The Thomistic Institute

This lecture was given on November 23rd, 2023, at Dominican House of Studies.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speaker:

Fr. Timothy Bellamah, O.P. was born and raised in Washington, D.C. He entered the Order of Preachers in 1991 and was ordained a priest in 1998. He studied at Wake Forest University (B.S., 1982), the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception (M.Div. and S.T.B., 1997; S.T.L, 1999) and the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris, (Ph.D., Section des sciences Religieuses, 2008).

He has previously taught at Providence College in the Department of Theology and the Department of the Development of Western Civilization. From 2010 to 2018 he served as editor of the speculative review The Thomist and is a member of the Leonine Commission, a team of Dominican scholars responsible for the production of critical Latin editions of the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas. He is also currently preparing a critical Latin edition of the Commentary on John’s Gospel by one of St. Thomas’ Dominican contemporaries, William of Alton.

Prof. Joshua Hochschild analyzes how smartphones and digital technologies reshape our brains, habits, and sense of self by leveraging neuroscience and AI-driven behavioral design, warning that these tools commodify our attention, erode agency, and pose deep spiritual and ethical challenges that demand more than technocratic solutions.

This lecture was given on September 19th, 2024, at East Carolina University.

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.

This project/publication was made possible through the support of Grant 63391 from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

Keywords: AI-Driven Behavioral Design, Agency and Attention, Digital Media Ethics, Neuroscience and Technology, Philosophical Psychology, The Shallows, Smartphone Addiction, Spiritual and Ethical Challenges, The Social Dilemma

Prof. Steven Jensen critically examines transhumanism as a new form of eugenics, arguing that the pursuit of human enhancement through technologies like genetic engineering and brain-computer interfaces repeats the ethical pitfalls of historical eugenics by neglecting the importance of human nature and the distinction between treatment and enhancement.

This lecture was given on February 13th, 2025, at Texas A&M University.

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About the Speaker:

Steven J Jensen, who holds the Bishop Nold Chair in Graduate Philosophy at the University of St. Thomas, Houston, teaches in The Center for Thomistic Studies. His fields of research include bioethics, moral psychology, the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas, human nature, and natural law. He is the author of several books, including Living the Good Life: A Beginner’s Thomistic Ethics and The Human Person: A Beginner’s Thomistic Psychology.

Keywords: Bioethics, Brain-Computer Interfaces, CRISPR Technology, Enhancement vs. Treatment, Eugenics, Genetic Engineering, Human Nature, Liberal Eugenics, Steven Jensen, Transhumanism

Prof. Gyula Klima uses Aquinas’ philosophy of mind to argue that human intelligence, rooted in immaterial universal concept formation, is metaphysically distinct from artificial general intelligence (AGI), though AGI can still serve as a powerful tool for enhancing human understanding and life.

This lecture was given on February 19th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies.

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About the Speaker:

Gyula Klima is Professor of Philosophy at Fordham University, New York,  Doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and Ordinary Member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas. He is the Founding Director of the Society for Medieval Logic and Metaphysics and of the Society for the European History of Ideas and Editor of their Proceedings. He is also an editor of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and the Editor-in-Chief of a book series at Springer, Historical-Analytical Studies in Mind, Nature, and Action, and at Fordham, Medieval Philosophy, Texts and Studies. Before taking up his position at Fordham, he had taught philosophy in the US at Yale and Notre Dame, prior to which he had done research in Europe at the universities of Budapest, Helsinki, St. Andrews, and Copenhagen. His publications, besides more than a hundred scholarly papers, include The Metaphysics and Theology of the Eucharist (Springer, 2024), Questions on the Soul by John Buridan and Others: A Companion to John Buridan’s Philosophy of Mind (Springer, 2017), Intentionality, Cognition and Mental Representation in Medieval Philosophy (Fordham University Press, 2015), John Buridan (Oxford University Press, 2008), John Buridan: Summulae de Dialectica, an annotated translation with a philosophical introduction; (Yale University Press, 2001); ARS ARTIUM: Essays in Philosophical Semantics, Medieval and Modern (Institute of Philosophy of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 1988).

Keywords: Artificial General Intelligence, Human Intelligence, Immaterial Intellect, Metaphysical Limits, Philosophy of Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Sensory vs. Intellectual Representation, Thomistic Anthropology, Universal Concept Formation

Fr. Ambrose Little examines the philosophical and ethical implications of AI-assisted writing by drawing on Plato’s myth of Thoth, Aristotle, and Aquinas, arguing that while new technologies like AI can threaten essential intellectual virtues, they can also be used wisely if we seek a balanced, virtue-oriented approach to knowledge and memory.

This lecture was given on February 11th, 2025, at North Carolina State University.

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About the Speaker:

Fr. Ambrose Little is the assistant director of the Thomistic Institute.  He is originally from Connecticut and entered the Dominican Order in 2007 and was ordained a priest in 2013. Before entering the Dominican Order, he graduated from The Catholic University of America with a BA in philosophy. After ordination, he completed a Licentiate in Philosophy at The Catholic University of America and then taught for two years at Providence College. After completing his Ph.D. in philosophy in the summer of 2021, he started teaching at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception. He specializes in the philosophies of Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas, with an emphasis on their study of nature and the soul. He also studies topics at the intersection between philosophy and science.

