Atomism
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In this episode Peter discusses the Atomists Democritus and Leucippus, and how they were responding to the ideas of Parmenides and his followers.
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World-leading expert Malcolm Schofield of Cambridge University speaks to Peter about the development of Presocratic philosophy, from the Milesians to Parmenides and the reactions he provoked.
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A recording of Peter's lecture delivered on Oct 25, 2011, at the Arts and Humanities festival on "The Power of Stories" at King's College London.
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Peter begins to examine the philosophy of Epicurus, focusing on his empiricist theory of knowledge and his atomic physics.
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James Warren of Cambridge University talks to Peter about Epicurus, his atomism, his hedonism and the Epicurean arguments against the fear of death.
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A first look at the philosophical contributions of Islamic theology (kalām) and its political context, focusing on the Mu'tazilites Abū l-Hudhayl and al-Naẓẓām.
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The doctor and philosopher Abū Bakr al-Rāzī sets out a daring philosophical theory involving five eternal principles: God, soul, matter, time and place.
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Ibn al-Haytham draws on the tradition of geometrical optics to explain the mystery of human eyesight.
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Al-Ash'arī puts his stamp on the future of Islamic theology by emphasizing God’s untrammeled power and freedom.
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The Vaiśeṣika school offers a metaphysical analysis of the world and an atomistic physics.
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The Vaiśeṣika response to Buddhist skepticism about wholes made up of parts.
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Ockham, Buridan, Oresme and Francis of Marchia explore cosmology, atomism, and the impetus involved in motion.
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The debate between Nicholas of Autrecourt and John Buridan on whether it is possible to achieve certain knowledge.
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John Wyclif refutes nominalism and inspires the Lollard movement, which anticipated Reformation thought with its critique of the church.
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The rediscovery of Epicurus, Lucretius, and Sextus Empiricus spreads challenging ideas about chance, atomism, and skepticism.
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How scientists of the Elizabethan age anticipated the discoveries and methods of the Enlightenment (without necessarily publishing them).
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Changing ideas about eyesight, light, mirror images, and refraction – and the skeptical worries they may have inspired.
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How René Descartes’ understanding of his own intellectual project evolved across his lifetime.
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For Descartes body is purely geometrical. So how does he understand features we can perceive, like color, and causation between bodies?
