The Thomistic Institute

Jun 5, 2019 • 1h

This lecture was given at the University of Oxford on March 5th, 2019 and was organized in partnership with the Aquinas Institute at Blackfriars Hall. For more information about upcoming TI events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1 About the Speaker: Rik Van Nieuwenhove lectures in Medieval Thought at Durham University, UK. He has published scholarly articles on medieval theology and spirituality, theology of the Trinity, and soteriology. His books include: Introduction to Medieval Theology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012); Jan van Ruusbroec. Mystical Theologian of the Trinity (IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2003); Introduction to the Trinity (with D. Marmion) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011); and he is editor of The Theology of Thomas Aquinas (with J. Wawrykow) (IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2005); and Late Medieval Mysticism of the Low Countries (with R. Faesen & H. Rolfson) (NJ: Paulist Press, 2008). Presently he is researching the topic of contemplation in Thomas Aquinas.

Jun 4, 2019 • 1h 11m

This lecture was offered for our Harvard graduate chapter on April 4th, 2019. For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website: thomisticinstitute.org

Jun 1, 2019 • 58 min

This talk was given at the University of Arizona on March 26th, 2019. For more info about upcoming TI events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1 Speaker Bio: Dr. James Madden lives in Atchison with his wife and their children. He is originally from Wisconsin, where he received a B.A. from St. Norbert College, and did his graduate work at Kent State (MA, 1998) and Purdue (Ph.D., 2002). He was awarded the Benedictine College Distinguished Educator of the Year Award in 2006, and he is the author of Mind, Matter, and Nature: A Thomistic Proposal for the Philosophy of Mind (The Catholic University of America Press: 2013)

May 29, 2019 • 1h 26m

This lecture was given on March 28th, 2019 at the University of Toronto. For more information about upcoming TI events, please visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1 Event Description: Human beings naturally have the power of free choice, but mental habits can cause us to choose in determined ways. So how can we break out of deep bad habits to form new and better ones? “Divine grace” is the answer given by Augustine and the authors of the Reformation and Catholic Counter-Reformation. Which of these authors has the most persuasive theory about the relation of grace to human free will?

May 27, 2019 • 1h 9m

This talk was offered at Southern Methodist University on April 11th, 2019. For more info about upcoming TI events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1 About the Speaker: J. Budziszewski (Ph.D. Yale, 1981) is a professor of government and philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin. His main area of research is the natural moral law, and he is most wellknown for his work on moral selfdeception, “the revenge of conscience” what happens when we tell ourselves that we don't know what we really do know. However, has written about all sorts of things such as moral character, family and sexuality, religion and public life, toleration and liberty, and the unraveling of our common culture. The most recent of his thirteen books are Commentary on Thomas Aquinas's Treatise on Law and Commentary on Thomas Aquinas’s Virtue Ethics, both from Cambridge University Press, as well as On the Meaning of Sex, from Intercollegiate Studies Institute. His book for students, How to Stay Christian in College has sold several hundred thousand copies. He also maintains a personal website and blog, The Underground Thomist. Married for more than 45 years, Dr. Budziszewski has several children and a clutch of grandchildren. Presently he is completing a book on the meaning of happiness.

May 24, 2019 • 37 min

This lecture was presented by Prof. James Madden(Benedectine College) with Prof. Mark Johnson (Princeton University) responding. The event was held on April 4th, 2019 and sponsored by the Thomistic Institute and The Aquinas Institute, Princeton University's Catholic Campus Ministry. For more information about upcoming TI events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1

May 22, 2019 • 1h 2m

This talk was given January 16th, 2019 at UNC Charlotte by Fr. Gregory Pine OP (Thomistic Institute) For more information about upcoming TI events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1 Speaker Bio: Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. serves presently as the Assistant Director for Campus Outreach with the Thomistic Institute in Washington, DC. He served previously as an associate pastor at St. Louis Bertrand Church in Louisville, KY where he also taught as an adjunct professor at Bellarmine University. Born and raised near Philadelphia, PA, he attended the Franciscan University of Steubenville, studying mathematics and humanities. Upon graduating, he entered the Order of Preachers in 2010. He was ordained a priest in 2016 and holds an STL from the Dominican House of Studies.

May 20, 2019 • 1h 21m

The lecture was given at Duke Divinity School on March 21, 2019. For more info about upcoming TI events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1

May 15, 2019 • 1h 1m

Professor Barker critiques the materialistic view that the soul is merely a mental construct disproven by neuroscience, instead suggesting that the soul is a fundamental aspect of living beings that cannot be reduced to empirical observation or mathematical measurement. The Aristotelian tradition is presented as an alternative to both dualism and materialism, understanding the soul as the formal cause of a living being, inseparable from its material body. The speaker argues that this perspective is more comprehensive and inclusive of human experience and that it deserves a serious hearing in discussions about the nature of the soul. This talk was given at Yale University on April 1st, 2019. For more information about upcoming TI events, visit:  thomisticinstitute.org/events-1 About the speaker: Dr. Barker was born and raised in New York City. He completed a doctorate in philosophy at the Center for Thomistic Studies (Houston). He holds an M.A. from the University of Paris (the Sorbonne) and a B.A. in Classical and Romance Languages from Harvard University, which included studies at the University of Seville, Spain. He studied two years of graduate-level theology while in France. While Dr. Barker has a broad range of competencies, his research focuses on philosophical psychology, notably in Aquinas, Aristotle, Avicenna, and Averroes. His research in contemporary philosophy focuses on Heidegger. He also translates Spanish, French, and Latin scholarly texts.