This project/publication was made possible through the support of Grant 63391 from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

Keywords: AI-Assisted Writing, Aquinas, Aristotle, Intellectual Virtue, Is-Ought Distinction, Memory and Recollection, Myth of Thoth, Plato’s Phaedrus, Technological Ethics, Thomistic Philosophy

This lecture was given on February 20th, 2025, at University of Pittsburgh.

The speaker requests that anyone interested in a summary of this talk listen to the whole thing.

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About the Speaker:

Sister Anna Wray is a native of Connecticut and a member of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia of Nashville, TN.  Sister received her PhD in philosophy from The Catholic University of America, having written her dissertation on Aristotle’s account of the activity of contemplation.  Sister is an assistant professor on the faculty of CUA's School of Philosophy in Washington, DC, where she regularly teaches courses in rhetoric, philosophy of religion, and philosophical psychology.  She is also an adjunct professor for Aquinas College, where she teaches metaphysics and epistemology to her sisters in formation.  When time permits, sister enjoys the occasional trip that allows her to speak to (and with) others who share her loves.

This project/publication was made possible through the support of Grant 63391 from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

Keywords: Agency and Passivity, Artificial Images and Words, Cognitive Atrophy, Contemplation and Prayer, Efficiency, Social Isolation, Technocratic Tools, Technocratic Use, Wisdom and Prudence

Prof. Adam Eitel explores the nature of friendship and the common good through the lens of Aquinas and Aristotle, emphasizing that true friendship is a mutual, habitual disposition to will and pursue the good of another through concrete sharing and fellowship.

This lecture was given on December 4th, 2024, at Saint Louis University.

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About the Speaker:

Professor Eitel is an Associate Professor of Theology at the University of Dallas. Before joining the UD faculty in 2023, he taught for eight years at Yale University, holding appointments in the Divinity School, the Program in Medieval Studies, and the Humanities Program. A specialist in medieval scholasticism, his research interests include doctrinal and moral theology, with a particular focus on the works of Thomas Aquinas and his contemporaries. His teaching and research bring historical Christian theology into dialogue with contemporary moral and political issues.

Keywords: Aristotle, Charity as Friendship, Communicatio, Common Good, Friendship and Love, Habitual Disposition, Mutual Well-Wishing, Thomas Aquinas, Virtue Ethics

Fr. Cassian Derbes explores why friendship is a difficult but essential good, drawing on Aquinas, Aristotle, Cicero, Augustine, and Dante to show how hope, fortitude, and magnanimity help us overcome sloth and despair in pursuit of true friendship as a common good.

This lecture was given on January 18th, 2025, at Cedarbrake Catholic Retreat Center.

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About the Speaker:

Fr. Cassian Derbes, O.P. is a priest of the Dominican Province of Saint Joseph. He is currently a visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame in the Mendoza College of Business. Father Cassian served recently as vice dean and professor of theology at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome. His previous teaching positions include as adjunct professor of theology at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Ohio. Father Cassian earned his Doctorate in Sacred Theology (S.T.D.) from the Angelicum. He has a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) from the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC, a Bachelor’s degree (B.A.) from New York University (N.Y.U.), and he is a graduate of Jesuit High School in New Orleans, Louisiana. From 2014-2020, Father Cassian served as director of an initiative at the Vatican under Pope Francis to design, implement, and teach an executive leadership development program for the Cardinals, Bishops, and senior lay officials of the Roman Curia. Father Cassian is a Missionary of Mercy, having been appointed by Pope Francis in 2015.

Keywords: Aquinas on Virtue, Aristotle, Augustine, Cicero’s De Amicitia, Common Good, Dante’s Divine Comedy, Fortitude and Magnanimity, Friendship and Hope, Sloth and Despair, Thomistic Philosophy

Prof. Thomas Hibbs analyzes Aquinas’ account of friendship and human excellence, drawing on Aristotle and Tocqueville to show how friendship is a necessary, intrinsically valuable common good that addresses contemporary crises of loneliness, civic animosity, and the loss of meaningful community.

This lecture was given on January 17th, 2025, at Cedarbrake Catholic Retreat Center.

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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: Alexis de Tocqueville, American Culture, Aristotle, Aquinas on Friendship, Civic Animosity, Common Good, Human Flourishing, Loneliness and Isolation, Virtue and Vice

Prof. W. Scott Cleveland explores how to be a good friend by applying Aristotle’s philosophy of human flourishing, highlighting the importance of combating envy and apathy while cultivating the virtues of love and wisdom for lasting, meaningful friendships.

This lecture was given on February 21st, 2025, at University of Michigan.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speaker:

Professor Scott Cleveland received his PhD in philosophy (Baylor University) and is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Catholic Studies at the University of Mary (Bismarck, ND). 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. His thought is deeply influenced by Aristotle and Aquinas and his work has appeared in journals such as American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly, Res Philosophica, Religious Studies, Religions, and the Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association. He is the co-editor with Adam Pelser of Faith and Virtue Formation: Essays in Aid of Becoming Good with Oxford University Press.

