The Dionysius Circle Podcast

Episodes

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  Mark Blitz on Aristotle's Political Philosophy 09.07.2026 1h 8m

  Political philosopher Mark Blitz joins the podcast to discuss his new book, Aristotle's Political Philosophy. We consider Aristotle's account of the link between political life and human happiness, the regime as a way of life, the place of virtue in liberal democracy, and the tensions between politics, philosophy, and religion. Patrick Jones joins me for the conversation.
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  The Function Argument in Aristotle's Ethics with Jakub Jirsa 09.07.2026 1h 9m

  In this episode, Sam Bennett speaks with philosopher Jakub Jirsa about his new Bloomsbury book, The Function Argument in Aristotle's Ethics. They discuss Aristotle's famous function argument, what it means to ask whether human beings have a distinctive function, and how this question shapes Aristotle's account of virtue, happiness, and the human good.
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  Aristotle's Argument Against Plato's Form of the Good - with Michele Pecorari 30.05.2026 1h 28m

  In this episode, I speak with Michele Pecorari about one of Aristotle's arguments against Plato's Form of the Good in Nicomachean Ethics 1.6. Aristotle notes that we call many different kinds of things good: God is good, as a substance; virtue is good, as a quality; the right amount is good, as a quantity; and the right time is good, as a time. We discuss why Aristotle thinks this creates a problem for Plato's idea of a single Form of the Good. The article discussed is Michele Pecorari's "Goodness and Non-Univocity in Nicomachean Ethics 1.6," published in Phronesis 71.1, pp. 25–51. The article is available here: https://brill.com/view/journals/phro/71/1/article-p25_2.xml
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  Gyula Klima on Ockham, Nominalism, and the Via Moderna 23.05.2026 1h 27m

  Gyula Klima discusses the medieval problem of universals, focusing on the divide between the via antiqua and the via moderna. The conversation centers especially on William of Ockham's break with the older realist tradition, drawing on Klima's article "What is Wrong with Nominalism?" (Divinitas, 2, 2025). Klima argues that the deepest shift is not simply metaphysical, but semantic: a new account of how words, concepts, and things are related.
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  Karsten Harries on Nicholas of Cusa, Modernity, and Nihilism 12.05.2026 1h 12m

  Karsten Harries, emeritus Yale professor of philosophy, joins Dr. Sam Bennett for a conversation on Nicholas of Cusa's On Learned Ignorance, the limits of reason, modern science, nihilism, Kant, Heidegger, beauty, and transcendence in human life.
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  How Do We Know Essences? Aristotle's Answer with Christopher Hauser 17.04.2026 1h 11m

  In this episode, philosopher Christopher Hauser of the University of Scranton joins Dr. Sam Bennett to discuss Aristotle's epistemology, specifically his theory of essence and how we come to know essences. We begin by clarifying what Aristotle means by essence, including the distinction between individuals and kinds, and between essential features and merely necessary properties. The conversation then turns to a central question in Aristotle's philosophy: how do we grasp the fundamental definitions that capture something's essence? Hauser outlines three major interpretations of Aristotle's view, intuitionism, explanationism, and a Socratic approach, and explains why he favors an explanationist account. Explanationism holds that we come to know essences not by immediate intellectual insight, but by developing and testing definitions in light of what they explain about a kind.
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  Piero Boitani on the Timaeus, Beauty, and Poetic Thought 24.03.2026 1h 14m

  In this episode, Dr Sam Bennett speaks with the Italian literary critic and poet Piero Boitani about his recent book Timaeus in Paradise: Metaphors and Beauty from Plato to Dante and Beyond, alongside his long poetic work Plato's Poem. We begin with the remarkable story behind these works, including the unexpected emergence of poetic inspiration late in Piero's life. From there, the conversation turns to the enduring influence of Plato's Timaeus, especially its reception in the Western tradition and its role in shaping reflections on beauty, order, and metaphor. A central part of the discussion includes readings from Boitani's poetry. We recite and reflect on passages such as Jacob's Song for Rachel's Beauty, and Dionysius Sings of Beauty, which traces a metaphysical vision of beauty as both the origin and end of the universe. As Boitani writes, "Europe, listening, experienced fire," capturing the transmission of the Timaean vision across the tradition.
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  Plato vs. Aristotle: A Fundamental Divide? With Dr. Rares Marinescu 28.02.2026 1h 10m

