Don't miss the sister podcast, the History of Indian and Africana Philosophy.
Antoine Arnauld and Pierre Nicole update the study of logic to take account of the ideas of Descartes.
Antoine Arnauld combines Cartesian philosophy with Jansenism, one of the most controversial religious movements of the 17th century.
An interview on contemporary approaches to Pascal's Wager: where decision theory meets philosophy of religion.
Should we gamble on belief in God to have a chance at infinite reward?
Blaise Pascal was a pioneering scientist and deeply spiritual religious thinker; what united these two sides of his thought?
Why did Sébastian Basso and Pierre Gassendi think ancient atomism was the key to developing a new, modern science?
Gassendi’s path from skepticism to “baptized Epicureanism.”
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?
An interview exploring Descartes' interest in medicine, how his medical ideas relate to his dualism, and his influence on medical science.
From comets to blood transfusions, embryology, and the debate over the pineal gland: Descartes’ impact on science, especially medicine.
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.