This project/publication was made possible through the support of Grant 63391 from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

Keywords: Aristotelian Ethics, Aristotle, Envy and Apathy, Friendship and Human Flourishing, Love and Wisdom, Nicomachean Ethics, Practical Philosophy, Robert Waldinger, Virtue Ethics, Virtuous Friendship

Prof. Joshua Hochschild compares Plato’s philosophical exploration of love in the Symposium with John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, analyzing how both traditions address the unity of eros and agape, the meaning of embodied love, and the enduring questions of sexual ethics in light of Humanae Vitae.

This lecture was given on February 18th, 2025, at The Basilica of Saint Mary’s Lyceum.

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: Agape and Eros, Embodied Love, Humanae Vitae, Imago Dei, John Paul II, Karol Wojtyla, Personalist Philosophy, Plato’s Symposium, Sexual Ethics, Theology of the Body

Fr. Stephen Brock examines the metaphysics of petitionary prayer through the perspectives of C.S. Lewis, Peter Geach, and especially Thomas Aquinas, highlighting how Aquinas’ account uniquely reconciles divine immutability, providence, and the real efficacy of prayer.

This lecture was given on February 7th, 2025, at Duke University.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speaker:

Stephen L. Brock is a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei (ordained 1992). He is Ordinary Professor of Medieval Philosophy at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, where he began teaching in 1990.  Since 2008 he has been an Ordinary Member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas.  Since 2017 he has been a visiting professor in the Department of Philosophy of the University of Chicago. He is the author of Action & Conduct: Thomas Aquinas and the Theory of Action (T&T Clark, 1998); The Philosophy of Saint Thomas Aquinas: A Sketch (Wipf & Stock, 2015); The Light that Binds: a Study in Thomas Aquinas's Metaphysics of Natural Law (Wipf & Stock, 2020); and numerous articles on various aspects of Aquinas’s thought.

This project/publication was made possible through the support of Grant 63391 from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

Keywords: Aquinas, C. S. Lewis, Divine Immutability, Metaphysics of Prayer, Petitionary Prayer, Peter Geach, Providence, Thomistic Philosophy, Time and Eternity, Work and Prayer

Fr. Thomas Joseph White explores whether philosophical skepticism can be overcome by examining Aristotle, Aquinas, Kant, and Nietzsche on metaphysical knowledge, emphasizing foundational principles like non-contradiction and identity.

This lecture was given on February 5th, 2024, at Yale University.

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About the Speaker:

Fr. Thomas Joseph White is the Rector Magnificus of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas (Angelicum) in Rome. Originally a native of southeastern Georgia in the US, Fr. White studied at Brown University, where he converted to Catholicism. He did his doctoral studies in theology at Oxford University, and is the author of various books and articles including Wisdom in the Face of Modernity, A Thomistic Study in Natural Theology (Sapientia Press, 2016), The Incarnate Lord, A Thomistic Study in Christology (The Catholic University of America Press, 2015), The Trinity: On the Nature and Mystery of the One God (Catholic University of America Press, 2022), Principles of Catholic Theology Book III: On God, Trinity, Creation, and Christ (Catholic University of America Press, 2024) and Contemplation and the Cross (The Catholic University of America Press, 2025). With Matthew Levering he is the co-editor of the academic journal Nova et Vetera. In 2011 he was appointed an ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas and in 2019 was named a Distinguished Scholar of the McDonald Agape Foundation. He held the 2018-2019 McInnes Chair for theological inquiry at the Angelicum. In 2022, he was granted an honorary doctorate from the Catholic University of America, and in 2023 he was elected President of the Academy of Catholic Theology. In 2023, Fr. White was also awarded the title Master of Sacred Theology, one of the highest academic awards in the Dominican Order.

Keywords: Adrienne Moore, Aristotle, Kant, Metaphysical Knowledge, Nietzsche, Non-Contradiction, Philosophical Skepticism, Principle of Identity, Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, Thomistic Metaphysics

Prof. Michael Gorman explains Aquinas’ doctrine that in God, essence and existence are identical, highlighting how this principle underpins divine simplicity and distinguishes God from all created beings.

This lecture was given on June 1st, 2024, at Mount Saint Mary College.

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About the Speaker:

Michael Gorman is Professor of Philosophy at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.  He has doctorates in philosophy and theology, and his work covers both areas, with a special emphasis on metaphysical themes. He is the author of over thirty-five scholarly articles, a book entitled Aquinas on the Metaphysics of the Hypostatic Union (Cambridge University Press, 2017), and a book that will appear in the spring of 2024 entitled A Contemporary Introduction to Thomistic Metaphysics (The Catholic University of America Press, 2024). 

Keywords: Divine Perfection, Divine Simplicity, Essence and Existence, Metaphysical Composition, Philosophy of Religion, Thomistic Metaphysics, Transcendence

Dr. Edmund Lazzari defends the coherence and relevance of the Trinity by addressing Thomas Jefferson’s objections through Thomistic philosophy, emphasizing divine revelation’s role in understanding God’s triune nature.

