History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

Exploring how Chaucer and Langland use literature to express complex philosophical concepts, including divine providence, voluntarism, and moral conflicts. Analyzing contrasting tales in Canterbury Tales and examining themes of love, human nature, and spiritual values in medieval literature.

Dive into 14th-century English mysticism with notable authors like Julian of Norwich and Marjorie Kemp. Explore their paths to divine knowledge, union with God, and the challenges they faced. Discover mystical works like The Cloud of Unknowing and Julian's Book of Showings, emphasizing negative theology and neoplatonic concepts. Explore techniques for direct connection with God, caution against demonic influence, and Julian's mystical visions on suffering and salvation.

Delving into emotions in medieval philosophy, the podcast explores Aquinas and Scotus' perspectives on emotions as principles of action, their connection to virtues, and the classification of basic emotions. The relationship between reason and emotion, the intentional object of emotions, and differing views on emotions as cognitive states are also discussed.

Delve into medieval thought on angels, their incorporeal essence, and intellectual role. Explore contrasting perspectives by notable philosophers like Thomas Aquinas and Albert the Great. Uncover insights into angelic population and structure within the Celestial Hierarchy. Ponder the unique temporal duration of angels and their ethereal mode of knowledge sharing. Explore complex debates on angelic presence and spatial location in medieval philosophy.

Exploring the influence of Neoplatonism and mysticism on German Dominicans like Dietrich of Freiberg and Henry Suso, highlighting their rejection of Aquinas' teachings, blending ancient concepts with contemporary debates, defending Eckhart's philosophies, and mentoring women in spiritual practices.

Explore the daring speculations of the mystic Meister Eckhart about God and humankind, his dual literary output in Latin and German, his theological concept of the soul being both created and uncreated, and his teachings on the soul's origin and radical poverty. Delve into the theological and ethical complexity of Eckhart's philosophy, contrasting internal virtue with external actions.

Medieval economic thought delves into just pricing, usury, and monetary transactions. Scholastic perspectives on money's role in society and ethical considerations. Controversies surrounding usury and currency debasement spark ethical debates in medieval economics. Nicole O'Rame's contributions to mid-14th-century economic theory and government policies through vernacular philosophy.

Delving into medieval skepticism, the podcast explores sensory illusions, divine interventions, and demonic influences on cognition. It discusses the implications of Descartes' evil demon hypothesis, debates God's benevolence, and examines epistemological inquiries. The exploration of mental language and representationalist views challenges the relationship between internal thoughts and external reality, while contrasting Aquinas and Avicenna on sensation and knowledge acquisition.

Exploring the debate between Nicholas of Autrecourt and John Buridan on achieving certain knowledge, skepticism and epistemological challenges, the reliability of intuitive cognitions, Autrecourt's skeptical challenge to Aristotle's foundationalism, and the spread of skeptical ideas in the 14th century.

Peter interviews Jack Zupko about John Buridan, a secular philosopher known for his parsimonious approach. They discuss Buridan's quest for certain knowledge, his unique methodology, and his views on subjects, predicates, and common natures. They also delve into the controversy surrounding the nature of the soul and explore Buridan's theory of impetus in physics.