HoP 494 Tell the Truth While Laughing: The French Moralists

HoP 494 Tell the Truth While Laughing: The French Moralists

Author: Peter Adamson May 31, 2026 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?

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 489 All Power to Him: Malebranche and Occasionalism [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:17
What led Malebranche to his notorious view that all bodily motions and thoughts are caused by God, with created things serving only as “occasions” for divine action?
HoP 485 Liz Jackson on Pascal's Wager [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:41
An interview on contemporary approaches to Pascal's Wager: where decision theory meets philosophy of religion.
HoP 480 Honorable Ignorance: French Skepticism [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:30
So-called “libertines” like Mothe le Vayer revive ancient skepticism, provoking a backlash from Mersenne and Arnauld. Were they right to see the skeptics as anti-religious?