This lecture was given on March 3rd, 2025, at College of William and Mary.

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About the Speaker:

Edmund Lazzari is Teaching Fellow in the Department of Catholic Studies at Duquesne University. Dr. Lazzari is also a member of the Aquinas and 'the Arabs' International Working Group and affiliated faculty of the Carl G. Grefenstette Center for Ethics in Science, Technology, and Law. A former Basselin Fellow, he earned an ecclesiastical licentiate degree in philosophy from the Catholic University of America, as well as a doctorate in systematic theology and ethics from Marquette University. He has previously taught philosophy and theology at Mount St. Mary's University, Marquette University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and other universities not starting with the letter "M." Dr. Lazzari has published on a wide variety of topics in theology, such as theology and science, the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, Catholic-Muslim dialogue, liturgical theology, machine learning/AI, Catholic ethics, and extraterrestrial intelligence. He is the author of two books: Why Nature Matters: Unlocking Catholic Doctrine through Commonsense Philosophy (2022) and Miracles in Said Nursi and Thomas Aquinas (Routledge, 2024).

This project/publication was made possible through the support of Grant 63391 from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

Keywords: Arianism, Divine Essence, Divine Revelation, Modalist Heresy, Summa Theologica, Thomistic Philosophy, Transcendent Reality, Trinitarian Persons, Unity-in-Diversity, Worship and Salvation

Professor Michael Gorman explores philosophical arguments for God's existence through Aquinas' approach of reasoning from effect to ultimate uncaused cause rather than from definition to existence.

This lecture was given on February 22nd, 2025, at University of Rochester.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speaker:

Michael Gorman is Professor of Philosophy at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.  He has doctorates in philosophy and theology, and his work covers both areas, with a special emphasis on metaphysical themes. He is the author of over thirty-five scholarly articles, a book entitled Aquinas on the Metaphysics of the Hypostatic Union (Cambridge University Press, 2017), and a book that will appear in the spring of 2024 entitled A Contemporary Introduction to Thomistic Metaphysics (The Catholic University of America Press, 2024).

This project/publication was made possible through the support of Grant 63391 from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

Keywords: Argument From Effect to Cause, Divine Faith, Divine Revelation, God's Existence, Metaphysics, Natural Theology, Philosophical Argumentation, Philosophy of Religion, Uncaused Cause

Prof. Patrick Callahan analyzes the poetic genius of Saint Thomas Aquinas in the hymns and sequence of Corpus Christi, highlighting Aquinas’ understanding of beauty, proportion, clarity, and sublimity as essential to both art and spiritual contemplation.

This lecture was given on October 26th, 2024, at Dominican House of Studies.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speaker:

Prof. Patrick Callahan is director of the Newman Institute for Catholic Thought & Culture as well as Assistant Professor of English and Humanities at St. Gregory the Great Seminary. There he directs and teaches in a Great Books Catholic program for students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and other regional colleges. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Dallas and his graduate work at Fordham University in Classics. He lives in Lincoln, NE with his wife and 5 children.

Keywords: Aesthetic Criticism, Beauty, Corpus Christi, Contemplation, Joseph Pieper, Poetry, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Spiritual Formation, Sublimity, The Four Causes

Prof. Patrick Callahan reveals how poetry, as the most Christ-like form of speech and a reflection of human mimesis, plays a vital role in the Christian life by fostering conformity to Christ and deepening the contemplative experience.

This lecture was given on October 26th, 2024, at Dominican House of Studies.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speaker:

Prof. Patrick Callahan is director of the Newman Institute for Catholic Thought & Culture as well as Assistant Professor of English and Humanities at St. Gregory the Great Seminary. There he directs and teaches in a Great Books Catholic program for students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and other regional colleges. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Dallas and his graduate work at Fordham University in Classics. He lives in Lincoln, NE with his wife and 5 children.

Keywords: Aristotelianism, Christian Life, Contemplation, Joseph Pieper, Mimesis, Poetry, Saint Augustine, Spiritual Formation, Only the Lover Sings, W. H. Auden

Prof. Alexander Pruss explores the unique certainty, mystery, and beauty of mathematics, examining philosophical perspectives from Plato to modern logicism, and considers how mathematical beauty points toward deeper realities, including the existence of God.

This lecture was given on October 1st, 2024, at University of North Texas.

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About the Speaker:

Alexander Pruss is professor of philosophy at Baylor University. He has two PhDs, one in mathematics and one in philosophy, and does research in metaphysics, philosophy of religion, ethics, epistemology, philosophy of science and philosophy of mathematics. Much of his work is centered on showing how pretty much everything in reality points to the existence of God. His books include The Principle of Sufficient Reason, Infinity, Paradox, and Causation, and One Body: An Essay in Christian Sexual Ethics. In his spare time, Pruss engages in a variety of hobbies including electronics, software development, and indoor rock climbing where he recently got two Guinness World Records.

