewish philosopher and legal scholar Maimonides, and the ideas in his Mishneh Torah and Guide for the Perplexed. |
| 2014-Jan-19 • 21 minutes HoP 159 - With All Your Heart - Ethics and Judaism Baḥya Ibn Paquda and Maimonides explore the ethical dimension of the Jewish scriptures and legal tradition. |
| 2014-Jan-12 • 23 minutes HoP 158 - Born Under a Bad Sign - Freedom and Astrology in Jewish Philosophy Abraham Ibn Ezra, Ibn Daud and Maimonides consider the philosophical implications of astrology as science flourishes in the Jewish culture of Andalusia. |
| 2014-Jan-05 • 24 minutes HoP 157 - Choosing My Religion - Judah Hallevi Judah Hallevi argues that Judaism has a better claim to belief than philosophy, Christianity, or Islam. |
| 2013-Dec-29 • 31 minutes HoP 156 - Sarah Pessin on Jewish Neoplatonism Peter chats with Sarah Pessin about the Neoplatonism of Jewish philosophers such as Isaac Israeli, Ibn Gabirol, and Maimonides. |
| 2013-Dec-22 • 23 minutes HoP 155 - Matter over Mind - Ibn Gabirol Neoplatonism returns in Ibn Gabriol, who controversially holds that everything apart from God has both matter and form. |
| 2013-Dec-15 • 24 minutes HoP 154 - The Philosophy of History - Ibn Khaldun The historian Ibn Khaldūn applies the methods of philosophy to understand the rise and fall of political regimes. |
| 2013-Dec-08 • 25 minutes HoP 153 - A Matter of Taste – Ibn Arabi and Mysticism Sufism, the mystical tradition of Islam, collides with philosophy in the work of Ibn ʿArabī. |
| 2013-Dec-01 • 29 minutes HoP 152 - Richard Taylor on Averroes Averroes scholar Richard C. Taylor joins Peter to talk about Averroes' views on the relation between Islam and philosophy. |
| 2013-Nov-24 • 24 minutes HoP 151 - Single Minded - Averroes on the Intellect Averroes defends the rather surprising notion that all of mankind shares a single intellect. |
| 2013-Nov-17 • 40 minutes HoP 150 - Charles Burnett and Dag N Hasse on Arabic Latin Translations A special 150th double interview episode on the transmission of philosophy from Arabic into Latin. |
| 2013-Nov-09 • 24 minutes HoP 149 - Back to Basics - Averroes on Reason and Religion An introduction to “the Commentator” Averroes, and his defense of philosophy in the Decisive Treatise. |
| 2013-Nov-03 • 24 minutes HoP 148 - Fantasy Island - Ibn Bajja and Ibn Tufayl Intellect and alienation in Ibn Bājja and Ibn Ṭufayl, author of the philosophical desert island castaway tale “Ḥayy Ibn Yaqẓān.” |
| 2013-Oct-27 • 27 minutes HoP 147 - Laying Down the Law – Ibn Hazm and Islamic Legal Theory The development of Islamic law and jurisprudence (fiqh), and the many-sided output of the legal theorist Ibn Ḥazm. |
| 2013-Oct-20 • 22 minutes HoP 146 - Philosophy's Reign in Spain - Andalusia The flowering of philosophy among Muslims and Jews in al-Andalus (Muslim-controlled Spain and Portugal). |
| 2013-Oct-13 • 24 minutes HoP 145 - Frank Griffel on al-Ghazali Why did al-Ghazālī judge "the philosophers" to be apostates? Peter finds out from Frank Griffel. |
| 2013-Oct-06 • 23 minutes HoP 144 - Miracle Worker - al-Ghazali against the Philosophers 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. |
| 2013-Sep-29 • 22 minutes HoP 143 - Special Delivery - al-Ghazali Al-Ghazālī’s search for truth leads him to philosophy, Asharite theology, and ultimately the mystical tradition of Sufism. |
| 2013-Sep-22 • 30 minutes HoP 142 - Dimitri Gutas on Avicenna Peter talks to Dimitri Gutas about Avicenna's sources, philosophical methods, and influence. |
