The Thomistic Institute

Feb 3, 2025 • 44 min

Professor Joshua Hochschild argues that Aquinas' proofs for God's existence, specifically the first way, are simple, accessible, and not merely spiritual exercises, but rather starting points for a deeper understanding of God and the relationship between faith and reason. This lecture was given on November 4th, 2024, at University of Texas at Austin. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speaker: Joshua Hochschild is Professor of Philosophy at Mount St. Mary’s University, where he also served six years as the inaugural Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. His primary research is in medieval logic, metaphysics, and ethics, with broad interest in liberal education and the continuing relevance of the Catholic intellectual tradition. He is the author of The Semantics of Analogy: Rereading Cajetan’s De Nominum Analogia (2010), translator of Claude Panaccio’s Mental Language: From Plato to William of Ockham (2017), and co-author of A Mind at Peace: Reclaiming an Ordered Soul in the Age of Distraction (2017). His writing has appeared in First Things, Commonweal, Modern Age and the Wall Street Journal. For 2020-21 he served as President of the American Catholic Philosophical Association. Keywords: Aristotelianism, Causality, David Hume, Empirical Fact, First Cause, Natural Theology, Proof of God's Existence, Reason, Skepticism, Unmoved Mover

Jan 31, 2025 • 44 min

Professor W. Matthews Grant examines the traditional Christian doctrine of divine universal causality, exploring how God can be the cause of all things, including human free acts, and how this relates to our understanding of freedom and responsibility. This lecture was given on November 7th, 2024, at University of Scranton. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speaker: W. Matthews Grant is Professor and Chair in the Department of Philosophy at University of St. Thomas (MN), and Associate Editor of the American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly . His articles have focused on Aquinas and the Philosophy of God, particularly issues having to do with the divine nature and God’s relationship to human freedom. Keywords: Alvin Plantinga, Anthropomorphism, Divine Causality, Freedom, God, Responsibility, St. Anselm, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas

Jan 30, 2025 • 43 min

Dr. Medi Volpe explores God's response to the problem of evil by contrasting modern theodicy against the approach of early Christians, emphasizing the Incarnation and human action as integral to God's response. This lecture was given on October 24th, 2024, at University of Edinburgh. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speaker: Medi Ann Volpe is a Catholic moral theologian and mother of four children, including a daughter with Down Syndrome. She is the Director of Research at Wesley House, Cambridge and teaches theology and ethics at Durham University (UK) . Her first book, Rethinking Christian Identity (Wiley-Blackwell, 2013), brings contemporary theological themes into conversation with voices from the classical Christian tradition. More recently, her work has explored the intersection of ecclesiology and spiritual formation, with a special interest in discipleship and Christian identity of children as well as people with intellectual disabilities. She has published in journals and handbooks, including the International Journal of Systematic Theology , Modern Theology, and the Oxford Handbook of Catholic Theology (which she co-edited with Lewis Ayres). She also serves on the board of the Journal of Disability and Religion . For the last several years, Volpe has been writing and speaking about the kind of Church we must be if we are truly to honour the weaker members. Her current book project ( Living as the Body of Christ ) considers ecclesiology from the perspective of disability. Keywords: Augustine, Evil, Gustavo Gutierrez, Hume, James Cone, Incarnation, Irenaeus, Problem of Evil, Tolkien, Theodicy, Theology

Jan 29, 2025 • 56 min

Professor John O'Callaghan delves into St. Thomas Aquinas's understanding of God's mercy in creation, addressing the apparent paradox of extending mercy to non-existent beings by examining the transition from non-being to being. This lecture was given on October 19th, 2024, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . Keywords: Being, Creation, God's Mercy, Justice, Metaphysics, Misericordia, Non-being, Suffering, Thomas Aquinas About the Speaker: Dr. John Callaghan is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Notre Dame University. He is a permanent member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas and he was the President of the American Catholic Philosophical Association (2012-2013). He is the author of Thomistic Realism and the Linguistic Turn: Toward a More Perfect Form of Existence  and the editor, with Prof. Thomas Hibbs, of Recovering Nature: Essays in Honor of Ralph McInerny.

