HoP 493 Better Nature: The French Garden
How the French formal garden embodied both Cartesian philosophy and the political ideology of the French monarchy.
May 17, 2026•21 min•Ep. 496
History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps
Peter Adamson, Professor of Philosophy at the LMU in Munich and at King's College London, takes listeners through the history of philosophy, "without any gaps". www.historyofphilosophy.net
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Episodes
HoP 492 Changing By Degrees: French Scholasticism
How philosophy at the universities evolved in response to Cartesianism and the “new science.”
May 03, 2026•21 min•Ep. 492
HoP 491 Image Problems: Arnauld vs Malebranche on Ideas
Arnauld’s attack on Malebranche’s theory of the “vision in God” leads to a nuanced debate over the nature of ideas.
Apr 19, 2026•19 min•Ep. 491
HoP 490 Steven Nadler on Occasionalism
What inspired the occasionalist theory embraced by the 17th century Cartesians? We find out from a leading specialist on the topic.
Apr 05, 2026•32 min•Ep. 493
HoP 489 All Power to Him: Malebranche and Occasionalism
What led Malebranche to his notorious view that all bodily motions and thoughts are caused by God, with created things serving only as “occasions” for divine action?
Mar 22, 2026•21 min•Ep. 489
HoP 488 No Particular Reason: Nicolas Malebranche
We begin to explore Malebranche’s controversial development of Cartesian philosophy by looking at his theodicy.
Mar 08, 2026•20 min•Ep. 488
HoP 487 Showing Good Judgment: The Port Royal Logic
Antoine Arnauld and Pierre Nicole update the study of logic to take account of the ideas of Descartes.
Feb 22, 2026•22 min•Ep. 490
HoP 486 Friends of the Truth: Arnauld and Jansenism
Antoine Arnauld combines Cartesian philosophy with Jansenism, one of the most controversial religious movements of the 17th century.
Feb 08, 2026•20 min•Ep. 487
HoP 485 Liz Jackson on Pascal's Wager
An interview on contemporary approaches to Pascal's Wager: where decision theory meets philosophy of religion.
Jan 25, 2026•39 min•Ep. 486
HoP 484 You Bet Your Life: Pascal’s Wager
Should we gamble on belief in God to have a chance at infinite reward?
Jan 11, 2026•23 min•Ep. 485
HoP 483 Between Infinity and the Void: Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal was a pioneering scientist and deeply spiritual religious thinker; what united these two sides of his thought?
Dec 28, 2025•20 min•Ep. 484
HoP 482 Indivisible, Under God: the Revival of Atomism
Why did Sébastian Basso and Pierre Gassendi think ancient atomism was the key to developing a new, modern science?
Dec 14, 2025•20 min•Ep. 483
HoP 481 True Fool’s Gold: Pierre Gassendi
Gassendi’s path from skepticism to “baptized Epicureanism.”
Nov 30, 2025•20 min•Ep. 482
HoP 480 Honorable Ignorance: French Skepticism
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?
Nov 16, 2025•22 min•Ep. 481
HoP 479 Gideon Manning on Cartesian Medicine
This episode explores René Descartes' profound interest in medicine, detailing his mechanistic understanding of the human body and how he integrated medical ideas into his philosophy. It examines the interplay between his rationalist theories and empirical observations, revealing a more nuanced, holistic approach to health than often attributed to him. The discussion also delves into the complex legacy of Cartesian dualism and its ongoing impact on modern medicine.
Nov 02, 2025•34 min•Ep. 479
HoP 478 This Gland Is Your Gland: Cartesian Science
From comets to blood transfusions, embryology, and the debate over the pineal gland: Descartes’ impact on science, especially medicine.
Oct 19, 2025•24 min•Ep. 478
HoP 477 The Mind Has No Sex: Cartesianism and Gender
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.
Oct 05, 2025•21 min•Ep. 480
HoP 476 What He Should Have Said: the Early Cartesians
Early Cartesians including Cordemoy and de La Forge develop but also challenge Descartes’ ideas, defending atomism and occasionalism.
Sep 21, 2025•26 min•Ep. 477
HoP 475 Ariane Schneck on Elisabeth and Descartes
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.
Sep 07, 2025•35 min•Ep. 476
HoP 474 States of the Union: Descartes on 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.
Jul 20, 2025•19 min•Ep. 475
HoP 473 As Rational As You: Elisabeth of Bohemia
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.
Jul 06, 2025•22 min•Ep. 474
HoP 472 Less Cheer, More Knowledge: Descartes’ Ethics
Descartes’ “provisional” morality and his views on free will and virtue.
Jun 22, 2025•21 min•Ep. 472
HoP 471 Unclear and Indistinct Ideas: Debating the Meditations
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.
Jun 08, 2025•22 min•Ep. 473
HoP 470 Gary Hatfield on Descartes' Meditations
We're joined in this episode by a leading expert on one of the most famous works of philosophy ever written: Descartes' Meditations .
May 25, 2025•36 min•Ep. 471
HoP 469 Ghost in the Machine: Cartesian Dualism
This episode explores Descartes's Cartesian dualism, focusing not on his claim of a separate soul (which was traditional) but on his radical move to explain all bodily functions, including sensation and imagination, mechanistically. It examines his arguments for distinguishing mind from body, his view of animals as complex machines without minds, and the enduring philosophical challenge of explaining how mind and body interact.
May 11, 2025•25 min•Ep. 468
HoP 468 Perchance to Dream: Descartes’ Skeptical Method
This episode delves into Descartes' skeptical method as presented in his Meditations, comparing it to the experience of revisiting familiar works like Hamlet. It explores Descartes' ambition to establish a foundation for science by rigorously doubting all beliefs, drawing on historical context and examining the role of God in overcoming skepticism. The discussion culminates in an analysis of the cogito argument and its implications for certainty.
Apr 27, 2025•29 min•Ep. 470
HoP 467 Written in Mathematics: Descartes’ Physics
For Descartes body is purely geometrical. So how does he understand features we can perceive, like color, and causation between bodies?
Apr 13, 2025•28 min•Ep. 469
HoP 466 Well Hidden: Descartes’ Life and Works
This episode explores René Descartes' evolving intellectual project, revealing how his public self-portrayal as a solitary genius diverged from his actual development. It highlights the significant, often unacknowledged, influence of figures like Isaac Beeckman on his scientific thought. The discussion also clarifies that Descartes viewed his famous metaphysics as a foundation for his primary interest in natural philosophy, a goal partially obscured due to the threat of persecution.
Mar 30, 2025•20 min•Ep. 467
HoP 465 Modern Times: France and the Netherlands in the 17th Century
A look at the political and religious ferment that made up the historical context of philosophy in 17th century France and the Netherlands.
Mar 16, 2025•27 min•Ep. 465
HoP 464 Howard Hotson on the Republic of Letters
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 the contributions of figures including Leibniz and Hartlib.
Mar 02, 2025•42 min•Ep. 466
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