| 2013-Sep-15 • 22 minutes HoP 141 - Into Thin Air - Avicenna on the Soul With his Flying Man argument, Avicenna explores self-awareness and the relation between soul and body. |
| 2013-Aug-04 • 23 minutes HoP 140 - By All Means Necessary - Avicenna on God Avicenna’s proof of the Necessary Existent is ingenious and influential; but does it amount to a proof of God’s existence? |
| 2013-Jul-28 • 21 minutes HoP 139 - By the Time I Get to Phoenix - Avicenna on Existence Avicenna revolutionizes metaphysics with groundbreaking ideas about necessity and contingency, and his new distinction between essence and existence. |
| 2013-Jul-21 • 23 minutes HoP 138 - The Self-Made Man - Avicenna's Life and Works Despite a tumultuous life, Avicenna manages to become the most influential of all medieval philosophers. |
| 2013-Jul-14 • 24 minutes HoP 137 - God Willing – the Asharites Al-Ash‘arī puts his stamp on the future of Islamic theology by emphasizing God’s untrammeled power and freedom. |
| 2013-Jul-07 • 26 minutes HoP 136 - Farhad Daftary on the Ismailis Peter is joined by Farhad Daftary, a leading expert on the Shiite group known as the Ismā'īlīs. |
| 2013-Jun-30 • 26 minutes HoP 135 - Undercover Brothers – Philosophy in the Buyid Age Miskawayh, al-‘Amiri, al-Tawhidi, the Brethren of Purity and Ismaili missionaries bring together philosophy with Persian culture, literature and Islam. |
| 2013-Jun-23 • 22 minutes HoP 134 - Balancing Acts - Arabic Ethical Literature 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. |
| 2013-Jun-16 • 28 minutes HoP 133 - Strings Attached - Music and Philosophy Peter turns DJ, with some actual music interspersed with discussion about theories of music in Arabic philosophical texts. |
| 2013-Jun-09 • 22 minutes HoP 132 - Eye of the Beholder - Theories of Vision Ibn al-Haytham draws on the tradition of geometrical optics to explain the mystery of human eyesight. |
| 2013-Jun-02 • 31 minutes HoP 131 - Deborah Black on al-Farabi's Epistemology Deborah Black joins Peter to talk about al-Farabi's innovations concerning knowledge and certainty. |
| 2013-May-26 • 21 minutes HoP 130 - State of Mind - al-Farabi on Religion and Politics Al-Fārābī combines Islam and Greek sources to present the ideal ruler as a philosopher who is also a prophet. |
| 2013-May-19 • 24 minutes HoP 129 - The Second Master - al-Farabi Peter begins to look at the systematic rethinking of Hellenic philosophy offered by al-Farabi, focusing on his logic and metaphysics. |
| 2013-May-12 • 24 minutes HoP 128 - Aristotelian Society - the Baghdad School A group of mostly Christian philosophers transpose the practices of antique Aristotelian philosophy to 10th century Baghdad. |
| 2013-May-05 • 27 minutes HoP 127 - Peter E Pormann on Medicine in the Islamic World A double dose of Peters, as Pormann joins Adamson to discuss medicine and philosophy in the Islamic world. |
| 2013-Apr-28 • 25 minutes HoP 126 - High Five - al-Razi The doctor and philosopher Abu Bakr al-Razi sets out a daring philosophical theory involving five eternal principles: God, soul, matter, time and place. |
| 2013-Apr-21 • 23 minutes HoP 125 - Reasoned Belief - Saadia Gaon Saadia Gaon draws on Greek philosophy and Islamic theology to provide a rational account of Jewish belief. |
| 2013-Apr-14 • 24 minutes HoP 124 - The Chosen Ones - Judaism and Philosophy 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. |
