History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

HoP 472 Less Cheer, More Knowledge: Descartes’ Ethics

Descartes’ “provisional” morality and his views on free will and virtue.

HoP 466 Well Hidden: Descartes’ Life and Works

How René Descartes’ understanding of his own intellectual project evolved across his lifetime.

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 461 - Eileen Reeves on Galileo and the Telescope

We finish our look at philosophy in the Reformation era with an interview about Galileo's use of a revolutionary technology: the telescope.

HoP 460 - Trial and Error - Galileo and the Inquisition

The philosophical issues at the heart of the notorious condemnation of Galileo and Copernican astronomy.

HoP 459 - Cardinal Rule - Robert Bellarmine

Though most famous for his role in persecuting Galileo, Robert Bellarmine was a central figure of the Counter-Reformation, especially in his political thought.

HoP 458 - Outsider Philosophy - The Cheese and the Worms

Carlo Ginzburg’s innovative historical study The Cheese and the Worms looks at the ideas of an obscure 16th century miller, suggesting how popular culture might be integrated into the history of philosophy.

HoP 457 - Take Your Medicine - Oliva Sabuco and Camilla Erculiani

Natural philosophy and medicine in the work of two unorthodox thinkers of the late sixteenth century, both of them women.

HoP 456 - Touch Me With Your Madness - Cervantes’ Don Quixote

Why do critics consider Don Quixote the first “modern” novel, and what does it tell us about the aesthetics of fiction?

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 452 - Better Than Nothing - Metaphysics in the Second Scholastic

Did the metaphysics of Francisco Suárez mark a shift from traditional scholasticism to early modern philosophy?

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 450 - Depicting What Cannot Be Depicted - Philosophy and Two Renaissance Artworks

To celebrate reaching 450 episodes, Peter looks at the philosophical resonance of two famous artworks from the turn of the 16th century: Dürer’s Self-Portrait and Michelangelo’s paintings in the Sistine Chapel.

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 447 - Andrés Messmer on Spanish Protestantism

Yes, there were Spanish Protestants! Andrew (Andrés) Messmer joins us to explain how they drew on humanism and philosophy to argue for their religious agenda.

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.