Whether we look squarely into the future with the optimism of science, or we fix our gaze on the past to find wisdom in human experience, uncertain times inspire us to create, creating elegant and memorable theories, essays, and poems. This week, we cast our eyes backward to Early Modern Europe (1500-1750) in order to (re)connect the history of science and philosophy,  the mind-body divide, and the mystery of the soul to our current realities of living (and not living) through the COVID-19 pandemic. Our guest, CGU’s Provost and Professor Patricia Easton, helps us link the teachings of Rene Descartes to the works of another, equally famous seventeenth century weaver of words and ideas, John Donne—and, in so doing, allows us to connect their remarkably similar outlooks to those of another transformative, transdisciplinary, and creative era: the present day.

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