History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

HoP 149 - Back to Basics - Averroes on Reason and Religion

An introduction to “the Commentator” Averroes, and his defense of philosophy in the Decisive Treatise.

HoP 148 - Fantasy Island - Ibn Bajja and Ibn Tufayl

Intellect and alienation in Ibn Bājja and Ibn Ṭufayl, author of the philosophical desert island castaway tale “Ḥayy Ibn Yaqẓān.”

HoP 147 - Laying Down the Law – Ibn Hazm and Islamic Legal Theory

The development of Islamic law and jurisprudence (fiqh), and the many-sided output of the legal theorist Ibn Ḥazm.

HoP 146 - Philosophy's Reign in Spain - Andalusia

The flowering of philosophy among Muslims and Jews in al-Andalus (Muslim-controlled Spain and Portugal).

HoP 145 - Frank Griffel on al-Ghazali

Why did al-Ghazālī judge "the philosophers" to be apostates? Peter finds out from Frank Griffel.

HoP 144 - Miracle Worker - al-Ghazali against the Philosophers

In his “Incoherence of the Philosophers,” al-Ghazālī attacks Avicenna’s theories about the eternity of the universe and insists on the possibility of miracles.

HoP 143 - Special Delivery - al-Ghazali

Al-Ghazālī’s search for truth leads him to philosophy, Asharite theology, and ultimately the mystical tradition of Sufism.

HoP 142 - Dimitri Gutas on Avicenna

Peter talks to Dimitri Gutas about Avicenna's sources, philosophical methods, and influence.

HoP 141 - Into Thin Air - Avicenna on the Soul

With his Flying Man argument, Avicenna explores self-awareness and the relation between soul and body.

HoP 140 - By All Means Necessary - Avicenna on God

Avicenna’s proof of the Necessary Existent is ingenious and influential; but does it amount to a proof of God’s existence?

HoP 139 - By the Time I Get to Phoenix - Avicenna on Existence

Avicenna revolutionizes metaphysics with groundbreaking ideas about necessity and contingency, and his new distinction between essence and existence.

HoP 138 - The Self-Made Man - Avicenna's Life and Works

Despite a tumultuous life, Avicenna manages to become the most influential of all medieval philosophers.

HoP 137 - God Willing – the Asharites

Al-Ash‘arī puts his stamp on the future of Islamic theology by emphasizing God’s untrammeled power and freedom.

HoP 136 - Farhad Daftary on the Ismailis

Peter is joined by Farhad Daftary, a leading expert on the Shiite group known as the Ismā'īlīs.

HoP 135 - Undercover Brothers – Philosophy in the Buyid Age

Miskawayh, al-‘Amiri, al-Tawhidi, the Brethren of Purity and Ismaili missionaries bring together philosophy with Persian culture, literature and Islam.

HoP 134 - Balancing Acts - Arabic Ethical Literature

Drawing on Galen and Aristotle, philosophers from al-Kindi to Miskawayh compose ethical works designed us to achieve health in soul, as well as body.

HoP 133 - Strings Attached - Music and Philosophy

Peter turns DJ, with some actual music interspersed with discussion about theories of music in Arabic philosophical texts.

HoP 132 - Eye of the Beholder - Theories of Vision

Ibn al-Haytham draws on the tradition of geometrical optics to explain the mystery of human eyesight.

HoP 131 - Deborah Black on al-Farabi's Epistemology

Deborah Black joins Peter to talk about al-Farabi's innovations concerning knowledge and certainty.

HoP 130 - State of Mind - al-Farabi on Religion and Politics

Al-Fārābī combines Islam and Greek sources to present the ideal ruler as a philosopher who is also a prophet.