History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

HoP 465 Modern Times: France and the Netherlands in the 17th Century

A look at the political and religious ferment that made up the historical context of philosophy in 17th century France and the Netherlands.

HoP 462 Freedom to Philosophize: Introduction to Early Modern Philosophy

What is Enlightenment, anyway?

HoP 455 - Tom Pink on Francisco Suárez

We're joined by Tom Pink, who tells us about Suárez on ethics, law, religion, and the state.

HoP 454 - By Appointment Only - Political Philosophy in the Second Scholastic

Suárez and other Iberian scholastics ask where political power comes from and under what circumstances it is exercised legitimately.

HoP 453 - The Price is Right - Law and Economics in the Second Scholastic

Vitoria, Molina, Suárez and others develop the idea of natural law, exploring its relevance for topics including international law, slavery, and the ethics of economic exchange.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.