We begin to explore Malebranche’s controversial development of Cartesian philosophy by looking at his theodicy.

Thanks to Sebastian Bender for his comments on this and the following episodes on Malebranche!

How is it possible to walk two roads simultaneously? And where does wandering lead us?

Antoine Arnauld and Pierre Nicole update the study of logic to take account of the ideas of Descartes.

Why does the Zhuangzi tell us that death is nothing to fear, to the point that it recommends celebrating the death of loved ones?

Antoine Arnauld combines Cartesian philosophy with Jansenism, one of the most controversial religious movements of the 17th century.

Thanks to Shaun Blanchard for his advice about Jansenism!

In addition to sages who show us the way, the Zhuangzi features people taking on daily activities such as woodworking and butchering: we discuss how these figures serve as counterpoints to officials in the Zhuangzi's time.

Should we gamble on belief in God to have a chance at infinite reward?

The many stories about animals in the Zhuangzi encourage us to adopt a perspective that goes beyond the human point of view.