| 2013-Apr-07 • 22 minutes HoP 123 - Philosopher of the Arabs - al-Kindi Al-Kindī uses Hellenic materials to discuss the eternity of the world, divine attributes, and the nature of the soul. |
| 2013-Mar-30 • 23 minutes HoP 122 - Founded in Translation - From Greek to Syriac and Arabic Greek philosophy and science make their way into the Islamic world via Syriac and Arabic translations and interpretations. |
| 2013-Mar-24 • 26 minutes HoP 121 - This is a Test - the Mutazilites 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. |
| 2013-Mar-16 • 23 minutes HoP 120 - The Straight Path - Philosophy in the Islamic World The rise of Islam creates a new context for philosophy not only among Muslims, but also Jews and Christians. . |
| 2013-Mar-10 • 26 minutes HoP 119 - John Marenbon on Boethius John Marenbon joins Peter to discuss Boethius' solution to the problem of divine foreknowledge. |
| 2013-Mar-03 • 22 minutes HoP 118 - Fate, Hope and Clarity - Boethius 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. |
| 2013-Feb-24 • 24 minutes HoP 117 - Born Again - Latin Platonism Apuleius, Victorinus, Martianus Cappella, Macrobius and Calcidius present and interpret Platonic teachings for readers of Latin. |
| 2013-Feb-17 • 26 minutes HoP 116 - Charles Brittain on Augustine's On the Trinity In a final episode on Augustine, Charles Brittain joins Peter to discuss On the Trinity. |
| 2013-Feb-09 • 22 minutes HoP 115 - Me, Myself and I - Augustine on Mind and Memory In On the Trinity Augustine explores the human mind as an image of God. |
| 2013-Feb-03 • 30 minutes HoP 114 - Sarah Byers on Augustine's Ethics Peter speaks with Sarah Byers about the Stoic influence on Augustine's ethics and theory of action. |
| 2013-Jan-27 • 23 minutes HoP 113 - Heaven and Earth - Augustine’s City of God 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. |
| 2013-Jan-20 • 23 minutes HoP 112 - Help Wanted - Augustine on Freedom Augustine defends free will, but rejects the Pelagian claim that we can be good without God's help. |
| 2013-Jan-13 • 22 minutes HoP 111 - Papa Don't Teach - Augustine on Language Augustine argues that words are signs, but not signs that can bring us to knowledge. |
| 2013-Jan-06 • 22 minutes HoP 110 - Life and Time - Augustine's Confessions In the Confessions Augustine weaves autobiography with reflections on the nature of God, man, and time. |
| 2012-Dec-30 • 24 minutes HoP 109 - Spreading the Word - the Latin Church Fathers Tertullian, Lactantius, Jerome and Ambrose use and abuse Hellenic philosophy. |
| 2012-Dec-23 • 25 minutes HoP 108 - George Boys-Stones on the Greek Church Fathers George Boys-Stones joins Peter to discuss philosophy in the Bible and the Greek Fathers. |
| 2012-Dec-16 • 24 minutes HoP 107 - Practice Makes Perfect - Christian Asceticism Christian ascetics like Antony, Macrina and Evagrius create a new ethical ideal by pushing the human capacity for self-control to its limits. |
| 2012-Dec-09 • 23 minutes HoP 106 - Double or Nothing - Maximus the Confessor The early Byzantine thinker Maximus uses Aristotle to defend the orthodox view of Christ's two natures |
| 2012-Dec-02 • 22 minutes HoP 105 - Naming the Nameless - the Pseudo-Dionysius A mysterious author calling himself Dionysius fuses Neoplatonism with Christianity |
| 2012-Nov-25 • 23 minutes HoP 104 - Let's Talk Turkey - the Cappadocians Basil of Caesarea, his brother Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus use philosophy to help the poor and to defeat their theological opponents |
