History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps
Education Podcasts
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
Location:
United States
Genres:
Education Podcasts
Description:
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
Language:
English
Episodes
HoP 490 Steven Nadler on Occasionalism
4/5/2026
What inspired the occasionalist theory embraced by the 17th century Cartesians? We find out from a leading specialist on the topic.
Duration:00:32:15
HoP 489 All Power to Him: Malebranche and Occasionalism
3/22/2026
What led Malebranche to his notorious view that all bodily motions and thoughts are caused by God, with created things serving only as “occasions” for divine action?
Duration:00:21:17
HoP 488 No Particular Reason: Nicolas Malebranche
3/7/2026
We begin to explore Malebranche’s controversial development of Cartesian philosophy by looking at his theodicy.
Duration:00:19:34
HoP 487 Showing Good Judgment: The Port Royal Logic
2/22/2026
Antoine Arnauld and Pierre Nicole update the study of logic to take account of the ideas of Descartes.
Duration:00:21:58
HoP 486 Friends of the Truth: Arnauld and Jansenism
2/7/2026
Antoine Arnauld combines Cartesian philosophy with Jansenism, one of the most controversial religious movements of the 17th century.
Duration:00:19:32
HoP 485 Liz Jackson on Pascal's Wager
1/25/2026
An interview on contemporary approaches to Pascal's Wager: where decision theory meets philosophy of religion.
Duration:00:38:41
HoP 484 You Bet Your Life: Pascal’s Wager
1/10/2026
Should we gamble on belief in God to have a chance at infinite reward?
Duration:00:22:41
HoP 483 Between Infinity and the Void: Blaise Pascal
12/27/2025
Blaise Pascal was a pioneering scientist and deeply spiritual religious thinker; what united these two sides of his thought?
Duration:00:20:13
HoP 482 Indivisible, Under God: the Revival of Atomism
12/13/2025
Why did Sébastian Basso and Pierre Gassendi think ancient atomism was the key to developing a new, modern science?
Duration:00:20:04
HoP 481 True Fool’s Gold: Pierre Gassendi
11/29/2025
Gassendi’s path from skepticism to “baptized Epicureanism.”
Duration:00:20:19
HoP 480 Honorable Ignorance: French Skepticism
11/15/2025
So-called “libertines” like Mothe le Vayer revive ancient skepticism, provoking a backlash from Mersenne and Arnauld. Were they right to see the skeptics as anti-religious?
Duration:00:21:30
HoP 479 Gideon Manning on Cartesian Medicine
11/2/2025
An interview exploring Descartes' interest in medicine, how his medical ideas relate to his dualism, and his influence on medical science.
Duration:00:33:57
HoP 478 This Gland Is Your Gland: Cartesian Science
10/19/2025
From comets to blood transfusions, embryology, and the debate over the pineal gland: Descartes’ impact on science, especially medicine.
Duration:00:24:16
HoP 477 The Mind Has No Sex: Cartesianism and Gender
10/5/2025
Why Cartesianism appealed to women and became the inspiration for a pioneering feminist, Poullain de la Barre; and why Cartesianism was not the only option for women philosophers of the age.
Duration:00:20:44
HoP 476 What He Should Have Said: the Early Cartesians
9/21/2025
Early Cartesians including Cordemoy and de La Forge develop but also challenge Descartes’ ideas, defending atomism and occasionalism.
Duration:00:26:07
HoP 475 Ariane Schneck on Elisabeth and Descartes
9/7/2025
We finish our look at Elisabeth of Bohemia and Descartes by talking to Ariane Schneck about their correspondence, focusing on the mind-body problem and the passions.
Duration:00:34:33
HoP 474 States of the Union: Descartes on the Passions
7/20/2025
What do emotions reveal about the connection between mind and body? We turn to Descartes’ correspondence with Elisabeth and his On the Passions to find out.
Duration:00:19:20
HoP 473 As Rational As You: Elisabeth of Bohemia
7/6/2025
A royal scholar and philosopher sets aside the tribulations of her family to debate Descartes over the relation between mind and body and the nature of happiness.
Duration:00:21:44
HoP 472 Less Cheer, More Knowledge: Descartes’ Ethics
6/22/2025
Descartes’ “provisional” morality and his views on free will and virtue.
Duration:00:20:31
HoP 471 Unclear and Indistinct Ideas: Debating the Meditations
6/8/2025
Descartes’ Meditations caused controversy as soon as it appeared. In this episode we look at criticisms including the “Cartesian Circle,” and how Descartes answered them.
Duration:00:21:51