Tag Archives: ancient Greece

Episode 12: Where Are We, Anyhow?

In this episode, I take a bit of a broader look at ancient Greece in the 7th – 4th centuries BCE (Archaic and Classical Greece) and discuss some of the reasons why natural philosophy arose here at this time. You can listen to the episode here. You can check out a map of ancient GreeceContinue reading “Episode 12: Where Are We, Anyhow?”

Episode 11: Mix and Mingle Like Nothing is Single

This episode is about Anaxagoras of Clazomenae, the final Presocratic I’m planning on covering! He thought there was a little bit of everything in everything and that mind set the universe in motion. He also did some observational science and is credited as the first to correctly explain the cause of eclipses. You can listenContinue reading “Episode 11: Mix and Mingle Like Nothing is Single”

Episode 10: It’s Elementary

This episode is about Empedocles, who tried to solve the Parmenidean problem in a different way than his near contemporaries – the atomists. Empedocles launched the ancient Greek theory of the four classical elements (earth, air, fire, and water). You can listen to the episode here.

Episode 9: The Original Atomic Age

Welcome to Season 2! This episode is on the original atomists, Leucippus and Democritus, and their original atomic theory from way back in the 5th century BCE. I discuss the nature of the void and ancient atoms, how they relate to the matter we can also sense, and how this theory relates to some ofContinue reading “Episode 9: The Original Atomic Age”

Episode 8: To Infinity and Absurdity

This episode is on Zeno of Elea (born c. 490 BCE) – student of Parmenides, namesake of the quantum Zeno effect, and originator of some puzzling paradoxes. I’ll focus on Zeno’s arguments against plurality and his paradoxes of motion as recorded by Simplicius and Aristotle. You can listen to the episode here.

Episode 7: He Never Changes His Mind

This episode focuses primarily on Parmenides (6th – mid-5th century BCE), the “Father of Metaphysics”. He believed that a lot of what we see and believe in (concepts such as creation and movement) are actually an illusion and that reality is unchanging. I’ll discuss Parmenides’s theory, argument, and influence and take some side-trips into theContinue reading “Episode 7: He Never Changes His Mind”

Episode 6: He’s Always Changing His Mind

Can you step in the same river twice? This episode will give an answer to this question by discussing Heraclitus, the “philosopher of flux”. I’ll focus mostly on his doctrines of flux and the unity of opposites, but also mention some of his writings on ethics, politics, and theology. Supposedly self-taught and quite critical ofContinue reading “Episode 6: He’s Always Changing His Mind”

Bonus Episode 1: The Most Epic Math Club Ever

This is a bonus episode on Pythagoreanism, AKA the Most Epic Math Club Ever. A religious cult and school of mathematics combined, Pythagoreanism has had a lasting impact on science and philosophy. I’ll discuss the religious influences on Pythagoreanism, early Pythagorean beliefs, some of the most famous early Pythagoreans, its link to medieval European education,Continue reading “Bonus Episode 1: The Most Epic Math Club Ever”

Episode 5: That One Thing From Grade School Math

This episode focuses on Pythagoras of Samos (c. 590 – c. 470 BCE) – the man, the primarily myth, the legend with a golden thigh. A surprisingly controversial figure, what do we know or not know about the namesake for one of the most well-known theorems in all of mathematics? You can listen to theContinue reading “Episode 5: That One Thing From Grade School Math”