History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

HoP 492 Changing By Degrees: French Scholasticism

03 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

How philosophy at the universities evolved in response to Cartesianism and the “new science.”

HoP 491 Image Problems: Arnauld vs Malebranche on Ideas

19 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Arnauld’s attack on Malebranche’s theory of the “vision in God” leads to a nuanced debate over the nature of ideas.

HoP 490 Steven Nadler on Occasionalism

05 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

What inspired the occasionalist theory embraced by the 17th century Cartesians? We find out from a leading specialist on the topic.

HoP 489 All Power to Him: Malebranche and Occasionalism

22 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

What led Malebranche to his notorious view that all bodily motions and thoughts are caused by God, with created things serving only as “occasions”...

HoP 488 No Particular Reason: Nicolas Malebranche

08 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We begin to explore Malebranche’s controversial development of Cartesian philosophy by looking at his theodicy.

HoP 487 Showing Good Judgment: The Port Royal Logic

22 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Antoine Arnauld and Pierre Nicole update the study of logic to take account of the ideas of Descartes.

HoP 486 Friends of the Truth: Arnauld and Jansenism

08 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

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

HoP 485 Liz Jackson on Pascal's Wager

25 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

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

HoP 484 You Bet Your Life: Pascal’s Wager

11 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

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

HoP 483 Between Infinity and the Void: Blaise Pascal

28 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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

HoP 482 Indivisible, Under God: the Revival of Atomism

14 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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

HoP 481 True Fool’s Gold: Pierre Gassendi

30 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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

HoP 480 Honorable Ignorance: French Skepticism

16 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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

HoP 479 Gideon Manning on Cartesian Medicine

02 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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

HoP 478 This Gland Is Your Gland: Cartesian Science

19 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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

HoP 477 The Mind Has No Sex: Cartesianism and Gender

05 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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

HoP 476 What He Should Have Said: the Early Cartesians

21 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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

HoP 475 Ariane Schneck on Elisabeth and Descartes

07 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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

HoP 474 States of the Union: Descartes on the Passions

20 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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

HoP 473 As Rational As You: Elisabeth of Bohemia

06 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 o...

HoP 472 Less Cheer, More Knowledge: Descartes’ Ethics

22 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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

HoP 471 Unclear and Indistinct Ideas: Debating the Meditations

08 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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

HoP 470 Gary Hatfield on Descartes' Meditations

25 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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

HoP 469 Ghost in the Machine: Cartesian Dualism

11 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

HoP 468 Perchance to Dream: Descartes’ Skeptical Method

27 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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

HoP 467 Written in Mathematics: Descartes’ Physics

13 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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

HoP 466 Well Hidden: Descartes’ Life and Works

30 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How René Descartes’ understanding of his own intellectual project evolved across his lifetime.

HoP 465 Modern Times: France and the Netherlands in the 17th Century

16 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A look at the political and religious ferment that made up the historical context of philosophy in 17th century France and the Netherlands.

HoP 464 Howard Hotson on the Republic of Letters

02 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this interview we learn more about the Republic of Letters: its importance for the history of ideas, it geographic breadth, who was involved, and t...

HoP 463 Doctors without Borders: the Republic of Letters

16 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How scholars around Europe created an international network of intellectual exchange. As examples we consider the activities of Mersenne, Peiresc, Lei...

HoP 462 Freedom to Philosophize: Introduction to Early Modern Philosophy

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What is Enlightenment, anyway?

HoP 461 - Eileen Reeves on Galileo and the Telescope

19 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We finish our look at philosophy in the Reformation era with an interview about Galileo's use of a revolutionary technology: the telescope.

HoP 460 - Trial and Error - Galileo and the Inquisition

05 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The philosophical issues at the heart of the notorious condemnation of Galileo and Copernican astronomy.

HoP 459 - Cardinal Rule - Robert Bellarmine

22 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Though most famous for his role in persecuting Galileo, Robert Bellarmine was a central figure of the Counter-Reformation, especially in his political...

