HoP 168 - Chariot of Fire - Kabbalah
The rich symbolism of the Zohar and the spiritual practices of Abraham Abluafia feature in the mystical movement known as Kabbalah.
Episodes
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
Episodes
HoP 167 - When Bad Things Happen to Good People - Suffering in Jewish Philosophy
The Book of Job provokes Saadia, Maimonides, Ibn Tibbon and Gersonides to reflect on why God allows suffering.
HoP 166 - Tamar Rudavsky on Gersonides and Crescas
Tamar Rudavsky joins Peter to talk about the two great medieval Jewish thinkers after Maimonides: Gersonides and Crescas.
HoP 165 - Neither the Time Nor the Place - Hasdai Crescas
Ḥasdai Crescas shows Aristotelian physics who’s boss, by defending alternative conceptions of time, place and infinity.
HoP 164 - Man and Superman - Gersonides and the Jewish Reaction to Averroes
The super-commentator Gersonides and other Jews digest the ideas of Averroes.
HoP 163 - Burnt Offerings - The Maimonides Controversy
Maimonides’ works provoke a bitter dispute among Jews in France and Spain over the relation of philosophy to Judaism.
HoP 162 - Sarah Stroumsa on Maimonides
Maimonides as a "Mediterranean thinker": Peter is joined by Sarah Stroumsa.
HoP 161 - He Moves in Mysterious Ways - Maimonides on Eternity
Maimonides tries to settle the eternity of the world debate by declaring a draw.
HoP 160 - The Great Eagle - Maimonides
The great Jewish philosopher and legal scholar Maimonides, and the ideas in his Mishneh Torah and Guide for the Perplexed.
HoP 159 - With All Your Heart - Ethics and Judaism
Baḥya Ibn Paquda and Maimonides explore the ethical dimension of the Jewish scriptures and legal tradition.
HoP 158 - Born Under a Bad Sign - Freedom and Astrology in Jewish Philosophy
Abraham Ibn Ezra, Ibn Daud and Maimonides consider the philosophical implications of astrology as science flourishes in the Jewish culture of Andalusia.
HoP 157 - Choosing My Religion - Judah Hallevi
Judah Hallevi argues that Judaism has a better claim to belief than philosophy, Christianity, or Islam.
HoP 156 - Sarah Pessin on Jewish Neoplatonism
Peter chats with Sarah Pessin about the Neoplatonism of Jewish philosophers such as Isaac Israeli, Ibn Gabirol, and Maimonides.
HoP 155 - Matter over Mind - Ibn Gabirol
Neoplatonism returns in Ibn Gabriol, who controversially holds that everything apart from God has both matter and form.
HoP 154 - The Philosophy of History - Ibn Khaldun
The historian Ibn Khaldūn applies the methods of philosophy to understand the rise and fall of political regimes.
HoP 153 - A Matter of Taste – Ibn Arabi and Mysticism
Sufism, the mystical tradition of Islam, collides with philosophy in the work of Ibn ʿArabī.
HoP 152 - Richard Taylor on Averroes
Averroes scholar Richard C. Taylor joins Peter to talk about Averroes' views on the relation between Islam and philosophy.
HoP 151 - Single Minded - Averroes on the Intellect
Averroes defends the rather surprising notion that all of mankind shares a single intellect.
HoP 150 - Charles Burnett and Dag N Hasse on Arabic Latin Translations
A special 150th double interview episode on the transmission of philosophy from Arabic into Latin.
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.