Jan 28, 2025 • 38 min

Fr. Andrew Hofer explores St. Thomas Aquinas's understanding of God's Justice as revealed in the Gospel and the writings of St. Paul, emphasizing its connection to grace, truth, and the conformity of creation to God's intellect. This lecture was given on October 19th, 2024, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speaker: Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P., (Ph.D. Notre Dame) is professor of patristics and ancient languages at the Pontifical Faculty of the Dominican House of Studies where he serves as the director of the doctoral program. He authored Christ in the Life and Teaching of Gregory of Nazianzus (Oxford University Press, 2013) and The Power of Patristic Preaching: The Word in Our Flesh (Catholic University of America, 2023). He co-authored A Living Sacrifice: Guidance for Men Discerning Religious Life (Vianney Vocations, 2019). Editor-in-chief of the academic journal The Thomist , Hofer is editor or co-editor of several volumes including The Oxford Handbook of Deification , The Cambridge Companion to Augustine's Sermons , and Thomas Aquinas and the Greek Fathers . He enjoys speaking with students about their theological and spiritual questions. Keywords: Aquinas, Dikaussune, God's Justice, Gospel, Grace, Justification, Romans, St. Paul, Truth

Jan 27, 2025 • 38 min

Fr. Andrew Hofer explores St. Thomas Aquinas's understanding of God's mercy in the writings of St. Paul, paying particular attention to Mercy's relationship to Divine justice and its transformative activity in Christian life. This lecture was given on October 19th, 2024, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speaker: Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P., (Ph.D. Notre Dame) is professor of patristics and ancient languages at the Pontifical Faculty of the Dominican House of Studies where he serves as the director of the doctoral program. He authored Christ in the Life and Teaching of Gregory of Nazianzus (Oxford University Press, 2013) and The Power of Patristic Preaching: The Word in Our Flesh (Catholic University of America, 2023). He co-authored A Living Sacrifice: Guidance for Men Discerning Religious Life (Vianney Vocations, 2019). Editor-in-chief of the academic journal The Thomist , Hofer is editor or co-editor of several volumes including The Oxford Handbook of Deification , The Cambridge Companion to Augustine's Sermons , and Thomas Aquinas and the Greek Fathers . He enjoys speaking with students about their theological and spiritual questions.

Jan 24, 2025 • 56 min

In this lecture, Erika Bachiochi discusses Catholic feminism, her encounter with St. John Paul II's Theology of the Body and her subsequent intellectual journey, and the historical roots of feminism in Christian thought, particularly focusing on the views of early feminists on abortion and chastity. This lecture was given on October 29th, 2024, at Benedictine College. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speaker: EPPC Fellow Erika Bachiochi is a legal scholar who works at the intersection of constitutional law, political theory, women’s history, and Catholic social teaching. She is also the editor-in-chief of Fairer Disputations, the online journal of the Mercy Otis Warren Initiative for Women in Civic Life and Thought at the School for Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at ASU. Keywords: Abortion, Catholic Feminism, Chastity, Christian Feminism, Elizabeth Blackwell, Evangelium Vitae, First Wave Feminism, John Paul II, Rights Of Women, Theology Of The Body

Jan 23, 2025 • 31 min

Fr. Gregory Pine discusses the virtue of courage, exploring its complexities, its relationship to the passions, and its importance in living a complete and virtuous life. This lecture was given on October 24th, 2024, at Georgetown University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speaker: Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. is an adjunct professor of dogmatic theology at the Dominican House of Studies and an Assistant Director of the Thomistic Institute. He is the author of a few books including Prudence: Choose Confidently, Live Boldly . His writing also appears in Ascension’s Catholic Classics, Magnificat , and Aleteia . He is a regular contributor to the podcasts Pints with Aquinas , Catholic Classics , The Thomistic Institute , and Godsplaining . Keywords: Courage, Daring, Emotions, Fear, Fortitude, Passions, St. Thomas Aquinas, Sensitive Appetite, Virtue

Jan 22, 2025 • 53 min

Professor Daniel De Haan explores the Thomistic debate surrounding the nature of the separated human soul after death, contrasting survivalism, corruptionism, and incompletionism to understand whether the soul retains personhood after death. This lecture was given on October 10th, 2024, at University of Edinburgh. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speaker: Daniel D. De Haan is the Frederick Copleston Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer in Philosophy and Theology in the Catholic Tradition at Campion Hall and Blackfriars at the University of Oxford. Before to coming to Oxford, De Haan was a postdoctoral fellow on the neuroscience strand of the Theology, Philosophy of Religion, and the Sciences project at the University of Cambridge. He has a doctorate in philosophy from the Catholic University of Leuven and University of St Thomas in Texas. His research focuses on philosophical anthropology, hylomorphism and the sciences, moral psychology, philosophical theology, and the thought of Thomas Aquinas. Keywords: Corruptionism, Eschatology, Hylomorphism, Incompletionism, Joseph Ratzinger, Personhood, Separated Soul, Survivalism, Thomas Aquinas