| 2012-Nov-17 • 25 minutes HoP 103 - Fall and Rise - Origen Origen of Alexandria weaves Platonic ideas into new and controversial theological ideas |
| 2012-Nov-11 • 24 minutes HoP 102 - Please Accept Our Apologies - the Greek Church Fathers Irenaeus, Clement and Justin Martyr consider the relevance of philosophy for Christianity |
| 2012-Nov-04 • 23 minutes HoP 101 - Father Figures - Introduction to Ancient Christian Philosophy An overview of what the Church Fathers contributed to ancient philosophy |
| 2012-Oct-28 • 39 minutes HoP 100 - Michael Trapp and Caroline Humfress on Ancient Culture and Philosophy A special double interview celebrates reaching 100 episodes by looking at the cultural status of philosophy in the ancient world |
| 2012-Oct-21 • 28 minutes HoP 099 - Richard Sorabji on the Commentators Richard Sorabji joins Peter to discuss the ancient commentators on Aristotle |
| 2012-Oct-14 • 23 minutes HoP 098 - For a Limited Time Only - John Philoponus John Philoponus refutes Aristotle’s and Proclus’ arguments for the eternity of the universe, and develops new ideas in physics. |
| 2012-Oct-07 • 25 minutes HoP 097 - A Tale of Two Cities - The Last Pagan Philosophers Julian the Apostate and the philosophers of Athens and Alexandria try to keep pagan philosophy alive in the late Roman empire |
| 2012-Sep-30 • 29 minutes HoP 096 - Dominic O'Meara on Neoplatonism Dominic O'Meara speaks with Peter about political philosophy and mathematics in Neoplatonism |
| 2012-Sep-23 • 24 minutes HoP 095 - Anne Sheppard on Ancient Aesthetics Anne Sheppard joins Peter to discuss aesthetics from Plato to Proclus |
| 2012-Sep-16 • 24 minutes HoP 094 - The Platonic Successor - Proclus Proclus displays late Neoplatonism in all its glory |
| 2012-Sep-08 • 24 minutes HoP 093 - Pythagorean Theorems - Iamblichus Iamblichus fuses Platonism with pagan religious conviction and sets the agenda for Neoplatonism in generations to come. |
| 2012-Sep-02 • 22 minutes HoP 092 - King of Animals - Porphyry Porphyry defends vegetarianism and the harmony of Plato and Aristotle |
| 2012-Aug-26 • 25 minutes HoP 091 - James Wilberding on Nature and Neoplatonism James Wilberding joins Peter to examine what Plotinus and Porphyry contributed to the philosophy of nature |
| 2012-Jul-22 • 23 minutes HoP 090 - A Decorated Corpse – Plotinus on Matter and Evil 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. |
| 2012-Jul-15 • 23 minutes HoP 089 - On the Horizon - Plotinus on the Soul For Plotinus, Soul is on the border between the physical and intelligible realms. Can he convince us to identify ourselves with its highest part? |
| 2012-Jul-08 • 23 minutes HoP 088 - Simplicity Itself - Plotinus on the One and Intellect Plotinus posits an absolutely transcendent first principle, the One. What is it (or isn’t it), and how does it relate to Intellect? |
| 2012-Jul-01 • 21 minutes HoP 087 - A God is My Co-Pilot - the Life and Works of Plotinus Peter introduces Plotinus, the greatest philosopher of late antiquity and the founder of Neoplatonism |
| 2012-Jun-24 • 28 minutes HoP 086 - Serafina Cuomo on Ancient Mathematics How did the mathematics of figures like Euclid and Archimides relate to ancient philosophy? Peter finds out in an interview with Serafina Cuomo |
