On Monday, we told you where you can download Free Courses from Top Philosophers (Foucault, Searle, Russell and the rest). As the day went along, our list grew thanks to reader suggestions, and we also discovered another promising resource — a podcast called “The History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps,” created by Peter Adamson, Professor of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy at King’s College London:
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.
That’s what Adamson promises, and he doesn’t disappoint. Over the past 10 months, Adamson has produced 43 episodes, each about 18 minutes long, covering the PreSocratics (Pythagoras, Zeno, Parmenides, etc) and then Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. That’s roughly 12 hours of audio, and we’re still hanging with Aristotle. So there’s no telling how many more hours of audio will eventually bring us to the medieval, early modern and modern philosophers. The more, the better, we say.
You can access all episodes via these links: iTunes – RSS Feed – Web Site. Or find other free philosophy courses in our big collection of Free Courses Online.
A big thanks goes to Carol and Tamas for flagging this resource.
I’ve been listening to this podcast from the beginning. The content, production, pacing, and spacing are exemplary. I only hope that I live long enough to enjoy all the episodes (I’m currently 53).
…or that Professor Adamson lives long enough to complete his mammoth project!
These are great podcasts. I have listened to several available from iTunes, and these rank as the most clear and effective.
Very interesting information. Though the title (original) could have been better. “The History of Western Philosophy” is apparently more honest compared to the rather misleading and narrow choice made here.
I believe he will be at least doing middle eastern philosophy, having written books specifically on the topic.
I know he is planning on going all the way to Kant but I can’t find mention of whether he will move past that.
Hope he’ll do a segment on women philosophers!!
Thanks for these offerings & keep them coming. This world is sorely in need of more wisdom.