Evil and Suffering

57 - Nothing to Fear: Epicureans on Death and the Gods

Posted on 4 December 2011

Peter considers Epicurus’ attempt to dispel the fear of death and the gods, and along the way looks at the topics of soul, atheism, and philosophy as therapy.

21 comments
90 - A Decorated Corpse: Plotinus on Matter and Evil

Posted on 22 July 2012

Plotinus struggles to explain the presence of suffering, evil and ugliness in a world caused by purely good principles – and tells us what role we should play in that world.

27 comments
167 - When Bad Things Happen to Good People: Suffering in Jewish Philosophy

Posted on 16 March 2014

The Book of Job provokes Saadia, Maimonides, Ibn Tibbon and Gersonides to reflect on why God allows suffering.

7 comments
9. Suffering and Smiling: the Buddha

Posted on 10 January 2016

The Four Noble Truths of the Buddha, and the function they are supposed to play in our lives.

10 comments
29. Practice Makes Perfect: Patañjali’s Yoga-Sūtra

Posted on 13 November 2016

Yoga as presented by Patañjali offers a practical complement to the Sāṃkhya theory of the cosmos and the self.

2 comments
291. Alle Maner of Thyng Shall be Welle: English Mysticism

Posted on 17 December 2017

Julian of Norwich’s Shewings and the Cloud of Unknowing lay out challenging paths to knowledge of, and union with, God.

3 comments
58. Amber Carpenter on Animals in Indian Philosophy

Posted on 21 January 2018

An interview about the status of nonhuman animals in ancient Indian philosophy and literature.

1 comments
297. The Prague Spring: Scholasticism Across Europe

Posted on 11 March 2018

New ideas and and new universities in Italy and greater Germany including Vienna and Prague, where Jan Hus carries on the radical ideas of Wyclif.

12 comments
3. Fertile Ground: Philosophy in Ancient Mesopotamia

Posted on 29 April 2018

Do the cuneiform writings of Babylonian culture show that it had its own philosophy?

14 comments
300b. The Relevance of Medieval Philosophy Today

Posted on 6 May 2018

Peter King, Catarina Dutilh Novaes, and Russ Friedman discuss their approaches to medieval philosophy and its contemporary relevance.

11 comments
6. Heated Exchanges: Philosophy in Egyptian Narratives and Dialogues

Posted on 10 June 2018

Demands for ma’at (justice or truth) and a confrontation with the soul, in the Tale of the Eloquent Peasant and Dispute Between a Man and his Ba.

3 comments
7. Richard Parkinson on Egyptian Poetry

Posted on 24 June 2018

Egyptologist Richard Parkinson joins us to talk about the context and meaning of the Eloquent Peasant and other literary works of ancient Egypt.

2 comments
18. One to Rule Them All: God in African Philosophy

Posted on 23 December 2018

Is traditional African religion in some sense monotheist, despite the worship of many divinities?

6 comments
21. The Doctor Will See You Now: Divination, Witchcraft, and Knowledge

Posted on 3 February 2019

Special forms of knowledge and the explanation of misfortunes in African tradition.

0 comments
64. God is a Negro: Henry McNeal Turner

Posted on 29 November 2020

A late 19th-century churchman tries to explain how slavery fit into God’s plan and decide whether the future for African Americans lies in Africa or America.

1 comments
391. Everything is Mine and Nothing: Lipsius and the Revival of Stoicism

Posted on 27 February 2022

Justus Lipsius draws on Seneca and other Stoics to counsel peace of mind in the face of political chaos, but also writes a work on how such chaos can be avoided.

3 comments
398. Pearls of Wisdom: Marguerite of Navarre

Posted on 5 June 2022

A Renaissance queen supports philosophical humanism and produces literary works on spirituality, love, and the soul.

6 comments
113. A Fighting God: Black Theology

Posted on 11 December 2022

After Albert Cleage and James Cone propose a liberatory interpretation of Christianity, William R. Jones wonders whether God is a white racist. We also follow Black Theology among “Womanist” authors and in South Africa.

2 comments