  In this episode, Sam Bennett speaks with Dr. Rareș Ilie Marinescu about the depth of the disagreement between Plato and Aristotle. Rareș is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Classics at the University of Toronto and the author of Proclus on Aristotle on Plato: A Case Study on Motion. Do Plato and Aristotle merely disagree at the surface level, or do they diverge at the level of first principles? Is motion ultimately explained by a self moving soul or by an unmoved intellect? Can a self moving soul truly ground the motion of bodies, or must the ultimate source of motion be entirely unmoved? Is Aristotle's unmoved mover only a final cause, or does it also produce being? Did Aristotle deny the existence of the One, and if so, what follows from that denial? If the highest principle is misidentified, does the entire metaphysical system shift with it? Through the lens of Proclus, this discussion moves from kinematics to psychology to theology, asking if Plato and Aristotle can be harmonized.
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  Against Aristotelian Universals: Two Arguments from Damiano Costa 14.01.2026 1h 7m

  This episode is a discussion with philosopher Damiano Costa about his paper "An Argument Against Aristotelian Universals." Costa examines the Aristotelian view that universals really exist, yet depend for their existence on being exemplified by particular things, and he explains why he thinks this position cannot be sustained. The discussion focuses on two arguments against Aristotelian universals. The first targets the idea that the existence of a universal is grounded in exemplification. Costa argues that if exemplification is a relation, then exemplification would require the prior existence of the universal itself, making it impossible for exemplification to ground that universal's existence. The second argument considers whether grounding universals in states of affairs or facts, such as "the apple is red," can avoid this difficulty. Costa argues that this strategy also fails, since such facts involve universals as constituents, where constituents partly ground the fact in the first place.
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  The Problem of Universals: A Conversation with Gyula Klima 11.12.2025 1h 3m

  In this episode, Sam Bennett speaks with Gyula Klima about the medieval problem of universals and the philosophical issues that arise when we try to explain how universal cognition of singular things is possible. Klima begins with his intellectual background and then walks through the problem as it develops from Plato's ideal objects and the challenge posed by the Third Man argument, to Aristotle's account of abstraction and universal concepts. He discusses Augustine's placement of universals in the divine mind, Boethius's and Abelard's efforts to explain how features separable in thought need not be separable in reality, and Aquinas's account of common natures and universal concepts as the shared objects of individual acts of understanding.
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  The Nature of Evil: Privation or Corruption? with Christophe de Ray 06.11.2025 1h 9m

  In this episode, I talk with Dr. Christophe de Ray from Nanyang Technological University about his article "Corruptio Boni: An Alternative to the Privation Theory of Evil," published in the journal Ratio: An International Journal of Analytic Philosophy. Drawing inspiration from Augustine, Dr. de Ray argues that evil is not the mere absence of a good that ought to obtain, but rather the corruption of a good: something that harms, diminishes, or destroys it.
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  Evil as Privation: A Conversation with Pierce Alexander Marks 09.10.2025 1h 23m

  What kind of thing is evil? If all being is good, where does disorder come from? Can evil have reality without being a substance? In this episode, we talk with philosopher Pierce Marks about his paper "Evil as Privation: Its True Meaning and Import." We discuss the Platonic roots of the view that evil is a lack of the good, the distinction between "mere" and "depraved" privations, and whether natural evils like death or predation are genuine evils or part of the world's perfection.
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  Justification Revisited: Maximus the Confessor and the New Perspective on Paul 07.08.2025 1h 10m

