Latest Episodes

Blog Posts

Comments

Twitter

  • Page from the Analects in Chinese
    8. Confucius Says: Reading the Analects

    Posted on

    Lessons we can take from the teachings of Kongzi (Confucius) in the Analects: challenging authorities, adhering to “benevolence (ren),” and practicing “propriety (li)” in ritual and everyday life.

  • Andrew Messmer
    447. Andrés Messmer on Spanish Protestantism

    Posted on

    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.

  • Confucius
    7. Uncrowned King: Kongzi (Confucius) and the Analects

    Posted on

    An introduction to Kongzi, the founder of Confucianism, and to the text that has come to represent his thought, the Lunyu (Analects).

  • Confucius
    7. Uncrowned King: Kongzi (Confucius) and the Analects

    Posted on

    An introduction to Kongzi, the founder of Confucianism, and to the text that has come to represent his thought, the Lunyu (Analects).

  • Cajetan meeting Luther
    446. Not Doubting Thomas: the Aquinas Revival

    Posted on

    Cajetan, Bañez and other thinkers make Aquinas a central figure of Counter-Reformation thought; we focus on their theories about analogy and the soul.

  • Franklin Perkins
    6. Franklin Perkins on Excavated Texts

    Posted on

    In this interview, we learn how newly discovered texts are changing our understanding of Warring States period philosophy.

  • Three founders of the Jesuits
    445. Band of Brothers: the Jesuits

    Posted on

    Ignatius of Loyola’s movement begins modestly, but winds up having a global impact on education and philosophy. We also discuss casuistry and the Jesuit concept of "mental reservation."

  • Chinese books made of bamboo strips
    5. Going Paperless: Ancient Chinese Texts

    Posted on

    What were ancient Chinese philosophical texts written on? How did writing relate to orally transmitted wisdom? How were texts read and used? And what even counted as a “text” in ancient China?

  • Bernini statue of Teresa of Avila
    444. The Dark Night Rises: Spanish Mysticism

    Posted on

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

  • Guan Yu Studying Spring & Autumn Annals
    4. Open Season: the Historical Context

    Posted on

    The historical context of classical Chinese philosophy, and how ancient Chinese historical works themselves became works of philosophy.

Overview

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.

Buy the book versions

The latest episodes are listed on the left, or you can view the list of all episodes published so far

RSS feed - example zip file - example 

Series of podcast episodes (MP3 files) are grouped together as RSS feeds (requiring an RSS reader such as Feedly or a podcatcher), zip files (requring a zip tool such as 7-zip to unzip the downloaded file).

You can leave a comment on any of the individual podcasts, on the website as a whole or on Peter's blog.