HoP 488 No Particular Reason: Nicolas Malebranche

Peter Adamson· Host0:12

[music] Hi, I'm Peter Adamson, and you're listening to the History of Philosophy podcast, brought to you with the support of the Philosophy Department at King's College London and the LMU in Munich. Online at historyofphilosophy.net. Today's episode: "No Particular Reason: Nicolas Malebranche." Despite their shared names, there are a lot of differences between the sport that Americans call soccer and the rest of the world calls football, and the sport that Americans call football and the rest of the world largely ignores. The name notwithstanding, American football is mostly played with the hands, and the so-called ball isn't even spherical, so that doesn't exactly speak in its favor. On the other hand, when tackled with enough force to total a small car, American football players make a point of bouncing to their feet as if nothing has happened, whereas soccer players famously collapse and writhe on the ground at the merest caress of an opposing player. One thing the sports do have in common is the way many players react to success on the field. You'll often see them celebrate scoring a touchdown or goal by pointing to the sky, giving both thanks and credit to God. I can't be the first person to wonder what Nicolas Malebranche would make of this. At first, you might think he would approve