Keywords: Aesthetics, Beauty, Epistemology, God, Kurt Gödel, Logicism, Mathematics, Philosophy of Mathematics, Plato, Platonism

This project/publication was made possible through the support of Grant 63391 from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

Prof. Patrick Callahan explores how art, through beauty and the sublime, can lead the soul toward God, drawing on insights from Joseph Pieper, Aristotle, and Christian philosophy to reveal the contemplative power of poetry, music, and the fine arts.

This lecture was given on November 19th, 2024, at East Carolina University.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speaker:

Patrick Callahan is director of the Newman Institute for Catholic Thought & Culture as well as Assistant Professor of English and Humanities at St. Gregory the Great Seminary. There he directs and teaches in a Great Books Catholic program for students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and other regional colleges. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Dallas and his graduate work at Fordham University in Classics. He lives in Lincoln, NE with his wife and 5 children.

Keywords: Aristotelianism, Beauty, Christian Philosophy, Contemplation, Ethics, Incarnation, Joseph Pieper, Poetry, Simone Weil, Summa Theologiae

Fr. Philip-Neri Reese explores the relationship between logic and truth as they manifest in God, the natural world, and artificial constructs, emphasizing the distinct ways in which logic operates within divine, natural, and human-made realities.

This lecture was given on November 6th, 2023, at Oxford University.

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About the Speaker:

Fr. Philip-Neri Reese is a Dominican friar of the Province of St Joseph and a Professor of Philosophy at the Pontifical University of St.Thomas (Angelicum) in Rome. He is also the principal investigator for the Angelicum Thomistic Institute’s new Project on Philosophy and the Thomistic Tradition. He received his Licentiate in Philosophy from the Catholic University of America in 2015 and his Doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame in 2022. From 2015-2017 he taught philosophy at Providence College in Providence, RI. His main area of research is metaphysics and anything adjacent to it, with a special emphasis on the metaphysical thought of St. Thomas Aquinas and its subsequent reception and interpretation. His publications, however, range widely, including articles on philosophical anthropology, ethics, and economics. He is also an enthusiast of classical Indian philosophy. Fr Philip-Neri is a member of the American Philosophical Association, the Society for Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy, the Aquinas and the Arabs International Working Group, the Society for Medieval and Renaissance Thomism, and is currently serving on the executive committee of the American Catholic Philosophical Association.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Divine Logic, Epistemology, Logic, Metaphysics, Natural Law, Philosophy of Science, Rationality, Theology, Truth

Prof. Chad Pecknold analyzes John Henry Newman’s theological legacy, focusing on doctrinal development, conscience as a divine imperative, and his impact on the Second Vatican Council and modern Catholic-Protestant dialogue.

This lecture was given on April 25th, 2024, at Hillsdale College.

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About the Speaker:

Dr. Chad C. Pecknold earned his PhD in Systematic Theology at the University of Cambridge in England. He is a Catholic theologian and for the last 16 years he has been a professor of theology at The Catholic University of America in Washington DC, teaching in the areas of fundamental theology, Christian anthropology and political theology. Since 2022, he has been named by The Catholic Herald as one of the most influential Catholic thought leaders and authors in the United States. 

An internationally recognized scholar of Augustine’s theological and political thought, Pecknold has authored or edited five books — including Christianity and Politics: A Brief Guide to the History and The T&T Clark Companion to Augustine and Modern Theology —and authored dozens of peer-reviewed journal articles. He edits the Sacra Doctrina series for CUA Press with Fr. Thomas Joseph White O.P. He has served the public by educating thousands of students at the Institute of Catholic Culture, and also through his many columns at First Things, National Review, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, and The Catholic Herald. He has been an invited guest on NPR's "All Things Considered," Fox News, ABC News, and has been a frequent guest on EWTN News Nightly, World Over Live with Raymond Arroyo, and various other EWTN programs, such as the celebrated series on Heresies. 

Pecknold has also led institutions, serving as Chair of the American Academy of Catholic Theology from 2015-2020, expanding and professionalizing a guild of theologians faithful to the Magisterium. He also serves in non-profit board leadership as Board Director for Americans United for Life, Board Member for Pro-Life Partners, Board Member for the Classical Learning Test, Fellow of the Institute for Human Ecology, and as Resident Theologian at the Institute for Faith and Public Culture at the Basilica of Saint Mary — the oldest Catholic Church in the Commonwealth of Virginia. While currently finishing a short book on the Catholic understanding of Augustine’s Confessions, Pecknold continues to work on a long term project on Augustine’s City of God and the Christian order of things.

He and his wife Dr Sara Pecknold (who teaches Music History at Christendom College) have five children, including adorably identical twin toddler girls whose names they frequently confuse!

Keywords: Anglican-Catholic Dialogue, Conscience, Development of Doctrine, Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, Faith and Reason, John Henry Newman, Apologia Pro Vita Sua, Second Vatican Council, The Idea of a University, Modern Ecclesiology

Fr. Gregory Pine explores the theological necessity of Marian apparitions through the lens of Catholic doctrine, explaining how they relate to the central mystery of the Incarnation and the proper hierarchy of truths in Christian faith.

