Person
Every book Ada Palmer recommended on podcasts
Ada Palmer's appearance on Conversations with Tyler paints a picture of a scholar deeply versed in history, philosophy, and literature, with a particular focus on the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. Palmer referenced a wide array of canonical texts to illustrate her points on historical contingency, censorship, and social taboos. She cited William Shakespeare's Henry IV Part II to explain Renaissance geopolitical strategies regarding foreign wars, and pondered visiting Machiavelli late in life to discuss the importance of The Prince. When exploring eighteenth-century thought, Palmer contrasted conventional teleological narratives with Voltaire's Candide, and examined Denis Diderot's literary output. She brought up Diderot's Rameau's Nephew to discuss sexuality, mentioned The Nun as an exploration of natural versus taboo desires that landed the author in the Bastille, and discussed how Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie navigated the complex landscape of French and papal censorship. Through these literary references, Palmer emerges as an intellectual historian who uses classical and Enlightenment texts to illuminate the evolution of human thought, freedom, and societal control.
Books recommended by Ada Palmer
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Candide
Candide is a classic 1759 satirical novella by François Voltaire that ridicules philosophical optimism and the notion that this is the best of all possible worlds through the absurd misfortunes of its protagonist.
Discussed“This is very much what Voltaire depicts in Candide, which is full of contrived and improbable reunions and encounters that clearly serve to teach us a moral lesson.”
Where to get it
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L'Encyclopédie
L'Encyclopédie is a monumental 18th-century French reference work edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert that sought to compile and disseminate human knowledge across the arts, sciences, and trades.
Discussed“This is why, for example, Diderot's and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie is approved by the French censors, but banned by the Pope as of volume seven, I think it is, the letter H.”
Where to get it
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Rameau's nephew,
Discussed“Diderot has other work that's about sexuality. He has a lot of discussions sexuality in Rameau's Nephew.”
Where to get it
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The Histories (King Henry IV. Part 1 / King Henry IV. Part 2 / King Henry V / King Henry VI. Part 1 / King Henry VI. Part 2 / King Henry VI. Part 3 / King Henry VIII / King John / King Richard II / King Richard III)
Discussed“Remember those very telling lines in Henry IV Part II where young Henry V is advised by his father, "Busy minds with foreign wars achieve peace at home by sending our ambitious noblemen to other places to fight wars."”
Where to get it
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The Nun. by Diderot. Translated from the French. ... of 2; Volume 1
The Nun by Denis Diderot is an 18th-century epistolary novel that chronicles the harrowing experiences of a young woman forced into a convent against her will.
Discussed“He of course famously went to the Bastille for writing The Nun, which is a pornographic lesbian novel about nuns.”
Where to get it
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The prince
The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli is a foundational political treatise that outlines practical strategies for acquiring and maintaining power.
Discussed“If it's I love these people and I want to meet them and get to know about them, I either want to go to a dinner party at Diderot's house or I want to talk to Machiavelli, you know, late in his life about the importance of his work after he's written The Prince.”
Where to get it
Books Ada Palmer wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ada Palmer on Viking Metaphysics, Contingent Moments, and Censorship | Conversations with Tyler | 2023-10-04 | 6 |