HoP 484 You Bet Your Life: Pascal’s Wager

HoP 484 You Bet Your Life: Pascal’s Wager

Author: Peter Adamson January 11, 2026 Duration: 22:41
Should we gamble on belief in God to have a chance at infinite reward?

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: 50

History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps
Podcast Episodes
HoP 499 Beyond Belief: Bayle, Toleration, and Atheism [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:37
Pierre Bayle argues that religious disagreements should be tolerated and that there are powerful arguments against monotheism, even as some contemporaries embrace outright atheism.
HoP 497 Pure and Simple: Quietism [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:10
The “Quietists” Jeanne Guyon and François Fénelon argue that self-love can be overcome by cultivating a “pure love” for God. Their reward: to be accused of heresy.
HoP 495 Comedy of Errors: Molière [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:03
Molière’s famous comedies scandalize Paris and dramatize themes from French moralism, especially the danger of hypocrisy.
HoP 494 Tell the Truth While Laughing: The French Moralists [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:01
La Rochefoucauld and other “moralists” offer a penetrating and witty critique of human pride, selfishness, and hypocrisy. Is this just cynicism, or does it support a positive ethic?
HoP 493 Better Nature: The French Garden [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:18
How the French formal garden embodied both Cartesian philosophy and the political ideology of the French monarchy.