This lecture was given on April 25th, 2024, at Trinity College Dublin.

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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: Catholic Doctrine, Extrinsic Necessity, GK Chesterton, Hierarchy of Truths, Incarnation, Intrinsic Necessity, Marian Apparitions, Marian Devotion, Screwtape Letters, Virgin Mary

Prof. Lewis Ayres examines how the Nicene Creed functions as a generative and interpretive “cipher” within Christian tradition, tracing its roots to the adaptation of Second Temple Jewish imaginative worlds and the development of early rules of faith to highlight the creed’s ongoing role in shaping theological reflection.

This lecture was given on February 7th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies.

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About the Speaker: Lewis Ayres is Professor of Catholic and Historical Theology at Durham University in the United Kingdom. He specializes in the study of early Christian theology, especially the history of Trinitarian theology and early Christian exegesis. He is also deeply interested in the relationship between the shape of early Christian modes of discourse and reflection and the manner in which renewals of Catholic theology during the last hundred years have attempted to engage forms of modern historical consciousness and sought to negotiate the shape of appropriate scriptural interpretation in modernity, even as they remain faithful to the practices of classical Catholic discourse and contemplation. His publications include Augustine and the Trinity (2010) and Nicaea and Its Legacy: An Approach to Trinitarian Theology (2004). Professor Ayres has co-edited the Blackwell Challenges in Contemporary Theology series (since 1997), the Ashgate Studies in Philosophy and Theology in Late Antiquity series (since 2007), and has just co-founded with Fortress Press the Renewal: Conversations in Catholic Theology series. He serves on the editorial boards of Modern Theology, the Journal of Early Christian Studies, and Augustinian Studies. He has also served on the board of the North American Patristics Society.

Keywords: Arius, Christological Doctrine, Cyril of Jerusalem, Gnosticism, Imaginative World, Irenaeus of Lyon, Nicene Creed, Origen of Alexandria, Rule of Faith, Trinitarian Theology

Sr. Albert Marie Surmanski, O.P., explores how creation sacramentally reflects God’s glory, particularly investigating how metaphysics, scripture, poetry, and ultimately every aspect of existence—from cosmic order to human relationships—reveals divine truths.

This lecture was given on November 18th, 2024, at University of Michigan.

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About the Speaker:

Sr. Albert Marie Surmanski, OP is member of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. She is an Associate Professor of Theology at the University of St. Thomas in Houston where she also teaches at St. Mary's Seminary. Her main area of research is medieval sacramental theology with a focus on Albert the Great and Aquinas. She has published a translation of Albert the Great's work On the Body of the Lord, in the CUA Fathers of the Church Medieval Continuation series as well as a translation of Aquinas's Commentary on the Psalms for the Aquinas Institute. She has published articles in various journals including Logos, Antiphon, Nova et Vetera, and Franciscan Studies.

Keywords: Aristotelian Causality, Canticle of Creation, Country Music, Divine Reflection, Exemplary Cause, Gift of Knowledge, Natural Theology, Sacramentality of Creation, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Thomas Aquinas

Prof. Michael Wahl explores the theological virtue of hope as essential for Christian pilgrimage, distinguishing it from mere passion by examining how hope directs us toward God as our ultimate, difficult yet attainable good.

This lecture was given on February 29th, 2024, at Cornell University.

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About the Speaker:

Dr. Michael Wahl is Assistant Professor of Theology at Providence College in Providence, RI, where he teaches in the Theology Department, the Development of Western Civilization Program, and the Liberal Arts Honors Program. His research centers on Catholic moral theology, with a particular focus on virtue ethics, moral development, and the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas. His scholarly work has been published in The Thomist, Nova et Vetera, and Philosophy, Theology, and the Sciences.

Keywords: Aristotle, Benedict XVI, Christian Pilgrimage, Faith, Hope as Passion, Hope as Theological Virtue, Humility, Josef Pieper, Magnanimity, Nicomachean Ethics

Fr. Isaac Morales explores the relationship between the historical Jesus and Church's knowledge of Jesus, cautioning against relying too heavily on ever-changing historical reconstructions while emphasizing recurrent themes to discover the authentic characteristics of Jesus.

This lecture was given on March 5th, 2024, at Brown University.

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About the Speaker:

Fr. Isaac Morales, O.P. is associate professor of theology at Providence College. Before joining the Dominican Order, he received an MTS in biblical studies from the University of Notre Dame and a PhD in New Testament from Duke University. He recently published The Bible and Baptism: The Fountain of Salvation with Baker Academic Press and is currently working on a book on eschatology titled The Life of the World to Come. He also regularly teaches a course on the life and writings of C. S. Lewis.

Keywords: Albert Schweitzer, Dale Allison, Docetism, Historical Jesus, Methodological Naturalism, New Testament, Recurrent Attestation, Quest of the Historical Jesus, Synoptic Gospels

Fr. Dominic Langevin explores the Catholic doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, explaining transubstantiation, its scriptural basis, historical development, and the significance for Christian life.

