History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

Antoine Arnauld combines Cartesian philosophy with Jansenism, one of the most controversial religious movements of the 17th century.

An interview on contemporary approaches to Pascal's Wager: where decision theory meets philosophy of religion.

Should we gamble on belief in God to have a chance at infinite reward?

Blaise Pascal was a pioneering scientist and deeply spiritual religious thinker; what united these two sides of his thought?

Why did Sébastian Basso and Pierre Gassendi think ancient atomism was the key to developing a new, modern science?

Gassendi’s path from skepticism to “baptized Epicureanism.”

So-called “libertines” like Mothe le Vayer revive ancient skepticism, provoking a backlash from Mersenne and Arnauld. Were they right to see the skeptics as anti-religious?

An interview exploring Descartes' interest in medicine, how his medical ideas relate to his dualism, and his influence on medical science.

From comets to blood transfusions, embryology, and the debate over the pineal gland: Descartes’ impact on science, especially medicine.

Why Cartesianism appealed to women and became the inspiration for a pioneering feminist, Poullain de la Barre; and why Cartesianism was not the only option for women philosophers of the age.

Early Cartesians including Cordemoy and de La Forge develop but also challenge Descartes’ ideas, defending atomism and occasionalism.

We finish our look at Elisabeth of Bohemia and Descartes by talking to Ariane Schneck about their correspondence, focusing on the mind-body problem and the passions.

What do emotions reveal about the connection between mind and body? We turn to Descartes’ correspondence with Elisabeth and his On the Passions to find out.

A royal scholar and philosopher sets aside the tribulations of her family to debate Descartes over the relation between mind and body and the nature of happiness.

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

Descartes’ Meditations caused controversy as soon as it appeared. In this episode we look at criticisms including the “Cartesian Circle,” and how Descartes answered them.

We're joined in this episode by a leading expert on one of the most famous works of philosophy ever written: Descartes' Meditations.

The word “Cartesian” is synonymous with a radical contrast between mind and body. What led Descartes to his dualism, and how can he explain vital activities in humans and animals having rejected the Aristotelian theory of soul?

How Descartes fashioned a “method” to repel even the strongest and most radical forms of doubt, with the cogito argument as its foundation.

For Descartes body is purely geometrical. So how does he understand features we can perceive, like color, and causation between bodies?