3. The Infinite and the Divine

Adrian Moore explores the idea of infinity through history.

An episode of the A History of the Infinite podcast, hosted by BBC Radio 4, titled "3. The Infinite and the Divine" was published on September 20, 2016 and runs 13 minutes.

September 20, 2016 ·13m · A History of the Infinite

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Summary

Adrian Moore continues his journey through philosophical thought on infinity over the last two and a half thousand years.He explains how the church attempted to stamp its authority on the debate and how that led to some explosive disagreements amongst medieval thinkers.With the help of Cecilia Trifogli, Lecturer in Medieval Philosophy at Oxford University, Adrian finds out about the life of St Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas defied his mother to become a Dominican friar – she had hoped for a career in the more prestigious Benedictine order for him – and, more importantly, he attempted to engineer a reconciliation between the theories of Aristotle on the infinite and the doctrines of the Catholic church.He was successful up to a point and, once the church had embraced Aristotle’s teachings as the new orthodoxy, philosophers stepped out of line at their peril. The famous dissenter and innovator, Galilei Galileo, did just that. He dared to add his contradictory views to the debate and introduced a series of paradoxes which foreshadowed much later thinking on infinity.Adrian presents us with a vivid picture of the clash between theology and Greek philosophy, and a sense of the ongoing struggle of both to understand the infinite.Producer: Philippa GoodrichA Juniper production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2016.

Episode Description

Adrian Moore continues his journey through philosophical thought on infinity over the last two and a half thousand years.

He explains how the church attempted to stamp its authority on the debate and how that led to some explosive disagreements amongst medieval thinkers.

With the help of Cecilia Trifogli, Lecturer in Medieval Philosophy at Oxford University, Adrian finds out about the life of St Thomas Aquinas.

Aquinas defied his mother to become a Dominican friar – she had hoped for a career in the more prestigious Benedictine order for him – and, more importantly, he attempted to engineer a reconciliation between the theories of Aristotle on the infinite and the doctrines of the Catholic church.

He was successful up to a point and, once the church had embraced Aristotle’s teachings as the new orthodoxy, philosophers stepped out of line at their peril.

The famous dissenter and innovator, Galilei Galileo, did just that. He dared to add his contradictory views to the debate and introduced a series of paradoxes which foreshadowed much later thinking on infinity.

Adrian presents us with a vivid picture of the clash between theology and Greek philosophy, and a sense of the ongoing struggle of both to understand the infinite.

Producer: Philippa Goodrich

A Juniper production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2016.