HoP 458 - Outsider Philosophy - The Cheese and the Worms

08 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Carlo Ginzburg’s innovative historical study The Cheese and the Worms looks at the ideas of an obscure 16th century miller, suggesting how popular c...

HoP 457 - Take Your Medicine - Oliva Sabuco and Camilla Erculiani

24 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Natural philosophy and medicine in the work of two unorthodox thinkers of the late sixteenth century, both of them women.

HoP 456 - Touch Me With Your Madness - Cervantes’ Don Quixote

10 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Why do critics consider Don Quixote the first “modern” novel, and what does it tell us about the aesthetics of fiction?

HoP 455 - Tom Pink on Francisco Suárez

27 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We're joined by Tom Pink, who tells us about Suárez on ethics, law, religion, and the state.

HoP 454 - By Appointment Only - Political Philosophy in the Second Scholastic

13 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Suárez and other Iberian scholastics ask where political power comes from and under what circumstances it is exercised legitimately.

HoP 453 - The Price is Right - Law and Economics in the Second Scholastic

29 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Vitoria, Molina, Suárez and others develop the idea of natural law, exploring its relevance for topics including international law, slavery, and the ...

HoP 452 - Better Than Nothing - Metaphysics in the Second Scholastic

15 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Did the metaphysics of Francisco Suárez mark a shift from traditional scholasticism to early modern philosophy?

HoP 451 - Could’ve, Would’ve, Should’ve - Free Will in the Second Scholastic

01 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What was Luis de Molina trying to say about human free will with his doctrine of “middle knowledge,” and why did it provoke such controversy?

HoP 450 - Depicting What Cannot Be Depicted - Philosophy and Two Renaissance Artworks

21 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

To celebrate reaching 450 episodes, Peter looks at the philosophical resonance of two famous artworks from the turn of the 16th century: Dürer’s Se...

HoP 449 - Anna Tropia on Jesuit Philosophy

07 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We learn from Anna Tropia how Jesuit philosophy of mind broke new ground in the scholastic tradition.

HoP 448 - Secondary Schools - Iberian Scholasticism

23 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The “School of Salamanca,” founded by Francisco Vitoria, and the commentators of Coimbra are at the center of a movement sometimes called the “S...

HoP 447 - Andrés Messmer on Spanish Protestantism

09 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Yes, there were Spanish Protestants! Andrew (Andrés) Messmer joins us to explain how they drew on humanism and philosophy to argue for their religiou...

HoP 446 - Not Doubting Thomas - the Aquinas Revival

26 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Cajetan, Bañez and other thinkers make Aquinas a central figure of Counter-Reformation thought; we focus on their theories about analogy and the soul...

HoP 445 - Band of Brothers - the Jesuits

12 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ignatius of Loyola’s movement begins modestly, but winds up having a global impact on education and philosophy.

HoP 444 - The Dark Night Rises - Spanish Mysticism

28 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Teresa of Ávila and John of the Cross push the boundaries of individual spirituality and offer philosophically informed accounts of mystical experien...

HoP 443 - Marketplace of Letters - Iberian Humanism

14 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Fray Luis de Leon, Antonio Nebrija, Beatriz Galindo and other scholars bring the Renaissance to Spain.

HoP 442 - Scott Williams on Disability and the New World

31 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this interview we learn about the main issues in modern-day philosophy of disability, and the relevance of this topic for the European encounter wi...

HoP 441 - Lambs to the Slaughter - Debating the New World

17 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Bartholomé De las Casas argues against opponents, like Sepúlveda, who believed that Europeans had a legal and moral right to rule over and exploit t...

HoP 440 - Longitudinal Studies - Exploration and Science

03 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Iberian expeditions to the Americas inspire scientists, and Matteo Ricci’s religious mission to Asia becomes an encounter between European and Chine...

HoP 439 - Cancel Culture - The Inquisition

18 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How religious persecution and censorship shaped the context of philosophy in Catholic Europe in the sixteenth century.