| 2012-Jun-17 • 23 minutes HoP 085 - Sky Writing - Astronomy, Astrology, and Philosophy Ptolemy uses philosophy in the service of studying the stars, while philosophers of all persuasions evaluate the widespread practice of astrology. |
| 2012-Jun-10 • 24 minutes HoP 084 - Silver Tongues in Golden Mouths - Rhetoric and Ancient Philosophy Themistius, Quintilian, Lucian and other authors tell us about the connections between rhetoric and late ancient philosophy |
| 2012-Jun-03 • 23 minutes HoP 083 - Not Written in Stone – Alexander of Aphrodisias Alexander of Aphrodisias writes the greatest ancient commentaries on Aristotle and tries to demolish the Stoic teaching on fate |
| 2012-May-27 • 23 minutes HoP 082 - Lost and Found – Aristotelianism after Aristotle Peter looks at the history of Aristotelianism up the time of the Roman Empire and the beginning of commentaries on his works |
| 2012-May-20 • 25 minutes HoP 081 - Jan Opsomer on Middle Platonism Jan Opsomer helps Peter to understand principles, Plato interpretation, and Plutarch in a wide-ranging discussion of Middle Platonism |
| 2012-May-13 • 23 minutes HoP 080 - Delphic Utterances - Plutarch Plutarch was a historian, a priest of Apollo, and a Platonist |
| 2012-May-06 • 22 minutes HoP 079 - To the Lighthouse - Philo of Alexandria Philo of Alexandria uses Platonism to understand the Bible of Moses |
| 2012-Apr-29 • 24 minutes HoP 078 - Middle Men - the Platonic Revival Pioneering thinkers Eudorus, Alcinous, and Numenius fuse Pythagoreanism with Platonism and pave the way for Plotinus. |
| 2012-Apr-22 • 25 minutes HoP 077 - Caesarian Section – Philosophy in the Roman Empire In late antiquity, Aristotelianism and Platonism made a comeback, and pagan philosophy developed alongside Judaism and Christianity. |
| 2012-Apr-15 • 28 minutes HoP 076 - R.J. Hankinson on Galen Jim Hankinson tells Peter about the life, work and philosophical contributions of Galen |
| 2012-Apr-08 • 24 minutes HoP 075 - The Joy of Sects - Ancient Medicine and Philosophy Hellenistic doctors discover the nerves and argue about method; Galen passes judgment |
| 2012-Apr-01 • 28 minutes HoP 074 - Tony Long on the Self in Hellenistic Philosophy Leading Hellenistic philosophy scholar Tony Long talks to Peter about the self, ethics and politics in the Stoics, Epicureans and Skeptics |
| 2012-Mar-25 • 22 minutes HoP 073 - Healthy Skepticism - Sextus Empiricus Sextus Empiricus pushes skepticism to its limits with his uncompromising Pyrrhonism |
| 2012-Mar-18 • 28 minutes HoP 072 - Raphael Woolf on Cicero Peter discusses Cicero's method and philosophical allegiances with Raphael Woolf |
| 2012-Mar-11 • 23 minutes HoP 071 - Rhetorical Questions - Cicero Cicero, inspired by the skepticism of the New Academy, uses his literary talents to present the wisdom of the Greeks |
| 2012-Mar-04 • 24 minutes HoP 070 - The Know-Nothing Party - the Skeptical Academy The Skeptical Academy attacks Stoic claims that certain knowledge is possible |
| 2012-Feb-26 • 23 minutes HoP 069 - Beyond Belief - Pyrrho and Skepticism Peter begins to examine ancient Skepticism, beginning with Pyrrho's life and doctrines, or lack thereof |
| 2012-Feb-19 • 28 minutes HoP 068 - John Sellars on the Roman Stoics John Sellars joins Peter to discuss the Roman Stoics and their "art of living" |
| 2012-Feb-12 • 23 minutes HoP 067 - The Philosopher King - Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius' Meditations are a classic of Stoicism written by the most powerful philosopher who ever lived |
