HoP 474 States of the Union: Descartes on the Passions

HoP 474 States of the Union: Descartes on the Passions

Author: Peter Adamson July 20, 2025 Duration: 19:20

What do emotions reveal about the connection between mind and body? We turn to Descartes’ correspondence with Elisabeth and his On the Passions to find out.


Peter Adamson, Professor of Philosophy at the LMU in Munich and at King’s College London, takes listeners through the history of philosophy, ”without any gaps.” The series looks at the ideas, lives and historical context of the major philosophers as well as the lesser-known figures of the tradition. www.historyofphilosophy.net. NOTE: iTunes shows only the most recent 300 episodes; subscribe on iTunes or go to a different platform for the whole series.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 497

History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps
Podcast Episodes
HoP 469 Ghost in the Machine: Cartesian Dualism [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:30
The word “Cartesian” is synonymous with a radical contrast between mind and body. What led Descartes to his dualism, and how can he explain vital activities in humans and animals having rejected the Aristotelian theory o…
HoP 464 Howard Hotson on the Republic of Letters [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:13
In this interview we learn more about the Republic of Letters: its importance for the history of ideas, it geographic breadth, who was involved, and the contributions of figures including Leibniz and Hartlib.
HoP 463 Doctors without Borders: the Republic of Letters [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:36
How scholars around Europe created an international network of intellectual exchange. As examples we consider the activities of Mersenne, Peiresc, Leibniz, Calvet, and Hartlib.