History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

HoP 375 - Paul Richard Blum on Nicholas of Cusa

Learned ignorance, coincidence of opposites and religious peace: Paul Richard Blum discusses the central ideas of Nicholas Cusanus.

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 372 - Strong, Silent Type - the Printing Press

The impact of the printing press on the history of philosophy, and its role in helping to trigger the Reformation.

HoP 371 - European Disunion - Introduction to the Reformation

How humanism and scholasticism came together with the Protestant Reformation to create the philosophy of 15-16th century Europe.

HoP 355 - Town and Gown - Italian Universities

The blurry line dividing humanism and scholastic university culture in the Italian Renaissance.

HoP 354 - Greed is Good - Economics in the Italian Renaissance

Leon Battista Alberti, Benedetto Cotrugli, and Poggio Bracciolini grapple with the moral and conceptual problems raised by the prospect of people getting filthy rich.

HoP 353 - The Good Place - Utopias in the Italian Renaissance

Tommaso Campanella’s “The City of the Sun” and other utopian works of the Italian Renaissance describe perfect cities as an ideal for real life politics.

HoP 347 - Bonfire of the Vanities - Savonarola

The prophetic preacher Girolamo Savonarola attacks pagan philosophy and puts forward his own political ideas, before coming to an untimely end.

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 327 - Michele Trizio on Byzantine and Latin Medieval Philosophy

The series on Byzantium concludes as Michele Trizio discusses the mutual influence of Byzantium and Latin Christendom.

HoP 326 - Istanbul (Not Constantinople) - the Later Orthodox Tradition

When the Byzantine empire ended in 1453, philosophy in Greek did not end with it. In this episode we bring the story up to the 20th century.

HoP 324 - United We Fall - Latin Philosophy in Byzantium

Thomas Aquinas finds avid readers among Byzantines at the twilight of empire, and is used by both sides of the Hesychast controversy.

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 321 - Judith Herrin on Byzantium and Islam

Historian Judith Herrin joins us to talk about competition and mutual influence between Islam and Byzantium.

HoP 320 - People of the South - Byzantium and Islam

Intellectual exchange between Christians and Muslims, and the later flowering of Syriac literature including the philosopher Bar Hebraeus.

HoP 307 - Consul of the Philosophers - Michael Psellos

Michael Psellos and his attitude towards pagan philosophy and the political life.

HoP 306 - Collectors’ Items - Photius and Byzantine Compilations

Photius, “the inventor of the book review,” and other Byzantine scholars who preserved ancient learning.

HoP 305 - Andrew Louth on John of Damascus

Peter is joined by Andrew Louth for a discussion of John of Damascus and his theological use of philosophy.

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.