| 2012-Feb-05 • 22 minutes HoP 066 - You Can Chain My Leg - Epictetus Epictetus, greatest of the Roman Stoics, tells you how to set yourself free |
| 2012-Jan-29 • 22 minutes HoP 065 - Anger Management - Seneca Seneca wields his rhetorically charged Latin to advance Stoic ethical theory |
| 2012-Jan-22 • 27 minutes HoP 064 - David Sedley on Stoicism David Sedley discusses the Stoic school and its evolution |
| 2012-Jan-15 • 22 minutes HoP 063 - Like a Rolling Stone - Stoic Ethics The Stoic ethical theory insists that perfection is possible, and that moral responsibility is compatible with determinism |
| 2012-Jan-08 • 21 minutes HoP 062 - We Didn’t Start the Fire - the Stoics on Nature The Stoic cosmos: suffused with divinity, surrounded by void, and endlessly repeating |
| 2012-Jan-01 • 22 minutes HoP 061 - Nobody’s Perfect - the Stoics on Knowledge The Stoics set out and defend an ambitious theory of knowledge, where it is possible to avoid all error |
| 2011-Dec-25 • 24 minutes HoP 060 - Walking on Eggshells - the Stoics on Logic Introducing the early Stoics, Zeno, Cleanthes and Chrysippus, and their innovations in logic |
| 2011-Dec-18 • 28 minutes HoP 059 - James Warren on Epicureanism James Warren chats with Peter about the pleasures of Epicureanism |
| 2011-Dec-11 • 22 minutes HoP 058 - Reaping the Harvest - Lucretius In "On the Nature of Things" Lucretius sets Epicureanism into Latin poetic verse |
| 2011-Dec-04 • 22 minutes HoP 057 - Nothing to Fear - Epicureans on Death and the Gods The Epicureans reassure us against the terrors of death and punishment by the gods |
| 2011-Nov-27 • 22 minutes HoP 056 - Am I Bothered? - Epicurean Ethics Pleasure is the good, according to Epicurus. But how do we live most pleasantly? |
| 2011-Nov-20 • 23 minutes HoP 055 - The Constant Gardener - Epicurus and his Principles Epicurus sets out an empiricist theory of knowledge and atomist physics, in support of hedonism |
| 2011-Nov-13 • 21 minutes HoP 054 - Instant Gratification - the Cyrenaics The Cyrenaics, the ultimate pleasure seekers of ancient philosophy |
| 2011-Nov-09 • 55 minutes Filling the Gaps - a Brief History of Nothing 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. |
| 2011-Nov-06 • 22 minutes HoP 053 - Beware of the Philosopher - the Cynics Diogenes and the other Cynics “deface the currency” by exposing the hypocrisy of Greek society. |
| 2011-Oct-30 • 23 minutes HoP 052 - Fighting Over Socrates - the Hellenistic Schools Introducing the Stoics, Skeptics, Epicureans and Cynics, the schools of the Hellenistic age |
| 2011-Oct-23 • 23 minutes HoP 051 - The Next Generation - the Followers of Plato and Aristotle The Old Academy and Theophrastus carry on the legacy of Plato and Aristotle |
| 2011-Oct-16 • 37 minutes HoP 050 - MM McCabe and Raphael Woolf on Aristotle on Plato 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 |
| 2011-Oct-09 • 21 minutes HoP 049 - Stage Directions - Aristotle's Rhetoric and Poetics In the Rhetoric and Poetics, Aristotle explores persuasive speech and engages with ancient tragedy |
| 2011-Oct-02 • 21 minutes HoP 048 - Constitutional Conventions - Aristotle's Political Philosophy 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 |
| 2011-Sep-25 • 21 minutes HoP 047 God Only Knows: Aristotle on Mind and God Drawing on the De Anima, On the Heavens, Physics and Metaphysics, Peter tackles Aristotle’s theory of mind and its relation to his theology. |
