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  • Materialism

    • July 6, 2019
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      Central to the radical Enlightenment were the ideas of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus and his philosophy of atomic materialism which rejected any role for gods in the existence and evolution of the universe.  Melvyn Bragg’s excellent ‘In Our Time’ covers the topic here in a 41-minute podcast.   ‘Casanova in Paris: The Shadows
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  • The great Lisbon earthquake

    • June 1, 2019
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      The Lisbon earthquake struck on November 1st (All Saints Day), 1755, and was one of the deadliest earthquakes in history. The subsequent fires and tsunami almost entirely destroyed the city and much of the surrounding area.  The horror and tragedy of the event provoked Voltaire to write his ‘Poem on the Lisbon disaster’, a
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  • The philosophy of Voltaire

    • February 9, 2019
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    • Category: Venice and Paris
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      Pretty good 26-minute lecture by Ryan Reeves on Voltaire and the Enlightenment here.   ‘Casanova in Paris: The Shadows of the King’ is freely available here. 27 long form articles on Casanova’s life and times are freely available here.   #paris #voltaire #eighteenthcentury #history #philosophy #enlightenment
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