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?
28 Des 202520min
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?
14 Des 202520min
HoP 481 True Fool’s Gold: Pierre Gassendi
Gassendi’s path from skepticism to “baptized Epicureanism.”
30 Nov 202520min
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?
16 Nov 202521min
HoP 479 Gideon Manning on Cartesian Medicine
An interview exploring Descartes' interest in medicine, how his medical ideas relate to his dualism, and his influence on medical science.
2 Nov 202533min
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.
19 Okt 202524min
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.
5 Okt 202520min
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.
21 Sep 202526min