| 2011-Sep-18 • 29 minutes HoP 046 - Dominic Scott on Aristotle's Ethics Dominic Scott discusses Aristotle's method in his Nicomachean Ethics |
| 2011-Sep-11 • 21 minutes HoP 045 - The Second Self - Aristotle On Pleasure And Friendship What place does Aristotle leave for pleasure and friendship in his vision of the good life? |
| 2011-Sep-03 • 20 minutes HoP 044 - The Goldilocks Theory - Aristotle's Ethics Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics on happiness and virtue |
| 2011-Jul-24 • 22 minutes HoP 043 - Classified Information - Aristotle's Biology In his zoology, Aristotle divides and defines all kinds of animals, and so invents the science of biology |
| 2011-Jul-17 • 21 minutes HoP 042 - Soul Power - Aristotle's De Anima Aristotle's theory of soul: its functions and how it relates to the body |
| 2011-Jul-10 • 26 minutes HoP 041 - Richard Sorabji on Time and Eternity in Aristotle Richard Sorabji discusses time, eternity and mosquitos in Aristotle's Physics |
| 2011-Jul-03 • 22 minutes HoP 040 - Let's Get Physical - Aristotle's Natural Philosophy Aristotle's Physics explains change, time and place with the help of his actuality/potentiality distinction |
| 2011-Jun-26 • 20 minutes HoP 039 - Form and Function - Aristotle's Four Causes The four types of explanation: formal, material, efficient and final cause |
| 2011-Jun-19 • 21 minutes HoP 038 - Down To Earth - Aristotle on Substance Aristotle's critique of Platonic Forms and defense of his own metaphysics |
| 2011-Jun-12 • 26 minutes HoP 037 - Hugh Benson on Aristotelian Method Hugh Benson discusses Aristotle's ideas about arriving at knowledge |
| 2011-Jun-07 • 20 minutes HoP 036 - A Principled Stand - Aristotle's Epistemology Knowledge according to Aristotle's Posterior Analytics |
| 2011-May-30 • 21 minutes HoP 035 - The Philosopher's Toolkit - Aristotle's Logical Works Aristotle's invention of logic in the Organon (especially Categories, On Interpretation, Prior Analytics) |
| 2011-May-23 • 21 minutes HoP 034 - Mr. Know It All - Aristotle's Life And Works Aristotle's career, corpus and unparalleled influence |
| 2011-May-16 • 21 minutes HoP 033 - Last Judgments - Plato, Poetry and Myth Plato's attack on the poets and his own use of myth in the Republic and other dialogues |
| 2011-May-09 • 25 minutes HoP 032 - Frisbee Sheffield on Platonic Love Frisbee Sheffield discusses Plato's erotic dialogues, including the Symposium |
| 2011-May-02 • 22 minutes HoP 031 - Wings of Desire - Plato's Erotic Dialogues Love, friendship and philosophy in the Symposium, Phaedrus and Lysis |
| 2011-Apr-25 • 21 minutes HoP 030 - A Likely Story - Plato's Timaeus A divine craftsman makes the cosmos from triangles in Plato's Timaeus |
| 2011-Apr-18 • 19 minutes HoP 029 - What's in a Name? - Plato's Cratylus Philosophy of language and Heraclitean flux in Plato's Cratylus |
| 2011-Apr-11 • 25 minutes HoP 028 - Fiona Leigh on Plato's Sophist Fiona Leigh discusses Plato's revised theory of Forms in the Sophist |
| 2011-Apr-04 • 20 minutes HoP 027 - Second Thoughts - Plato's Parmenides and the Forms The Third Man Argument and other criticisms of Forms in the Parmenides |
| 2011-Mar-28 • 20 minutes HoP 026 - Ain't No Sunshine - The Cave Allegory of Plato's Republic The Divided Line, Form of the Good, and Cave in Plato's Republic |
| 2011-Mar-20 • 21 minutes HoP 025 - Soul and The City - Plato's Political Philosophy Plato's Republic defends and defines justice at the level of the ideal city and the person |
