History of Philosophy podcast series
Peter Adamson, Professor of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy at King's College London, takes listeners through the history of philosophy, "without any gaps." Beginning with the earliest ancient thinkers, the series will look at the ideas and lives of the major philosophers (eventually covering in detail such giants as Plato, Aristotle, Avicenna, Aquinas, Descartes, and Kant) as well as the lesser-known figures of the tradition.
For more information, please visit the Department of Philosophy web pages.
In this collection
28. Fiona Leigh on Plato's Sophist »
Peter talks to Fiona Leigh of University College London about Plato's Sophist, which revises the theory of Forms to explain how falsehood is possible.
27. Second Thoughts - Plato's Parmenides and the Forms »
Plato sets out criticisms against his own theory of Forms in the "Parmenides". In this episode Peter looks at the criticisms, including the Third Man Argument, and asks what Plato wants us to conclude from them.
26. Ain't No Sunshine: The Cave Allegory of Plato's Republic »
The most famous work of Plato is the "Republic" and its most famous passage is the allegory of the cave. In this episode Peter looks at the allegory, along with the Form of the Good and divided line.
25. Soul and the City: Plato's Political Philosophy »
In his masterpiece the Republic, Plato describes the ideal city and draws a parallel between this city and the just soul, with the three classes of the city mirroring the three parts of the soul. Peter discusses this parallel and the historical context that may have influenced Plato's political thought.
24. Famous Last Words: Plato's Phaedo »
In the Phaedo, Plato depicts the death of Socrates, and argues for two of his most distinctive doctrines: the immortality of the soul and the theory of Forms.
23. MM McCabe on Knowledge in Plato »
What is Plato's understanding of knowledge, and how does he think that knowledge relates to virtue? Peter tackles these questions with his King's colleague MM McCabe in this interview.
22. I Know, Because the Caged Bird Sings: Plato's Theaetetus »
Peter examines Plato's "Theaetetus", discussing the relativist doctrine of Protagoras, the flux doctrine of Heraclitus, and the two famous images of the wax tablet and aviary.
21. We Don't Need No Education: Plato's Meno »
Peter tackles one of Plato's most frequently read dialogues, the "Meno," and the theory that what seems to be learning is in fact recollection.
20. Virtue Meets its Match: Plato's Gorgias »
Peter discusses examines one of Plato's great dialogues on ethics, the Gorgias, in which Socrates compares rhetoric to pastry-making and squares off against the immoralist Callicles.
19. Know Thyself: Two Unloved Platonic Dialogues »
Peter discusses virtue, self knowledge and some bad arguments in two lesser-known dialogues of Plato: the Charmides and the Euthydemus.Related items
Podcast60. Walking on Eggshells: the Stoics on Logic »
Peter arrives at the most influential of the Hellenistic schools, the Stoics, focusing on the early school from Zeno to Chrysippus, and on Stoic innovations in logic.
PodcastEngland's fourth oldest university »
Which is England's fourth oldest University? Why was the Duke of Wellington so concerned about a 'godless college on Gower Street'?
Podcast59. James Warren on Epicureanism »
James Warren of Cambridge University talks to Peter about Epicurus, his atomism, his hedonism and the Epicurean arguments against the fear of death.