Episodes

  • 009 - Meditation VI Of the Existence of Material Things And of the Real Distinction Between the Mind and B

    009 - Meditation VI Of the Existence of Material Things And of the Real Distinction Between the Mind and B
    Feb 9 2026
    After years of laboring on a treatise that laid the groundwork for his mechanistic philosophy and physics, Descartes found himself compelled to set the project aside when his contemporary, Galileo, faced charges of heresy. This unfinished work, titled The World, was ultimately published only after Descartes’ passing. It appears that this turbulent context influenced Descartes as he penned his more renowned philosophical writings. This influence is particularly evident in the Meditations, where not only the subservience of the Letter of Dedication is apparent, but also in the distinctive argumentative style. Descartes seeks to establish a mathematical science that prioritizes mathematical demonstration over common-sense judgments grounded in everyday experience. His posthumous Copernican ideas, expressed in The World, demanded such a robust defense. The Meditations stand as a pivotal text in early modern philosophy, shaping fundamental perspectives and challenges within the Western tradition, including substance dualism, external world skepticism, and the emergence of the modern subject. (Description by D.E. Wittkower)
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    42 mins
  • 008 - Meditation V Of the Essence of Material Things And Again Of God That He Exists

    008 - Meditation V Of the Essence of Material Things And Again Of God That He Exists
    Feb 9 2026
    After years of laboring on a treatise that laid the groundwork for his mechanistic philosophy and physics, Descartes found himself compelled to set the project aside when his contemporary, Galileo, faced charges of heresy. This unfinished work, titled The World, was ultimately published only after Descartes’ passing. It appears that this turbulent context influenced Descartes as he penned his more renowned philosophical writings. This influence is particularly evident in the Meditations, where not only the subservience of the Letter of Dedication is apparent, but also in the distinctive argumentative style. Descartes seeks to establish a mathematical science that prioritizes mathematical demonstration over common-sense judgments grounded in everyday experience. His posthumous Copernican ideas, expressed in The World, demanded such a robust defense. The Meditations stand as a pivotal text in early modern philosophy, shaping fundamental perspectives and challenges within the Western tradition, including substance dualism, external world skepticism, and the emergence of the modern subject. (Description by D.E. Wittkower)
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    19 mins
  • 007 - Meditation IV Of Truth and Error

    007 - Meditation IV Of Truth and Error
    Feb 9 2026
    After years of laboring on a treatise that laid the groundwork for his mechanistic philosophy and physics, Descartes found himself compelled to set the project aside when his contemporary, Galileo, faced charges of heresy. This unfinished work, titled The World, was ultimately published only after Descartes’ passing. It appears that this turbulent context influenced Descartes as he penned his more renowned philosophical writings. This influence is particularly evident in the Meditations, where not only the subservience of the Letter of Dedication is apparent, but also in the distinctive argumentative style. Descartes seeks to establish a mathematical science that prioritizes mathematical demonstration over common-sense judgments grounded in everyday experience. His posthumous Copernican ideas, expressed in The World, demanded such a robust defense. The Meditations stand as a pivotal text in early modern philosophy, shaping fundamental perspectives and challenges within the Western tradition, including substance dualism, external world skepticism, and the emergence of the modern subject. (Description by D.E. Wittkower)
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    24 mins
  • 006 - Meditation III Of God That He Exists

    006 - Meditation III Of God That He Exists
    Feb 9 2026
    After years of laboring on a treatise that laid the groundwork for his mechanistic philosophy and physics, Descartes found himself compelled to set the project aside when his contemporary, Galileo, faced charges of heresy. This unfinished work, titled The World, was ultimately published only after Descartes’ passing. It appears that this turbulent context influenced Descartes as he penned his more renowned philosophical writings. This influence is particularly evident in the Meditations, where not only the subservience of the Letter of Dedication is apparent, but also in the distinctive argumentative style. Descartes seeks to establish a mathematical science that prioritizes mathematical demonstration over common-sense judgments grounded in everyday experience. His posthumous Copernican ideas, expressed in The World, demanded such a robust defense. The Meditations stand as a pivotal text in early modern philosophy, shaping fundamental perspectives and challenges within the Western tradition, including substance dualism, external world skepticism, and the emergence of the modern subject. (Description by D.E. Wittkower)
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    47 mins
  • 005 - Meditation II Of the Nature of the Human Mind And that it is More Easily Known than the Body