This lecture was given on October 24th, 2024, at Clemson University.

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About the Speaker:

Fr. Dominic Langevin, O.P., is dean and assistant professor of dogmatic theology at the Dominican House of Studies, where he teaches courses principally in sacramental theology and liturgiology. He is the secretary/treasurer of the Academy of Catholic Theology. He did his undergraduate degree at Yale University. He entered the Dominican Order in 1998 and was ordained a priest in 2005. He earned his doctorate from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. He is the author of the book From Passion to Paschal Mystery and was editor of the journal The Thomist from 2018 to 2021.

Keywords: Catholic Doctrine, Eucharistic Theology, Real Presence, Scriptural Basis for Eucharist, 1 Corinthians, Bread of Life Discourse, Shekinah, Transubstantiation

Fr. Gregory Pine explores the extent of demonic influence on human life, distinguishing between physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual dimensions to clarify the limits of their power, particularly concerning the direct access to one's spiritual life, which remains exclusive to God.

This lecture was given on March 2nd, 2024, at Dominican House of Studies.

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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: Angelology, Catholic Theology, Demonic Influence, Demonology, Emotional Influence, Influence on Thoughts, Physical Influence, Psychological Influence, Spiritual Life, Thomas Aquinas on Demons

Prof. Roger Nutt explores the theological significance of the sacraments of Penance and Anointing of the Sick as healing encounters that address both sin and its temporal consequences, emphasizing the Christian's journey toward a good death in light of Christ's redemptive act.

This lecture was given on February 9th, 2025, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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About the Speaker:

Roger W. Nutt is Provost of Ave Maria University where he also serves as professor of theology. He co-directs the Aquinas Center for Theological Renewal with Dr. Michael Dauphinais and Dr. Steven Long. His research focuses on Christology and Sacramental Theology, and especially the Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas. He is the author of three books: Thomas Aquinas’ ‘De Unione Verbi Incarnati’ (Peeters Publishers, 2015); General Principles of Sacramental Theology (The Catholic University of America Press, 2017); and To Die is Gain: A Theological (re-)Introduction to the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick for Clergy, Laity, Caregivers, and Everyone Else (Emmaus Academic, 2022). He has also edited and co-edited ten volumes on various theological topics. His articles and chapters have appeared in publications such as Nova et Vetera, Gregorianum, Louvain Studies, The Thomist, Harvard Theological Review, Angelicum, Antiphon: A Journal of Liturgical Renewal, and The Oxford Handbook of the Reception of Aquinas.

Keywords: Anointing of the Sick, Ars Moriendi, Death, Penance, Philippians, Sacrament of Healing, Saint Anthony of the Desert, Sacramental Theology, Temporal Consequences of Sin

Fr. Timothy Bellamah explores divine providence as God's vision and causation of all things fulfilled in Christ, explaining that Christ's incarnation, passion, death, and resurrection serve as God's ultimate response to the problem of evil, particularly the suffering of the innocent.

This lecture was given on February 22nd, 2024, at Dominican House of Studies.

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About the Speaker:

Fr. Timothy Bellamah, O.P. (Commissio Leonina) was born and raised in Washington, D.C. He entered the Order of Preachers in 1991 and was ordained a priest in 1998. He studied at Wake Forest University (B.S., 1982), the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception (M.Div. and S.T.B., 1997; S.T.L, 1999) and the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris, (Ph.D., Section des sciences Religieuses, 2008). He has previously taught at Providence College in the Department of Theology and the Department of the Development of Western Civilization. From 2010 to 2018 he served as editor of The Thomist and is a member of the Leonine Commission, a team of Dominican scholars responsible for the production of critical Latin editions of the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas. He is also currently preparing a critical Latin edition of the Commentary on John’s Gospel by one of St. Thomas’ Dominican contemporaries, William of Alton.

Keywords: Adam, Angels, Augustine, Boethius, Divine Providence, Grace, Incarnation, Original Sin, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae

Fr. Jordan Schmidt explores biblical creation accounts, emphasizing their theological depth and historical context to reveal how the created world serves as a pathway to knowing God and understanding divine revelation.

This lecture was given on December 1st, 2023, at New York University.

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About the Speaker:

Fr. Jordan Schmidt was born in Fargo, ND, and attended St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN for his undergraduate studies. After entering the Order of Preachers, he came to Washington DC to study theology, graduating from the PFIC in 2009 with an STB/MDiv in theology, and from CUA in 2012 with an STL in biblical theology. Upon his ordination to the priesthood, he was appointed associate pastor of St Mary’s parish in New Haven, CT where he served until 2013. Fr. Jordan next returned to the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC to pursue doctoral studies at CUA. Since earning his PhD in biblical studies in 2018, he has been teaching various courses in Sacred Scripture at the PFIC.

Keywords: Biblical Context, Biblical Creation Accounts, Divine Revelation, Genesis, Imago Dei, Old Testament, Saint Augustine’s Trinity Analogy, Saint Irenaeus on Likeness, Scriptural Interpretation in Catholic Tradition

Dr. William Hurlbut examines the profound ethical and philosophical challenges posed by advancing biotechnologies, emphasizing the need for a deeper understanding of human nature, dignity, and purpose in light of developments like genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, and transhumanist aspirations.