| 2011-Mar-14 • 20 minutes HoP 024 - Famous Last Words - Plato's Phaedo Forms and the immortality of the soul in the Phaedo |
| 2011-Mar-07 • 24 minutes HoP 023 - MM McCabe on Knowledge in Plato MM McCabe discusses epistemology and virtue in Plato |
| 2011-Feb-28 • 18 minutes HoP 022 - I Know Because The Caged Bird Sings - Plato's Theaetetus Knowledge, relativism, and memory in the Theaetetus |
| 2011-Feb-21 • 18 minutes HoP 021 - We Don't Need No Education - Plato's Meno The Meno and Plato's theory of recollection |
| 2011-Feb-14 • 19 minutes HoP 020 - Virtue Meets Its Match - Plato's Gorgias Ethics against immoralism in a Socratic masterpiece. |
| 2011-Feb-07 • 18 minutes HoP 019 - Know Thyself - Two Unloved Platonic Dialogues Virtue and knowledge in Plato's Charmides and Euthydemus |
| 2011-Jan-31 • 19 minutes HoP 018 - In Dialogue - The Life And Writings Of Plato The life, times and dialogues of Plato |
| 2011-Jan-24 • 27 minutes HoP 017 - Raphael Woolf on Socrates Raphael Woolf discusses Socrates as presented by Plato |
| 2011-Jan-17 • 18 minutes HoP 016 - Method Man - Plato's Socrates Socratic virtue, ignorance and irony in the Platonic dialogues Socrates' claim that no one does wrong willingly |
| 2011-Jan-10 • 20 minutes HoP 015 - Socrates without Plato - the Portrayals of Aristophanes and Xenophon Socrates according to the comic poet Aristophanes and the historian Xenophon |
| 2011-Jan-03 • 20 minutes HoP 014 - Making the Weaker Argument the Stronger - the Sophists Rhetoric and relativism in Protagoras, Gorgias and other sophists |
| 2010-Dec-27 • 19 minutes HoP 013 - Good Humor Men - the Hippocratics Hippocrates and the relation between early Greek medicine and philosophy |
| 2010-Dec-20 • 23 minutes HoP 012 - Malcolm Schofield on the Presocratics Malcolm Schofield on Heraclitus, Parmenides and other early Greek philosophers |
| 2010-Dec-13 • 17 minutes HoP 011 - All You Need Is Love, and Five Other Things - Empedocles Love, Strife and the four elements in Empedocles |
| 2010-Dec-06 • 19 minutes HoP 010 - Mind Over Mixture - Anaxagoras Is everything mixed with everything? Anaxagoras on Mind and the cosmos |
| 2010-Nov-25 • 18 minutes HoP 009 - The Final Cut - Democritus And Leuccipus Ancient atomism as a response to Parmenides |
| 2010-Nov-22 • 18 minutes HoP 008 - You Can't Get There From Here - Zeno And Melissus Zeno's paradoxes and Melissus develop the Eleatic philosophy |
| 2010-Nov-15 • 18 minutes HoP 007 - The Road Less Traveled - Parmenides The father of metaphysics, Parmenides of Elea |
| 2010-Nov-08 • 21 minutes HoP 006 - MM McCabe on Heraclitus MM McCabe of King's discusses the fragments of Heraclitus |
| 2010-Nov-01 • 19 minutes HoP 005 - Old Man River - Heraclitus Everything changes in the riddling philosophy of Heraclitus |
| 2010-Oct-25 • 20 minutes HoP 004 - The Man With The Golden Thigh - Pythagoras Pythagoras and mathematics in ancient philosophy |
| 2010-Oct-25 • 19 minutes HoP 003 - Created In Our Image - Xenophanes Against Greek Religion The gods in Homer and Hesiod, and the critique of Xenophanes |
| 2010-Oct-25 • 18 minutes HoP 002 - Infinity and Beyond - Anaximander and Anaximenes Two early Pre-Socratics claim that the world is made of air, and the infinite |
| 2010-Oct-25 • 22 minutes HoP 001 - Everything is Full of Gods - Thales In this first episode, Peter discusses the goals of the series and Thales, the first Greek philosopher. |