History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

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 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 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 413 - Don’t Be So Sure - French Skepticism

The sources and scope of the skepticism of Montaigne, Charron, and Sanches.

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 405 - Divide and Conquer - the Spread of Ramism

The methods of Peter Ramus sweep across Europe, winning adherents and facing stiff opposition in equal measure.

Bonus Episode: Don’t Think for Yourself, Chapter 1

Peter reads the first chapter of his new book Don’t Think for Yourself: Authority and Belief in Medieval Philosophy, available from University of Notre Dame Press. Pre-order with the code 14FF20 from undpress.nd.edu, to get a 20% discount!

HoP 399 - Seriously Funny - Rabelais

In his outrageous novel about Pantagruel and Gargantua, Rabelais engages with scholasticism, humanism, medicine, the reformation, and the querelle des femmes.

HoP 398 - Pearls of Wisdom - Marguerite of Navarre

A Renaissance queen supports philosophical humanism and produces literary works on spirituality, love, and the soul.

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.

HoP 387 - Helen Hattab on Protestant Philosophy

An interview with Helen Hattab on the scope and impact of scholastic philosophy among Protestants.

HoP 385 - I Too Can Ask Questions - Protestant Scholasticism

In a surprise twist, some Protestant thinkers embrace the methods of scholasticism, and even find something to admire in the work of Catholic authors like Aquinas.

HoP 384 - We Are Not Our Own - John Calvin

John Calvin's views on predestination and the limits of human reason.

HoP 383 - Slowly But Surely - Huldrych Zwingli

The Swiss theologian Zwingli launches the Reformation in Switzerland, but clashes with Luther and more radical Protestants.

HoP 381 - More Lutheran than Luther - Philip Melanchthon

Luther’s close ally Melanchthon uses his knowledge of ancient philosophy and rhetoric in the service of the Reformation.

HoP 380 - Take Your Choice - Erasmus vs Luther on Free Will

Erasmus clashes with Martin Luther over the question whether our wills are free or enslaved to sin.

HoP 379 - Lyndal Roper on Luther

How radical was Luther? We find out from Lyndal Roper, who also discusses Luther and the Peasants' War, sexuality, anti-semitism, and the visual arts.