History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

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 319 - Georgia on My Mind - Petritsi and the Proclus Revival

The Neoplatonist Proclus gets mixed reviews from Christians, as Nicholas of Methone refutes him but the Georgian philosopher Ioane Petritsi helps to revive his thought. 

HoP 318 - Oliver Primavesi on Greek Manuscripts

Peter's Munich colleague Oliver Primavesi tells us how Greek manuscripts are used to establish the text of authors like Aristotle. 

HoP 317 - Made by Hand - Byzantine Manuscripts

Without handwritten copies produced by Byzantine scribes, we would know almost nothing about ancient philosophy. How and why were they made?

HoP 316 - Just Measures - Law, Money, and War in Byzantium

Legal and economic thought in Byzantium: the sources of the law’s authority, the relation of church and civil law, just price, and just war.

HoP 315 - Wiser Than Men - Gender in Byzantium

The role of women in Byzantine society and the complex attitudes surrounding eunuchs: did they make up a “third gender”?

HoP 314 - Katerina Ierodiakonou on Byzantine Commentaries

A chat about commentaries on Aristotle from Byzantium with guest Katerina Ierodiakonou.

HoP 313 - Queen of the Sciences - Anna Komnene and her Circle

Princess Anna Komnene makes good use of her political retirement by gathering a circle of scholars to write commentaries on Aristotle.

HoP 312 - Past Masters - Byzantine Historiography

The larger meaning of history in the chronicles written by Michael Psellos, Michael Attaleiates, Anna Komnene, and Niketas Choniates.

HoP 311 - The Elements of Style - Rhetoric in Byzantium

Psellos and other experts in rhetoric explore how this art of persuasion relates to philosophy.

HoP 310 - Purple Prose - Byzantine Political Philosophy

Byzantine political thought from the time of Justinian down to the Palaiologos dynasty wrestles with the nature and scope of imperial power.

HoP 309 - Hooked on Classics - Italos and the Debate over Pagan Learning

The trial of John Italos and other signs of Byzantine disquiet with the pagan philosophical tradition.

HoP 308 - Dominic O'Meara on Michael Psellos

Dominic O'Meara speaks to Peter about Michael Psellos, focusing especially on his political philosophy.

HoP 307 - Consul of the Philosophers - Michael Psellos

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

Bonus Episode - Glenn Adamson on Material Intelligence

Peter's twin brother Glenn Adamson discusses the philosophical implications of craft.

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.

HoP 303 - Don’t Picture This - Iconoclasm

Is it idolatry to venerate an icon of a saint, or of Christ? The dispute leads the Byzantines to ponder the relation between an image and its object.

HoP 302 - On the Eastern Front - Philosophy in Syriac and Armenian

Eastern Christian philosophy outside of Constantinople, focusing on translation and exegesis in the languages of Syriac and Armenian.