    005 - Meditation II Of the Nature of the Human Mind And that it is More Easily Known than the Body
    Feb 9 2026
    After years of laboring on a treatise that laid the groundwork for his mechanistic philosophy and physics, Descartes found himself compelled to set the project aside when his contemporary, Galileo, faced charges of heresy. This unfinished work, titled The World, was ultimately published only after Descartes’ passing. It appears that this turbulent context influenced Descartes as he penned his more renowned philosophical writings. This influence is particularly evident in the Meditations, where not only the subservience of the Letter of Dedication is apparent, but also in the distinctive argumentative style. Descartes seeks to establish a mathematical science that prioritizes mathematical demonstration over common-sense judgments grounded in everyday experience. His posthumous Copernican ideas, expressed in The World, demanded such a robust defense. The Meditations stand as a pivotal text in early modern philosophy, shaping fundamental perspectives and challenges within the Western tradition, including substance dualism, external world skepticism, and the emergence of the modern subject. (Description by D.E. Wittkower)
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    29 mins
  • 004 - Meditation I Of the Things of which We may Doubt

    004 - Meditation I Of the Things of which We may Doubt
    Feb 9 2026
    After years of laboring on a treatise that laid the groundwork for his mechanistic philosophy and physics, Descartes found himself compelled to set the project aside when his contemporary, Galileo, faced charges of heresy. This unfinished work, titled The World, was ultimately published only after Descartes’ passing. It appears that this turbulent context influenced Descartes as he penned his more renowned philosophical writings. This influence is particularly evident in the Meditations, where not only the subservience of the Letter of Dedication is apparent, but also in the distinctive argumentative style. Descartes seeks to establish a mathematical science that prioritizes mathematical demonstration over common-sense judgments grounded in everyday experience. His posthumous Copernican ideas, expressed in The World, demanded such a robust defense. The Meditations stand as a pivotal text in early modern philosophy, shaping fundamental perspectives and challenges within the Western tradition, including substance dualism, external world skepticism, and the emergence of the modern subject. (Description by D.E. Wittkower)
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    16 mins
  • 003 - Synopsis of the Six Following Meditations

    003 - Synopsis of the Six Following Meditations
    Feb 9 2026
    After years of laboring on a treatise that laid the groundwork for his mechanistic philosophy and physics, Descartes found himself compelled to set the project aside when his contemporary, Galileo, faced charges of heresy. This unfinished work, titled The World, was ultimately published only after Descartes’ passing. It appears that this turbulent context influenced Descartes as he penned his more renowned philosophical writings. This influence is particularly evident in the Meditations, where not only the subservience of the Letter of Dedication is apparent, but also in the distinctive argumentative style. Descartes seeks to establish a mathematical science that prioritizes mathematical demonstration over common-sense judgments grounded in everyday experience. His posthumous Copernican ideas, expressed in The World, demanded such a robust defense. The Meditations stand as a pivotal text in early modern philosophy, shaping fundamental perspectives and challenges within the Western tradition, including substance dualism, external world skepticism, and the emergence of the modern subject. (Description by D.E. Wittkower)
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    11 mins
  • 002 - Preface to the Reader

    002 - Preface to the Reader
    Feb 9 2026
    After years of laboring on a treatise that laid the groundwork for his mechanistic philosophy and physics, Descartes found himself compelled to set the project aside when his contemporary, Galileo, faced charges of heresy. This unfinished work, titled The World, was ultimately published only after Descartes’ passing. It appears that this turbulent context influenced Descartes as he penned his more renowned philosophical writings. This influence is particularly evident in the Meditations, where not only the subservience of the Letter of Dedication is apparent, but also in the distinctive argumentative style. Descartes seeks to establish a mathematical science that prioritizes mathematical demonstration over common-sense judgments grounded in everyday experience. His posthumous Copernican ideas, expressed in The World, demanded such a robust defense. The Meditations stand as a pivotal text in early modern philosophy, shaping fundamental perspectives and challenges within the Western tradition, including substance dualism, external world skepticism, and the emergence of the modern subject. (Description by D.E. Wittkower)
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    9 mins