The 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

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Today's episode, A Wing and a Prayer, Angels in Medieval Philosophy.

Of all the lyrics in the Elvis Presley songbook, among the most puzzling is the one that begins his 1963 single, Devil in Disguise, in which an affronted Elvis, complains that his sweetheart is not nearly as sweet as she first seemed to be. He sings, You look like an angel, walk like an angel,

talk like an angel, but I got wise, you're the devil in disguise.

You see the devil in disguise.

You see the problem, right?

Surely angels are immaterial being, so they don't look like anything.

Even if they did have bodies, they would have wings,

so they wouldn't need to walk anywhere.

Finally, these are purely intellectual beings, so it seems hard to believe that they talk either.

But perhaps I am only puzzled because I've been reading medieval philosophy, something Elvis never got around to, having died so young.

The scholastics love to think about angels, with pretty much every figure we've covered having something to say on the subject. It can be hard to relate to this feature of medieval thought.

Like the spectacular caped suits of Elvis's Vegas period, the intricate scholastic discussions of angels have not dated well, with exquisite ornament and filigree detail being lavished upon something that was arguably a pretty bad idea to begin with.

Hence, scholastic philosophy has famously been mocked as

dealing with questions like how many angels can dance on the head of a pen. In this episode,

though, I'd like to persuade you that medieval angelology was more like the

leather outfit Elvis wore for the 68 comeback special, possessing a relevance as timeless

as angels themselves.

You don't have to believe in angels yourself to see their philosophical appeal.

The medievals found them fascinating for theological and doctrinal reasons, no doubt, but also for the way that angels can be used to address an astonishingly wide range of philosophical topics.

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