Jan 21, 2025 • 43 min

Professor Jeffrey Brower explores Aquinas's view of human nature, contrasting it with materialism and substance dualism, focusing on the relationship between body and soul and what happens at death. This lecture was given on November 8th, 2023, at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speaker: Jeffrey E. Brower is Professor of Philosophy at Purdue University, where he serves as the faculty advisor for the Thomistic Institute. He specializes in medieval philosophy, metaphysics, and philosophical theology and especially enjoys working at the intersection of all three areas. He is the author of Aquinas’s Ontology of the Material World: Change, Hylomorphism, and Material Objects (Oxford University Press, 2014) and a contributor to The Oxford Handbook on Aquinas (Oxford University Press, 2012). His recent articles include “Aquinas on the Individuation of Substances,” Oxford Studies in Medieval Philosophy (2017) and “Aquinas on the Problem of Universals,” Philosophy and Phenomenological Research (2016). Keywords: Aquinas, Cartesian Dualism, Death, Human Nature, Materialism, Naturalism, Soul, Substance Dualism, Trialism

Jan 20, 2025 • 55 min

Professor Brad Lewis discusses the concept of the common good in politics, contrasting contemporary Catholic social teaching with Aquinas's view and addressing criticisms of both. This lecture was given on October 1st, 2024, at Indiana University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speaker: Bradley Lewis is associate professor of philosophy at the Catholic University of America. He specializes in political and legal philosophy, especially in classical Greek political thought and in the theory of natural law. He holds a B.A. from the University of Maryland and a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. He has published scholarly articles in Polity, History of Political Thought , the Southern Journal of Philosophy, Philosophy and Rhetoric, Communio , the Josephinum Journal of Theology , the Pepperdine Law Review , the Oxford Journal of Law and Religion , and the Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association , as well as chapters in a number of books. He is currently working on a book project provisionally titled The Common Good and the Modern State. He is also a fellow of the Institute for Human Ecology and serves as associate editor of the American Journal of Jurisprudence. Keywords: American Founding, Aristotle, Catholic Social Teaching, Common Good, Gaudium Et Spes , Hillary Clinton, Mater Et Magistra , Political Philosophy, St. Thomas Aquinas

Jan 17, 2025 • 43 min

Fr. Stewart Clem examines the concept of boredom ("taedium vitae") through the lens of Thomistic moral theology, defining it, exploring its subjective and objective dimensions, and distinguishing it from related concepts like sloth (acedia). This lecture was given on September 7th, 2024, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speaker: Dr. Clem's research interests include the thought of Thomas Aquinas, the Anglican intellectual tradition, virtue ethics, health care ethics, and the intersection of religion and morality. Before joining the faculty at Aquinas Institute, he was Visiting Assistant Professor of Theology at Valparaiso University. He is a priest in The Episcopal Church. Dr. Clem is a member of the Anglican - Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Anglican Theological Review and The Living Church Foundation. Keywords: Acedia, Boredom, Emotions, Moral Theology, Passions, Sloth, Taedium Vitae, Virtue

Jan 15, 2025 • 32 min

Prof. Michael Foley explores Saint Augustine's lifelong pursuit of self-knowledge, dividing it into intellectual, moral, and religious dimensions, each achieved through conversion and hindered by specific obstacles. This lecture was given on September 19th, 2024, at University of Tulsa. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speaker: Michael Foley is a Catholic theologian, a Professor of Patristics at Baylor University, and the author of over 400 articles and seventeen books, including the Politically Incorrect Guide to Christianity, Drinking with the Saints, and Dining with the Saints. He can speak on a wide variety of topics touching upon Catholicism, culture, and liturgy. Keywords: Augustine, Conversion, Ethics, God, Intellectual Self-Knowledge, Moral Self-Knowledge, Philosophy, Plato, Religious Self-Knowledge, The Confessions