HoP 438 - Don't Give Up Pope - Catholic Reformation

04 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How the Counter-Reformation or Catholic Reformation created a context for philosophy among Catholics, especially in Spain, Portugal, and Italy.

HoP 437 - Jennifer Rampling on Renaissance Alchemy

21 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

An expert on Renaissance alchemy tells us how this art related to philosophy at the time... and how she has tried to reproduce its results!

HoP 436 - Unpathed Waters, Undreamed Shores - Robert Fludd

07 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Our last figure of the English Renaissance undertakes daring investigations of chemistry, medicine, agriculture, and cosmology – and gets accused of...

HoP 435 - Metal More Attractive - William Gilbert and Magnetism

24 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The cosmological and methodological implications of breakthroughs in the understanding of magnetism and electricity at the turn of the 17th century.

HoP 434 - The Eye Sees Not Itself But By Reflection - Theories of Vision

10 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Changing ideas about eyesight, light, mirror images, and refraction – and the skeptical worries they may have inspired.

HoP 433 - Nature’s Mystery - Science in Renaissance England

26 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How scientists of the Elizabethan age anticipated the discoveries and methods of the Enlightenment (without necessarily publishing them).

HoP 432 - If This Be Magic, Let It Be an Art - John Dee

12 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Science, intrigue, exploration, angelic seances! It's the life and thought of Elizabethan mathematician and magician John Dee.

HoP 431 - Calvin Normore on Scholasticism

29 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A discussion of the history and philosophical significance of scholasticism from medieval times to early modernity, and even today.

HoP 430 - I’ll Teach You Differences - British Scholasticism

15 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The evolution of Aristotelian philosophy from John Mair in the late 15th century to John Case in the late 16th century.

HoP 429 - She Uttereth Piercing Eloquence - Women’s Spiritual Literature

01 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How women’s writing in England changed from the early fifteenth century, the time of Margery Kempe, to the late sixteenth century, the time of Anne ...

HoP 428 - Weird Sisters - Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Witchcraft

17 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How Macbeth reflects the anxieties and explanations surrounding witchcraft and witch-hunting in early modern Europe.

HoP 427 - Brave New World - Shakespeare’s Tempest and Colonialism

03 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Can Shakespeare’s Tempest be read as a reflection on the English encounter with the peoples of the Americas?

HoP 426 - A Face Without a Heart - Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Individualism

23 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How the Renaissance turn towards individual identity is reflected in Shakespeare's most famous play. 

HoP 425 - Patrick Gray on Shakespeare

09 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We're joined by Patrick Gray to discuss Shakespeare's knowledge of philosophy, his ethics, and his influence on such thinkers as Hegel.

HoP 424 - Hast Any Philosophy In Thee? - William Shakespeare

25 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How should we approach Shakespeare’s plays as philosophical texts? We take as examples skepticism and politics in Othello, King Lear, and Julius Cae...

HoP 423 - Heaven-Bred Poesy - Philip Sidney and Edmund Spenser

11 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We begin to look at Elizabethan literature, as Sidney argues that poetry is superior to philosophy, and philosophy is put to use in Spenser’s "Fairi...

HoP 422 - The World’s Law - Richard Hooker

28 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Richard Hooker defends the religious and political settlement of Elizabethan England using rational arguments and appeals to the natural law.

HoP 421 - With Such Perfection Govern - English Political Thought

14 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The evolution of ideas about kingship and the role of the “three estates” in 15th and 16th century England, with a focus on John Fortescue and Tho...

HoP 420 - No Place Will Please Me So - Thomas More

07 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What is the message of the famous, but elusive, work "Utopia", and how can it be squared with the life of its author?

HoP 419 - Write Till Your Ink Be Dry - Humanism in Britain

23 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Humanism comes to England and Scotland, leading scholars like Thomas Eylot and Andrew Melville to rethink philosophical education.

HoP 418 - Diarmaid MacCulloch on the British Reformations

09 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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

26 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

John Knox polemicizes against idolaters and female rulers, while the humanist George Buchanan argues more calmly for equally radical political conclus...