  In this episode, Dr. Andreas Bergman joins us to discuss his recent open-access article, The Maximian Perspective on Paul: A Reconstruction of the Works of the Law and Maximus the Confessor. We begin by outlining the main features of the Old and New Perspectives on Paul, particularly the contested meaning of the phrase "works of the law" in Pauline theology. From there, we explore how Maximus the Confessor's ascetical theology complicates and enriches this debate. Dr. Bergman explains Maximus's tripartite division of the law (natural, written, and spiritual), his understanding of motivation in relation to justification, and how Maximus can, in different respects, be seen as aligning both with and against key elements of the major interpretive traditions.
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  Participation and Righteousness in Paul and Gregory of Nyssa – A Conversation with Dr. Joshua Heavin 12.06.2025 1h 14m

  In this episode of the Dionysius Circle podcast, I explore with New Testament scholar Dr. Joshua Heavin his recent article on participation in Christ and divine and human righteousness. Drawing from both Paul's letters and the theology of St. Gregory of Nyssa, we examine how righteousness is not merely a moral property but, at its deepest level, a person — Christ himself. We also unpack Gregory's fourfold model of participation and how it offers a transformative vision of the Christian life.
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  Moses the Hierarch: Theurgy and Sacred Imitation in Dionysius with Dr. Clelia Attanasio 02.05.2025 1h 9m

  In this episode, we speak with Dr. Clelia Attanasio about her recent work on Pseudo-Dionysius and the distinction between theurgy and hierurgy. We explore how Moses, as the paradigmatic hierurgist, models the human ascent through contemplation and the use of sacred symbols in response to divine action.
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  Liturgy, Theurgy, and Active Participation with Dr. Kjetil Kringlebotten 02.04.2025 1h 27m

  In this episode of the Dionysius Circle Podcast, we're joined by Rev. Dr. Kjetil Kringlebotten, a priest in the Church of Norway and author of Liturgy, Theurgy, and Active Participation. We talk about what it really means to participate in the liturgy, why God's action is at the heart of worship, and how Christian Platonism can deepen our understanding of the Church's rituals.
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  Dr. Stephanos Stephanides on Plato's Phaedo: The Soul's Nature and Indestructibility 01.01.2025 1h 5m

  In this episode of The Dionysius Circle Podcast, Dr. Sam Bennett speaks with Dr. Stephanos Stephanides, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cyprus specializing in Platonic philosophy, about his article, "Reconsidering the Essential Nature and Indestructibility of the Soul in the Affinity Argument of the Phaedo." The conversation touches on the structure of Plato's Phaedo, the Affinity Argument's approach to the soul's indestructibility, and the distinction between composite and incomposite entities, while reflecting on how later interpretations, including Neoplatonic perspectives, have engaged with these ideas.
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  Exploring the Soul's Nature: A Conversation with Dr. Van Tu on Plato's Phaedo 01.01.2025 1h 10m

  Sam Bennett interviews Dr. Van Tu, a philosopher specializing in ancient philosophy, about her article, Is the Soul a Form?. The conversation examines whether the Final Argument of Plato's Phaedo understands the soul as a transcendent form, an immanent form, or a form carrier. They also discuss the possible existence of a transcendent form of the soul within Plato's metaphysical system, its role in the final argument for immortality, and the distinction between the immortality of the soul and personal immortality.
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  Dr. Suzanne Obdrzalek on Plato's Spatial Soul: Rethinking Mind-Body Dualism 31.12.2024 54m

  In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Suzanne Obdrzalek to discuss her fascinating interpretation of Plato's Phaedo. Dr. Obdrzalek argues that Plato attributes spatial characteristics to the soul—such as location, extension, and the ability to causally interact with the body. We also delve into broader implications of this view, including how it sheds light on Plato's eschatology and challenges contemporary assumptions about dualism.
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  Plato's Phaedo: Dr. Elizabeth Jelinek on Forms, Causality, and Explanation 30.12.2024 52m

  In this episode, Dr. Elizabeth (Betsy) Jelinek, Chair of the Philosophy Department at Christopher Newport University, shares her insights into Plato's Phaedo. We discuss her article, "Explanation in the Phaedo: An Argument Against the Metaphysical Interpretation of the Clever Αἰτία," diving into the relationship between forms, causality, and the relevance of sensible particulars in Platonic thought.