History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

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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." The series looks at the ideas, lives and historical context of the major philosophers as well as the lesser-known figures of the tradition. www.historyofphilosophy.net. NOTE: iTunes shows only the most recent 300 episodes; subscribe on iTunes or go to a different platform for the whole series.

Peter Adamson


    • May 25, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • every other week NEW EPISODES
    • 24m AVG DURATION
    • 477 EPISODES

    4.7 from 1,442 ratings Listeners of History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps that love the show mention: western philosophy, buster keaton, best philosophy podcast, history of philosophy without, philosophers, peter does a great, thanks peter, giraffes, thank you professor, gaps, 73, aristotle, philosophical, task, accuracy, astounding, scholars, overview, lecture, recommend it to anyone.


    Ivy Insights

    The History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps podcast is a truly exceptional resource for anyone interested in philosophy. Hosted by Peter Adamson, this podcast provides a comprehensive overview of the history of philosophy, from ancient times to the present day. Adamson's deep knowledge and passion for the subject shine through in each episode, making it both informative and entertaining.

    One of the best aspects of this podcast is its breadth and depth of coverage. Adamson takes listeners on a journey through different philosophical traditions and time periods, exploring the ideas and contributions of philosophers from around the world. He not only discusses well-known figures like Plato and Aristotle but also sheds light on lesser-known thinkers, giving them the recognition they deserve. Additionally, the podcast delves into topics that are often overlooked in traditional philosophy curricula, such as non-Western philosophies and women philosophers.

    Another standout feature is Adamson's ability to make complex philosophical concepts accessible to listeners. He presents ideas in a clear and engaging manner, using relatable examples and analogies that help to clarify abstract concepts. The podcast strikes a great balance between being intellectually stimulating and approachable for listeners with varying levels of familiarity with philosophy.

    While there are many positives to this podcast, one potential downside is the speed at which Adamson speaks. Some listeners have noted that he occasionally speaks too quickly, making it difficult to fully absorb all of the information being presented. Slowing down the pacing slightly would be beneficial for those who prefer a more leisurely listening experience.

    In conclusion, The History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps podcast is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in exploring the vast world of philosophy. It offers an incredible breadth and depth of coverage while maintaining accessibility and clarity. Despite minor criticisms about pacing, Adamson's expertise and passion shine through in every episode, making this podcast a must-listen for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of philosophical ideas throughout history.



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    Latest episodes from History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

    HoP 470 Gary Hatfield on Descartes' Meditations

    Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2025 36:09


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later May 11, 2025 24:30


    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 activities in humans and animals having rejected the Aristotelian theory of soul?

    HoP 468 Perchance to Dream: Descartes' Skeptical Method

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 27, 2025 29:29


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2025 27:32


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 30, 2025 20:13


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 16, 2025 27:02


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 2, 2025 42:14


    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.

    HoP 463 Doctors without Borders: the Republic of Letters

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 16, 2025 23:36


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

    HoP 462 Freedom to Philosophize: Introduction to Early Modern Philosophy

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 2, 2025 36:34


    What is Enlightenment, anyway?

    freedom enlightenment philosophize early modern philosophy
    HoP 461 - Eileen Reeves on Galileo and the Telescope

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 19, 2025 43:04


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 5, 2025 18:59


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

    HoP 459 - Cardinal Rule - Robert Bellarmine

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 22, 2024 19:36


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

    HoP 458 - Outsider Philosophy - The Cheese and the Worms

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 8, 2024 22:15


    Carlo Ginzburg's innovative historical study The Cheese and the Worms looks at the ideas of an obscure 16th century miller, suggesting how popular culture might be integrated into the history of philosophy.

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

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2024 19:53


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 10, 2024 25:39


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 27, 2024 35:26


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 13, 2024 16:58


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2024 17:50


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

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

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 15, 2024 18:06


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 1, 2024 20:44


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2024 25:11


    To celebrate reaching 450 episodes, Peter looks at the philosophical resonance of two famous artworks from the turn of the 16th century: Dürer's Self-Portrait and Michelangelo's paintings in the Sistine Chapel.

    HoP 449 - Anna Tropia on Jesuit Philosophy

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2024 34:31


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

    HoP 448 - Secondary Schools - Iberian Scholasticism

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2024 20:01


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

    HoP 447 - Andrés Messmer on Spanish Protestantism

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2024 29:04


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

    HoP 446 - Not Doubting Thomas - the Aquinas Revival

    Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2024 25:20


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2024 22:21


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2024 23:13


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

    HoP 443 - Marketplace of Letters - Iberian Humanism

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 14, 2024 21:47


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 31, 2024 43:27


    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 with the Americas.

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

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 17, 2024 20:54


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

    HoP 440 - Longitudinal Studies - Exploration and Science

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 3, 2024 17:31


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

    HoP 439 - Cancel Culture - The Inquisition

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2024 24:07


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 4, 2024 18:26


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 21, 2024 34:59


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 7, 2024 19:29


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

    HoP 435 - Metal More Attractive - William Gilbert and Magnetism

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 24, 2023 17:54


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 10, 2023 20:00


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 26, 2023 19:58


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 12, 2023 21:52


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

    HoP 431 - Calvin Normore on Scholasticism

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2023 29:54


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 15, 2023 21:02


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 1, 2023 24:48


    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 Lock.

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

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 17, 2023 25:34


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 3, 2023 22:40


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2023 20:44


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

    HoP 425 - Patrick Gray on Shakespeare

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 9, 2023 37:10


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2023 17:31


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

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

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2023 24:58


    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 "Fairie Queene".

    HoP 422 - The World's Law - Richard Hooker

    Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2023 23:52


    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

    Play Episode Listen Later May 14, 2023 20:28


    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 Thomas Starkey.

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

    Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2023 22:07


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

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