History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

An introduction to “the Commentator” Averroes, and his defense of philosophy in the Decisive Treatise.

Intellect and alienation in Ibn Bājja and Ibn Ṭufayl, author of the philosophical desert island castaway tale “Ḥayy Ibn Yaqẓān.”

The development of Islamic law and jurisprudence (fiqh), and the many-sided output of the legal theorist Ibn Ḥazm.

The flowering of philosophy among Muslims and Jews in al-Andalus (Muslim-controlled Spain and Portugal).

Why did al-Ghazālī judge "the philosophers" to be apostates? Peter finds out from Frank Griffel.

In his “Incoherence of the Philosophers,” al-Ghazālī attacks Avicenna’s theories about the eternity of the universe and insists on the possibility of miracles.

Al-Ghazālī’s search for truth leads him to philosophy, Asharite theology, and ultimately the mystical tradition of Sufism.

Peter talks to Dimitri Gutas about Avicenna's sources, philosophical methods, and influence.

With his Flying Man argument, Avicenna explores self-awareness and the relation between soul and body.

Avicenna’s proof of the Necessary Existent is ingenious and influential; but does it amount to a proof of God’s existence?

Avicenna revolutionizes metaphysics with groundbreaking ideas about necessity and contingency, and his new distinction between essence and existence.

Despite a tumultuous life, Avicenna manages to become the most influential of all medieval philosophers.

Al-Ash‘arī puts his stamp on the future of Islamic theology by emphasizing God’s untrammeled power and freedom.

Peter is joined by Farhad Daftary, a leading expert on the Shiite group known as the Ismā'īlīs.

Miskawayh, al-‘Amiri, al-Tawhidi, the Brethren of Purity and Ismaili missionaries bring together philosophy with Persian culture, literature and Islam.

Drawing on Galen and Aristotle, philosophers from al-Kindi to Miskawayh compose ethical works designed us to achieve health in soul, as well as body.

Peter turns DJ, with some actual music interspersed with discussion about theories of music in Arabic philosophical texts.

Ibn al-Haytham draws on the tradition of geometrical optics to explain the mystery of human eyesight.

Deborah Black joins Peter to talk about al-Farabi's innovations concerning knowledge and certainty.

Al-Fārābī combines Islam and Greek sources to present the ideal ruler as a philosopher who is also a prophet.

Peter begins to look at the systematic rethinking of Hellenic philosophy offered by al-Farabi, focusing on his logic and metaphysics.

A group of mostly Christian philosophers transpose the practices of antique Aristotelian philosophy to 10th century Baghdad.

A double dose of Peters, as Pormann joins Adamson to discuss medicine and philosophy in the Islamic world.

The doctor and philosopher Abu Bakr al-Razi sets out a daring philosophical theory involving five eternal principles: God, soul, matter, time and place.

Saadia Gaon draws on Greek philosophy and Islamic theology to provide a rational account of Jewish belief.

The roots of Jewish philosophy in the Islamic world, focusing on the Rabbinic background in the Mishnah and Talmud, and the thought of early figures like Isaac Israeli.

Al-Kindī uses Hellenic materials to discuss the eternity of the world, divine attributes, and the nature of the soul.

Greek philosophy and science make their way into the Islamic world via Syriac and Arabic translations and interpretations.

A first look at the philosophical contributions of Islamic theology (kalām) and its political context, focusing on the Muʿtazilites Abū l-Hudhayl and al-Naẓẓām.

The rise of Islam creates a new context for philosophy not only among Muslims, but also Jews and Christians. .

John Marenbon joins Peter to discuss Boethius' solution to the problem of divine foreknowledge.

Boethius ushers in the medieval age with expert works on Aristotle, subtle treatises on theology, and the Consolation of Philosophy, written while he awaited execution.

Apuleius, Victorinus, Martianus Cappella, Macrobius and Calcidius present and interpret Platonic teachings for readers of Latin.

In a final episode on Augustine, Charles Brittain joins Peter to discuss On the Trinity.

In On the Trinity Augustine explores the human mind as an image of God.

Peter speaks with Sarah Byers about the Stoic influence on Augustine's ethics and theory of action.

In his City of God Augustine traces the histories and philosophical underpinnings of two “cities,” one devoted to worldly glory, the other to heavenly bliss.

Augustine defends free will, but rejects the Pelagian claim that we can be good without God's help.

Augustine argues that words are signs, but not signs that can bring us to knowledge.

In the Confessions Augustine weaves autobiography with reflections on the nature of God, man, and time.

Tertullian, Lactantius, Jerome and Ambrose use and abuse Hellenic philosophy.

George Boys-Stones joins Peter to discuss philosophy in the Bible and the Greek Fathers.

Christian ascetics like Antony, Macrina and Evagrius create a new ethical ideal by pushing the human capacity for self-control to its limits.

The early Byzantine thinker Maximus uses Aristotle to defend the orthodox view of Christ's two natures

A mysterious author calling himself Dionysius fuses Neoplatonism with Christianity

Basil of Caesarea, his brother Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus use philosophy to help the poor and to defeat their theological opponents

Origen of Alexandria weaves Platonic ideas into new and controversial theological ideas

Irenaeus, Clement and Justin Martyr consider the relevance of philosophy for Christianity

An overview of what the Church Fathers contributed to ancient philosophy

A special double interview celebrates reaching 100 episodes by looking at the cultural status of philosophy in the ancient world