Episodes

Sunday Oct 29, 2023
HoP 431 - Calvin Normore on Scholasticism
Sunday Oct 29, 2023
Sunday Oct 29, 2023
A discussion of the history and philosophical significance of scholasticism from medieval times to early modernity, and even today.

Sunday Apr 24, 2022
HoP 395 - Music of the Spheres - Johannes Kepler
Sunday Apr 24, 2022
Sunday Apr 24, 2022
Johannes Kepler fuses Platonist philosophy with a modified version of Copernicus’ astronomy.

Sunday Jun 06, 2021
HoP 374 - Opposites Attract - Nicholas of Cusa
Sunday Jun 06, 2021
Sunday Jun 06, 2021
The radical negative theology of Nicholas of Cusa, and his hope of establishing peace between the religions of the world.

Sunday Jan 31, 2021
HoP 365 - Spirits in the Material World - Telesio and Campanella on Nature
Sunday Jan 31, 2021
Sunday Jan 31, 2021
Was the natural philosophy of Bernardino Telesio and Tommaso Campanella the first modern physical theory?

Sunday Oct 25, 2020
HoP 358 - Of Two Minds - Pomponazzi and Nifo on the Intellect
Sunday Oct 25, 2020
Sunday Oct 25, 2020
Pietro Pomponazzi and Agostino Nifo debate the immortality of the soul and the cogency of Averroes’ theory of intellect.

Sunday Mar 08, 2020
HoP 344 - The Count of Concord - Pico della Mirandola
Sunday Mar 08, 2020
Sunday Mar 08, 2020
Pico della Mirandola argues for the harmony of the ancient authorities, draws on Jewish mysticism, and questions the value of humanist rhetoric.

Sunday Feb 09, 2020
HoP 342 - Denis Robichaud on Plato in the Renaissance
Sunday Feb 09, 2020
Sunday Feb 09, 2020
An interview with Denis Robichaud on how, and why, Plato was read in the Italian Renaissance.

Sunday Jan 12, 2020
HoP 340 - Footnotes to Plato - Marsilio Ficino
Sunday Jan 12, 2020
Sunday Jan 12, 2020
Marsilio Ficino’s revival of Platonism, with a focus on his proofs for the soul’s immortality in his magnum opus, the Platonic Theology.

Sunday Dec 29, 2019
HoP 339 - I’d Like to Thank the Academy - Florentine Platonism
Sunday Dec 29, 2019
Sunday Dec 29, 2019
The blossoming of Renaissance Platonism under the Medici, who supported the scholarship of Poliziano, Ficino, and Pico della Mirandola.

Sunday May 19, 2019
HoP 325 - Platonic Love - Gemistos Plethon
Sunday May 19, 2019
Sunday May 19, 2019
Was Gemistos Plethon, the last great thinker of the Byzantine tradition, a secret pagan or just a Christian with an unusual enthusiasm for Platonism?

Sunday Apr 21, 2019
HoP 323 - Through His Works You Shall Know Him - Palamas and Hesychasm
Sunday Apr 21, 2019
Sunday Apr 21, 2019
Gregory Palamas and the controversy over his teaching that we can go beyond human reason by grasping God through his activities or “energies”.

Sunday Dec 02, 2018
HoP 313 - Queen of the Sciences - Anna Komnene and her Circle
Sunday Dec 02, 2018
Sunday Dec 02, 2018
Princess Anna Komnene makes good use of her political retirement by gathering a circle of scholars to write commentaries on Aristotle.

Sunday Oct 07, 2018
HoP 309 - Hooked on Classics - Italos and the Debate over Pagan Learning
Sunday Oct 07, 2018
Sunday Oct 07, 2018
The trial of John Italos and other signs of Byzantine disquiet with the pagan philosophical tradition.

Sunday Jul 01, 2018
HoP 304 - Behind Enemy Lines - John of Damascus
Sunday Jul 01, 2018
Sunday Jul 01, 2018
John of Damascus helps to shape the Byzantine understanding of humankind and the veneration of images, despite living in Islamic territory.

Sunday May 06, 2018
HoP 300b - The Relevance of Medieval Philosophy Today
Sunday May 06, 2018
Sunday May 06, 2018
Peter King, Catarina Dutilh Novaes, and Russ Friedman discuss their approaches to medieval philosophy, and its contemporary relevance.

Sunday Apr 08, 2018
HoP 299 - Robert Pasnau on Substance in Scholasticism
Sunday Apr 08, 2018
Sunday Apr 08, 2018
Bob Pasnau joins Peter to discuss ideas about substance from Aquinas down to the time of Locke, Leibniz and Descartes.

Sunday Mar 11, 2018
HoP 297 - The Prague Spring - Scholasticism Across Europe
Sunday Mar 11, 2018
Sunday Mar 11, 2018
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.

Sunday Nov 19, 2017
HoP 289 - A Wing and a Prayer - Angels in Medieval Philosophy
Sunday Nov 19, 2017
Sunday Nov 19, 2017
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).

Sunday Nov 05, 2017
HoP 288 - Men in Black - The German Dominicans
Sunday Nov 05, 2017
Sunday Nov 05, 2017
Dietrich of Freiberg, Berthold of Moosburg, John Tauler and Henry Suso explore Neoplatonism and mysticism.

Sunday Oct 22, 2017
HoP 287 - Down to the Ground - Meister Eckhart
Sunday Oct 22, 2017
Sunday Oct 22, 2017
The scholastic and mystic Meister Eckhart sets out his daring speculations about God and humankind in both Latin and German.