History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

HoP 451 - Could’ve, Would’ve, Should’ve - Free Will in the Second Scholastic

What was Luis de Molina trying to say about human free will with his doctrine of “middle knowledge,” and why did it provoke such controversy?

HoP 449 - Anna Tropia on Jesuit Philosophy

We learn from Anna Tropia how Jesuit philosophy of mind broke new ground in the scholastic tradition.

HoP 448 - Secondary Schools - Iberian Scholasticism

The “School of Salamanca,” founded by Francisco Vitoria, and the commentators of Coimbra are at the center of a movement sometimes called the “Second Scholastic.”

HoP 446 - Not Doubting Thomas - the Aquinas Revival

Cajetan, Bañez and other thinkers make Aquinas a central figure of Counter-Reformation thought; we focus on their theories about analogy and the soul.

HoP 444 - The Dark Night Rises - Spanish Mysticism

Teresa of Ávila and John of the Cross push the boundaries of individual spirituality and offer philosophically informed accounts of mystical experience.

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.

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.

HoP 395 - Music of the Spheres - Johannes Kepler

Johannes Kepler fuses Platonist philosophy with a modified version of Copernicus’ astronomy.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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”.

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.

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.

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.