Hildegard von Bingen

Josh and Ray begin discussing Elisabeth’s famous objection to Descartes’ idea that mind and body are two different substances. Josh asks how do these two things interact? Ray brings out Elisabeth’s criticisms regarding to opacity of explanations about how the mind moves the body. Josh reminds Ray how dualism is still wildly debated today, and that a lot people believe that we have souls that are somewhat separate from our bodies.

The hosts are joined by Lisa Shapiro, Professor of philosophy at McGill University and editor of Elisabeth’s correspondence with Descartes. Josh and Ray begin discussing the intimacy and intellectual respect showed in those epistolary exchanges. Lisa offers some examples that show the trust the grew between them, but also the criticisms that Elisabeth raises against Descartes not only on his dualism, but also against his ethical views. Lisa also discusses aspects of Elisabeth’s public life and public philosophy, by considering what she called the lack of an infinite science and the responsibility of taking decisions that affect other people. And the hosts conclude this aspect of her thought by talking about her interest as a political leader in reading Machiavelli.

In the last segment of the show, Josh, Ray and Lisa take the discussion to how regret, or more generally the notion of sentiments shaped and captured Elisabeth’s curiosity. Lisa mentions how Elisabeth and Descartes were very aligned on the theme of the passions, even if each saw things differently. Moreover, Lisa explains to Ray that Elisabeth is interested in the philosophical questions themselves, even if she didn’t write a tract, and could only continue her philosophical explorations by understanding these challenges about human experience in conversations with other philosopher, with a spirit that was less interested in scoring points and more invested in a common search, with Descartes and other women of her life.

Roving Philosophical Report (seek to 5:35) → Holly J. McDede interviews, Sarah Hutton a visiting professor at the University of York, about the life and times of the Princess of Elisabeth of Bohemia, and her formidable upbringing. And Erik-Jan Bos, editor-in-chief of the new edition of Descartes’ correspondence, about the 30 Years War, and how this shaped her character as a political leader. And Sabrina Ebbersmeyer, a professor of philosophy at the University of Copenhagen, about her last days in Herford, as an abbess in a massive convent.

Sixty-Second Philosopher (seek to 46:40) → Ian Shoales discusses how Elisabeth was smart enough to hold her own with Rene Descartes (the secular pope of day, of sorts), and highlights how she holds her own throughout without sacrificing her identity and her dependence on her body.