HoP 416 - God’s is the Quarrel - The English Reformation

12 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The historical context of English philosophy in the sixteenth century, with particular focus on Thomas Cranmer, and the role of religion in personal c...

HoP 415 - The Tenth Muse - Marie de Gournay

26 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Marie le Jars de Gourney, the “adoptive daughter” of Montaigne, lays claim to his legacy and argues for the equality of the sexes.

HoP 414 - Henrik Lagerlund on Renaissance Skepticism

12 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

No doubt that we're in good hands with interview guest Henrik Lagerlund, who brings his expertise in the history of skepticism to bear on the French R...

HoP 413 - Don’t Be So Sure - French Skepticism

29 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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

HoP 412 - Not Matter, But Me - Michel de Montaigne

15 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In his “Essays” Montaigne uses his wit, insight, and humanist training to tackle his favorite subject: Montaigne.

HoP 411 - Pen Pals - Later French Humanism

01 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Joseph Scaliger, Isaac Casaubon, and Guillaume du Vair grapple with history and the events of their own day.

HoP 410 - Ann Blair on Jean Bodin’s Natural Philosophy

18 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A chat with Ann Blair about the "Theater of Nature" by Jean Bodin, and other encyclopedic works of natural philosophy.

HoP 409 - One to Rule Them All - Jean Bodin

04 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The polymath Jean Bodin produces a pioneering theory of political sovereignty along the way to defending the absolute power of the French king.

HoP 408 - Constitutional Conventions - the Huguenots

20 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Protestant French thinkers like François Hotman and Theodore Beza propose a radical political philosophy: the king rules at the pleasure of his subje...

HoP 407 - Maria Rosa Antognazza on Early Modern Toleration

06 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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...

HoP 406 - Believe at Your Own Risk - Toleration in France

23 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Even as wars of religion in France prompt calls for toleration, hardly anyone makes a principled case for freedom of conscience… apart from Sebastia...

HoP 405 - Divide and Conquer - the Spread of Ramism

09 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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

HoP 404 - Robert Goulding on Peter Ramus

25 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A chat with Ramus expert Robert Goulding on the role of mathematics in Ramist philosophy.

HoP 403 - Make It Simple - Peter Ramus

11 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Peter Ramus scandalizes his critics, and thrills his students and admirers, by proposing a new and simpler approach to philosophy.

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

14 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Peter reads the first chapter of his new book Don’t Think for Yourself: Authority and Belief in Medieval Philosophy, available from University of No...

HoP 402 - Life is Not Enough - Medicine in Renaissance France

31 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Challenges to Galenic medical orthodoxy from natural philosophy: Jean Fernel with his idea of the human’s “total substance,” and the Paracelsans...

HoP 401 - Word Perfect - Logic and Language in Renaissance France

17 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples and Julius Caesar Scaliger fuse Aristotelianism with humanism to address problems in logic and literary aesthetics.

HoP 400 - Philosophy Podcasters

03 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Peter chats with the hosts of three great philosophy podcasts: Elucidations, Hi-Phi Nation, and the Unmute Podcast.

HoP 399 - Seriously Funny - Rabelais

19 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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

HoP 398 - Pearls of Wisdom - Marguerite of Navarre

05 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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

HoP 397 - Do As the Romans Did - French Humanism

22 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We begin to look at philosophy in Renaissance France, beginning with humanists like Budé and the use of classical philosophy by poets du Bellay and R...

HoP 396 - Lorraine Daston on Renaissance Science

08 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Comets! Magnets! Armadillos! In this wide-ranging interview Lorraine Daston tells us how Renaissance and early modern scientists dealt with the extrao...

HoP 395 - Music of the Spheres - Johannes Kepler

24 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Johannes Kepler fuses Platonist philosophy with a modified version of Copernicus’ astronomy.

HoP 394 - Best of Both Worlds - Tycho Brahe

10 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Responses to Copernicus in the 16th century, culminating with the master of astral observation Tycho Brahe.