Jan 14, 2025 • 52 min

Fr. Irenaeus Dunlevy discusses the fragmentation of the modern secular university and proposes that integrating one's spiritual life on campus involves rediscovering the meaningfulness of being, while cautioning against the disintegrating approaches of fideism, scientism, and nihilism. This lecture was given on October 26th, 2024, at University of South Carolina. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speaker: Fr. Irenaeus Dunlevy, OP is a Coordinator for Campus Outreach at the Thomistic Institute in Washington, DC. He has served as a parochial vicar at St. Pius V Church in Providence, RI, as well as an adjunct professor and assistant chaplain at Providence College. He originates from Columbus, OH, studied architecture in Virginia and Switzerland, and practiced in the DC area before entering the Order of Preachers in 2013. He was ordained a priest in 2020 at the Dominican House of Studies during the quarantine. In his work with the Thomistic Institute, he has given talks on the virtue of penance and the use of metaphor in Scripture. He often travels the country visiting Thomistic Institute Campus Chapters, leading seminars that help students grasp Thomistic concepts. Additionally, he coordinates the TI's intellectual retreat programming, which affords students time to pray and integrate into their lives Thomistic theology and philosophy. Keywords: Ex Corde Ecclesiae , Fideism, Fragmentation, John Paul II, Nihilism, Reason, Scientism, Spiritual Life, Truth, University

Jan 13, 2025 • 38 min

Professor Michael Krom discusses Aquinas's approach to the moral life, emphasizing the pursuit of the good and the integration of faith, hope, and charity, while also addressing moral relativism and the importance of objective moral principles. This lecture was given on October 26th, 2024, at University of South Carolina. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speaker: Prof. Michael Krom started reading Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae shortly after his conversion at the end of college. Upon learning about Flannery O’Connor’s “hillbilly Thomist” habit of reading Aquinas every night, he started studying two articles a day and completed the Summa while in graduate school at Emory University. As a professor at Saint Vincent College, he saw the urgent need for collegians and seminarians to receive a solid foundation in Aquinas’s philosophical theology. In 2020, he published Justice and Charity: An Introduction to Aquinas’s Moral, Economic, and Political Thought (Baker Academic Press), and teaches a Thomistic philosophy course each fall. In addition to continuing work on the moral, economic, and political topics covered in the book, his current research is on the influence of monastic spirituality on Aquinas; he is working on a monograph tentatively entitled Aquinas Among the Benedictines . Keywords: Augustine, Beauty, Good, Moral Life, Moral Relativism, Natural Law, Objectivity, Prudence, Subjectivity, Truth

Jan 10, 2025 • 1h 5m

Professor Matthew Thomas examines the theology of St. Justin Martyr, arguing that Justin viewed Christianity as the culmination of both Greek philosophy and Jewish scripture, with Christ as the fulfillment of both. This lecture was given on January 24th, 2024, at University of California, Berkeley. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speaker: Matthew J. Thomas is Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley, CA, and an Instructor in Theology at Regent College, Vancouver. He holds a D.Phil in New Testament and Patristics from the University of Oxford, and is the author of Paul's 'Works of the Law' in the Perspective of Second-Century Reception (Mohr Siebeck, 2018; IVP, 2020), which received the Jesus Creed "Book of the Year" award for 2018. Matthew and his wife Leeanne live in the Bay Area with their children Camille, Raphael, Michael and Agnes, who are also aspiring theologians. Keywords: Apologetics, Dialogue With Trypho , Early Church Fathers, First Apology , Greek Philosophy, Judaism, Logos, Platonism, Saint Justin Martyr, Socrates

Jan 9, 2025 • 41 min

Professor William Carroll explores the philosophical and theological implications of cosmological claims about the beginning of the universe, emphasizing the distinction between creation and scientific explanations and cautioning against the "error of beginnings." This lecture was given on August 29th, 2024, at Brown University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speaker: Professor William E. Carroll has recently retired from research and teaching at the Aquinas Institute of Blackfriars in the University of Oxford.  For the past two years he has been a Visiting Professor at the Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (Wuhan, China), and at the Hongyi Honor College of Wuhan University. He is a European intellectual historian and historian of science whose research and teaching concern: 1) the reception of Aristotelian science in mediaeval Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, and the development of the doctrine of creation, and 2) the encounter between Galileo and the Inquisition.  He has also written extensively on the ways in which mediaeval discussions of the relationship among the natural sciences, philosophy, and theology can be useful in contemporary questions arising from developments in biology and cosmology.  He is the author of four books: Aquinas on Creation; La Creación y las Ciencias Naturales: Actualidad de Santo Tomás de Aquino; Galileo: Science and Faith; and Creation and Science (with translations in Slovak, Spanish, and Chinese).  His published work has appeared in 12 languages. Over many years he has written more than 25 op-ed pieces for Public Discourse, the web site of the Witherspoon Institute at Princeton. Keywords: Big Bang, Causality, Cosmology, Creation, Ex Nihilo, Hawking, Nothing, Quantum Mechanics, The Grand Design , Vilenkin