May 13, 2019 • 1h 4m

This talk was held on April 4th, 2019 for the Carnegie Mellon/University of Pittsburgh TI Chapter. For more information about upcoming TI events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events/what-d…n-to-be-human About the Speaker: Father Thomas Petri, O.P. is the Vice President and Dean of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies, where he also serves as an assistant professor of moral theology and pastoral studies. Ordained a priest in 2009, he holds a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from The Catholic University of America.

May 10, 2019 • 1h 18m

This talk was offered at UC Berkeley on April 8th, 2019. For more information on upcoming TI events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events/the-se…-beyond-earth Speak Bio: Jonathan I. Lunine is The David C. Duncan Professor in the Physical Sciences at Cornell University and Director of the Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, His research focuses on astrophysics, planetary science and astrobiology. In addition to his responsibilities in the classroom, he serves as Interdisciplinary Scientist on the James Webb Space Telescope project and is a coinvestigator on the Juno mission currently in orbit around Jupiter. Lunine is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, a fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is the 2014 recipient of the Jean Dominique Cassini Medal of the European Geosciences Union. He is the author of Astrobiology: A Multidisciplinary Approach and Earth: Evolution of a Habitable World. Lunine obtained a B.S. in physics and astronomy from the University of Rochester (1980), an M.S. (1983) and a Ph.D. (1985) in planetary science from the California Institute of Technology. He lives in Ithaca New York, where he is a member of St. Catherine of Siena parish. In 2016 Lunine helped to found the Society of Catholic Scientists and currently serves as its vice president.

May 9, 2019 • 1h 5m

The annual St. Mary’s Lecture at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in New Haven, CT was held on April 8th, 2019. The lecture was given by George Weigel (Ethics and Public Policy Center) on the themes of his recent book by the same name, published last year by Ignatius Press. For more information about upcoming TI events, visit:

May 9, 2019 • 41 min

This talk was given the University of Oklahoma on April 2nd, 2019. For more information about upcoming TI events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1 About the speaker: Dr. Cleveland received his B.A. in philosophy and biblical studies from Taylor University, his M.A.R. in philosophical theology & philosophy of religion from Yale Divinity School, and his Ph.D. in philosophy from Baylor University (2014). Before coming to UMary, he conducted postdoctoral research at Saint Louis University on the virtue of intellectual humility. His research interests are in ethics, moral psychology, and philosophy of religion. He is especially interested in the study of virtues and emotions, the relation between the two, and the role of each in the moral and intellectual life. For example, he has defended an account of the virtue of courage with focus on its emotional excellences. He also has broad interests in metaphysics, theology, the history of philosophy, and the thought of Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas.

May 8, 2019 • 1h 17m

This talk was given at Baylor University on March 28th, 2019. For more information about upcoming TI events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1 About the Speaker: Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, O.P., completed his Bachelor’s Degree (B.S.E.) in Bioengineering, summa cum laude, at the University of Pennsylvania, and then earned his Ph.D. in Biology from M.I.T. in the laboratory of Professor Leonard Guarente, where he was a fellow of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). He was ordained a priest in the Order of Preachers in May of 2004. He completed his Pontifical License in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) in Moral Theology, summa cum laude, at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC, in 2005, and a Pontifical Doctorate in Sacred Theology (S.T.D.), magna cum laude, at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, in 2015. Fr. Austriaco currently serves as Professor of Biology and of Theology at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island. His NIH-funded laboratory at Providence College is investigating the genetics of programmed cell death using the yeasts, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans, as model organisms. Papers describing his research have been published in PLoS ONE, FEMS Yeast Research, Microbial Cell, Cell, the Journal of Cell Biology, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, among others. In philosophy and theology, his essays have been published in the National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, Theological Studies, Nova et Vetera, The Thomist, Science and Theology, and the Linacre Quarterly. His first book, Biomedicine and Beatitude: An Introduction to Catholic Bioethics, was published by the Catholic University of America Press in 2011. It was recognized as a 2012 Choice outstanding academic title by the Association of College and Research Libraries.

