History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

HoP 177 - To Be or Not to Be - Debating Avicenna’s Metaphysics 24.05.2014 21:43 ↓

Avicenna’s distinction between essence and existence triggers a running debate among philosophers and theologians.

HoP 176 - A Man for all Seasons - al-Tusi 18.05.2014 23:19 ↓

Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī’s controversial career sees him adopt and then abandon Ismāʿīlism, team up with the Mongols, and offer a staunch defense of Avicenna.

HoP 175 - Bright Ideas - Illuminationism 11.05.2014 22:09 ↓

The Illuminationists carry on Suhrawardī’s critique of “Peripatetic” philosophy and wonder if they will be reborn as giraffes.

HoP 174 - Leading Light - Suhrawardi 04.05.2014 23:25 ↓

Suhrawardī, founder of the Illuminationist (ishrāqī) tradition, proposes a metaphysics of light on the basis of his theory of knowledge by presence

HoP 173 - For the Sake of Argument - Fakhr al-Din al-Razi 27.04.2014 22:48 ↓

The hugely influential Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī weaves Avicenna and Islamic theology into complex dialectical treatments of time, God, the soul, and ethics.

HoP 172 - All Things Considered - Abu l-Barakat al-Baghdadi 19.04.2014 21:22 ↓

Abū l-Barakāt al-Baghdādī makes up his own mind about physics and the soul, and along the way inaugurates a new style of doing philosophy.

HoP 171 - Golden Ages - The Later Eastern Traditions 13.04.2014 23:55 ↓

An introduction to later developments in philosophical theology, sufism, and Illuminationism, focusing on the reception and critique of Avicenna.

HoP 170 - Gad Freudenthal on Jewish Philosophy and Science 06.04.2014 33:05 ↓

Leading scholar of medieval Jewish thought Gad Freudenthal joins Peter in a concluding episode on Andalusian thought.

HoP 169 - A Matter of Principles - Albo and Abravanel 30.03.2014 22:27 ↓

Joseph Albo and Isaac Abravanel critique Maimonides’ attempt to lay down foundations for the Jewish law.

HoP 168 - Chariot of Fire - Kabbalah 23.03.2014 24:01 ↓

The rich symbolism of the Zohar and the spiritual practices of Abraham Abluafia feature in the mystical movement known as Kabbalah.

HoP 167 - When Bad Things Happen to Good People - Suffering in Jewish Philosophy 16.03.2014 22:51 ↓

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 09.03.2014 29:12 ↓

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 02.03.2014 24:01 ↓

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 23.02.2014 21:54 ↓

The super-commentator Gersonides and other Jews digest the ideas of Averroes.

HoP 163 - Burnt Offerings - The Maimonides Controversy 16.02.2014 22:06 ↓

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 08.02.2014 26:56 ↓

Maimonides as a "Mediterranean thinker": Peter is joined by Sarah Stroumsa.

HoP 161 - He Moves in Mysterious Ways - Maimonides on Eternity 02.02.2014 20:47 ↓

Maimonides tries to settle the eternity of the world debate by declaring a draw.

HoP 160 - The Great Eagle - Maimonides 26.01.2014 20:11 ↓

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 19.01.2014 20:32 ↓

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 12.01.2014 22:55 ↓

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 05.01.2014 23:35 ↓

Judah Hallevi argues that Judaism has a better claim to belief than philosophy, Christianity, or Islam.

HoP 156 - Sarah Pessin on Jewish Neoplatonism 29.12.2013 30:38 ↓

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 22.12.2013 23:18 ↓

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 15.12.2013 24:19 ↓

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 08.12.2013 25:06 ↓

Sufism, the mystical tradition of Islam, collides with philosophy in the work of Ibn ʿArabī.