Jan 8, 2025 • 58 min

Professor Christopher Baglow critiques the conflict model of science and religion, tracing its origins to the late 19th century and arguing that the Catholic intellectual tradition offers a more harmonious approach by keeping faith and reason together and honoring the integrity of nature. This lecture was given on September 26th, 2024, at Brown University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speaker: Dr. Baglow is Professor of the Practice of Theology and the Director of the Science and Religion Initiative of the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame. His work is the culmination of 19 years of faith and science scholarship and educational program creation, as well as a lengthy career in Catholic theological education spanning high-school, undergraduate, graduate and seminary teaching. For this work, he was co-recipient of an Expanded Reason Award in Teaching from the Universidad Francisco de Vitoria (Madrid) and the Vatican Joseph Ratzinger Foundation (Rome). Baglow is the author of Faith, Science and Reason: Theology on the Cutting Edge (2nd edition, Midwest Theological Forum, 2019) and Creation: A Catholic’s Guide to God and the Universe (Ave Maria Press, 2021). He serves as theological advisor to the Board of Directors of the Society of Catholic Scientists and as a contributor to the JTF-funded science and religion programming of the Word on Fire Institute. Most recently, he authored the transcripts for Wonder: The Harmony of Faith and Science , a Word on Fire film series directed by Manny Marquez and narrated by Jonathan Roumie. His work has appeared in That Man is You, Crux, Church Life Journal, Culture and Evangelization, and Joie de Vivre Quarterly Journal. Keywords: Andrew Dixon White, Catholicism, Conflict Thesis, Draper, Faith, History, John William Draper, Reason, Religion, Science

Jan 7, 2025 • 36 min

Professor Joshua Hochschild explores Aquinas's understanding of analogy in relation to divine simplicity, distinguishing between analogy as a likeness between things and analogy as a relation between the significations of terms, and argues that the former, rather than the latter, is more fundamental to addressing the challenges posed by divine simplicity. This lecture was given on May 31st, 2024, at Mount Saint Mary College. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speaker: Joshua Hochschild is Professor of Philosophy at Mount St. Mary’s University, where he also served six years as the inaugural Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. His primary research is in medieval logic, metaphysics, and ethics, with broad interest in liberal education and the continuing relevance of the Catholic intellectual tradition. He is the author of The Semantics of Analogy: Rereading Cajetan’s De Nominum Analogia (2010), translator of Claude Panaccio’s Mental Language: From Plato to William of Ockham (2017), and co-author of A Mind at Peace: Reclaiming an Ordered Soul in the Age of Distraction (2017). His writing has appeared in First Things, Commonweal, Modern Age and the Wall Street Journal. For 2020-21 he served as President of the American Catholic Philosophical Association. Keywords: Analogy, Aristotle, Divine Simplicity, Language, Meaning, Metaphysics, Proportionality, Semantics, Theology

Jan 3, 2025 • 33 min

Professor Thomas Hibbs discusses the importance of beauty in contemporary culture, drawing upon Emily Dickinson, Charles Taylor, Iris Murdoch, and Jacques Maritain to explore how beauty can unself us, enhance our understanding of truth, and connect us to something transcendent. This lecture was given on September 12th, 2024, at University of Pittsburgh. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speaker: Thomas Hibbs is currently J. Newton Rayzor Sr. Professor of Philosophy at Baylor where he is also Dean Emeritus, having served for 16 years as the inaugural Dean of the Honors College.  At Baylor he was also the inaugural director of Baylor in Washington, D.C. where he currently runs a summer program on Religion and Social Life.   He has served as department chair at Boston College and as president of the University of Dallas. Hibbs has published more than thirty scholarly articles, the most recent of which is “Aquinas and Black Natural Law.” He has published eight books, the most recent of which is Theology of Creation: Ecology, Art, and Laudato Si’ (University of Notre Dame Press, 2023).  He has also published two books on film and philosophy and one book on art. He has published more than 100 reviews and discussion articles on film, theater, art, and higher education in a variety of venues including First Things, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Wall Street Journal, and National Review.   He writes regularly for The Dallas Morning News.   Hibbs’ lectures have been protested by nihilists at Boston University and by communists in Palermo, Sicily. Keywords: Aesthetics, Anscombe, Beauty, Charles Taylor, Emily Dickinson, Iris Murdoch, Jacques Maritain, Maritain, Murdoch, Thomas Aquinas