May 7, 2019 • 46 min

This talk was offered for our chapter at the United States Naval Academy on March 26th, 2019. For more information on upcoming TI events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1 Speaker Bio: Paul Gondreau earned his doctorate in sacred theology from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, writing under the renowned Thomist scholar Rev. JeanPierre Torrell, O.P. He is professor of theology at Providence College in Rhode Island, where he teaches/has taught courses on marriage, Christology, the theology of Thomas Aquinas, the Church, the Eucharist, the Sacraments, and the Catholic thought of J.R.R. Tolkien. He has a published manuscript on Christ's human passions in the theology of St. Thomas Aquinas and has published numerous essays in the area of Thomistic Christology, Thomistic anthropology, a Thomistic account of human sexuality, and a Thomistic theology of disability. He is associate editor of the theological journal Nova et Vetera, and has served as a consultant to the USCCB's committee on marriage and family.

May 4, 2019 • 51 min

This talk was offered at the University of Maryland, College Park on March 28th, 2019. For more information about upcoming TI events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1 Speak Bio: Professor Raymond Hain is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Providence College and Associate Director of the Providence College Humanities Program. He received his BA in Philosophy from Christendom College and his MA and PhD in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame, where he studied under Ralph McInerny and David Solomon. He works primarily in moral philosophy in the Thomistic tradition, as well as topics in applied ethics (especially bioethics and the ethics of architecture) and connections between philosophy and literature. As part of the Humanities Program, he directs the Providence College Humanities Forum and the Providence College Humanities Reading Seminars.

May 3, 2019 • 1h 15m

This lecture was given at MIT on Friday, March 15th, 2019. For more info on upcoming TI events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1. About the speaker: Alexander Pruss has doctorates both in philosophy and mathematics, and is currently Professor of Philosophy at Baylor University. His books include The Principle of Sufficient Reason: A Reassessment (Cambridge University Press), One Body: An Essay in Christian Sexual Ethics (Notre Dame University Press), and Actuality, Possibility and Worlds (Continuum). His research areas include metaphysics, philosophy of religion, Christian ethics, philosophy of mathematics and formal epistemology.

May 2, 2019 • 43 min

This talk was offered at Duke University on March 7, 2019. For more information about upcoming TI events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1 Speaker Bio: Dr. Paige Hochschild is a professor of historical and systematic theology at Mount St. Mary's University (MD), specializing in Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and the early Church. She also teaches philosophy courses at the Seminary at Mount St. Mary's. She has written a book on the place of memory in Augustine's theological anthropology, and publishes on the Church, education, tradition, 20th c. theological debates within the Church (Scripture, history; marriage).

May 1, 2019 • 1h 1m

This talk was offered at the University of Oklahoma on March 5th, 2019. For more information about upcoming TI events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1. About the speaker: Dr. Matthew Ramage is Associate Professor of Theology at Benedictine College in Atchison, KS. He is author, coauthor, or cotranslator of several books, including Dark Passages of the Bible: Engaging Scripture with Benedict XVI and Thomas Aquinas (Catholic University of America Press, 2013) and Jesus, Interpreted: Benedict XVI, Bart Ehrman, and the Historical Truth of the Gospels (CUA Press, 2017). Dr. Ramage's articles have appeared in a variety of scholarly journals including Nova et Vetera, Scripta Theologica, Cithara, and Homiletic and Pastoral Review as well as popular online venues such as Strange Notions, The Gregorian Institute, and Crisis. Dr. Ramage has been interviewed by news outlets including the National Catholic Register and First Things and has made periodic appearances on the EWTN programs Catholic Answers Live, Catholicism on Campus, and The Son Rise Morning Show. Dr. Ramage lives in Atchison, Kansas, with his wife, Jennifer, and five children. For more on his work and his CV, visit Dr. Ramage's website www.truthincharity.com.

Apr 30, 2019 • 50 min

This talk was offered at George Mason University on March 5th, 2019. For more information about upcoming TI events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1 About the Speaker: Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P., grew up as the youngest of ten children on a farm in Kansas, and studied history, philosophy, and classics at Benedictine College. He then went to St Andrews, Scotland for a Master of Letters in medieval history. He entered the Order of Preachers as a son of the Province of St. Joseph, and was ordained a priest in 2002. After finishing his S.T.L. and serving as an associate pastor for a brief time, he was sent to Kenya as a missionary for two years. He taught at the Tangaza College of The Catholic University of Eastern Africa and other institutions in Nairobi. He returned to the U.S. and completed the Ph.D. in theology at the University of Notre Dame, with the primary area of history of Christianity (specializing in patristic theology with additional studies in medieval theology) and the secondary area of systematic theology. His research appears in such journals as Vigiliae Christianae, Augustinianum, International Journal of Systematic Theology, New Blackfriars, Nova et Vetera, Pro Ecclesia, The Thomist, Communio, and Angelicum and in books published by Catholic University America Press and Ignatius Press. He is the author of Christ in the Life and Teaching of Gregory of Nazianzus (Oxford Early Christian Studies), Oxford University Press, 2013, and the editor of Divinization: Becoming Icons of Christ through the Liturgy, Hillenbrand Books, 2015.