This lecture was given on March 3rd, 2025, at Indiana University.

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About the Speaker:

William B. Hurlbut is a physician and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Neurobiology at Stanford University Medical Center.  After receiving his undergraduate and medical training at Stanford, he completed postdoctoral studies in theology and medical ethics, studying with Robert Hamerton-Kelly, the Dean of the Chapel at Stanford, and subsequently with the Rev. Louis Bouyer of the Institut Catholique de Paris. His primary areas of interest involve the ethical issues associated with advancing biomedical technology, the biological basis of moral awareness, and studies in the integration of theology and philosophy of biology.  He was instrumental in establishing the first course in biomedical ethics at Stanford Medical Center and subsequently taught bioethics to over six thousand Stanford undergraduate students in the Program in Human Biology. Dr. Hurlbut is the author of numerous publications on science and ethics including the co-edited volume Altruism and Altruistic Love: Science, Philosophy, and Religion in Dialogue (2002, Oxford University Press), and “Science, Religion and the Human Spirit” in the Oxford Handbook of Science and Religion.  He has organized and co-chaired three multi-year interdisciplinary faculty projects at Stanford University, “Becoming Human: The Evolutionary Origins of Spiritual, Religious and Moral Awareness,” “Brain Mind and Emergence,” and the ongoing “The Boundaries of Humanity: Human, Animals, and Machines in the Age of Biotechnology.”  In addition, he was Co-leader, together with U.C. Berkeley professor Jennifer Doudna of  “The challenge and opportunity of gene editing: a project for reflection, deliberation and education.”

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Bioethics, Biotechnology, Genetic Engineering, Human Dignity, Neuralink and Brain Interfaces, Personhood and Consciousness, Transhumanism, Yuval Noah Harari

Prof. Karin Öberg explores the interplay between theology and science, focusing on Thomas Aquinas' view of creation as a relational dependency on God and how Big Bang cosmology aligns with theological insights into the universe's origins.

This lecture was given on February 15th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies.

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About the Speaker:

Prof. Karin Öberg is Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University. Her specialty is astrochemistry and her research aims to uncover how chemical processes affect the outcome of planet formation, especially the chemical habitability of nascent planets. She did postdoctoral work at Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics as a NASA Hubble fellow, focusing on millimeter observations of planet-forming disks around young stars.

Keywords: Aristotelianism, Big Bang, Catholic Intellectual Tradition, Cosmology, Creation Theology, Genesis Creation Account, Medieval Cosmology, Science and Religion, Summa Theologica

Fr. John Harris discusses the Catholic approach to secular politics, emphasizing Thomistic principles, the role of lay Catholics, and the balance between natural and supernatural ends in governance.

This lecture was given on October 10th, 2024, at Trinity College Dublin.

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About the Speaker:

Fr. John Harris, O.P. serves as the prior provincial for the Dominican Province of Ireland.

Keywords: Aristotelian Philosophy, Catholic Social Teaching, Cultural Relativism, Divine Law in Politics, Enda Kenny Speech, Lay Apostolate, Natural Law Theory, Secular Governance, De Regno, Vatican II

Dr. Paul LaPenna reflects on the integration of ancient virtues, Christian ethics, and self-sacrificial love in medical practice, emphasizing human dignity and compassionate care.

This lecture was given on February 4th, 2025, at University of South Carolina.

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About the Speaker:

Dr. Paul LaPenna is a neurologist in Greenville, SC and is a Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Carolinas Campus. Dr. LaPenna completed his neurology residency at Indiana University School of Medicine. His skill set is focused on treatment of neurological emergencies and performing and interpreting electrophysiological studies of the brain and peripheral nervous system. He is currently the Director of Stroke at Bon Secours Mercy Health in Greenville, SC.

As an Associate Professor of Neurology, Dr. LaPenna has won numerous teaching awards, including Clinical Medicine Professor of the Neuroscience Curriculum from 2019-2022. For the 2020-2021 academic year, Dr. LaPenna was awarded Preceptor of the Year. For his care towards patients, he was elected to the Arnold P. Gold Humanism Honor Society in 2016.

Dr. LaPenna has an interest in the relationship between science and faith—in particular, the relationship between neuroscience and the soul, neuroscience and free will, and the overreaching claims of science. In addition, Dr. LaPenna speaks on the problem of suffering and the dignity of the human person. Saint Thomas Aquinas has been a major influence in Dr. LaPenna’s intellectual and faith journey.

This project/publication was made possible through the support of Grant 63391 from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

Keywords: Ancient Virtues, Aristotle, Christian Ethics, Compassionate Care, Human Dignity in Medicine, Plato, Saint Basil the Great, Saint Francis of Assisi, Self-Sacrificial Love, The Good Samaritan

Prof. Marshall Bierson explores Aquinas's and Anscombe's moral absolutes, particularly concerning theft, arguing that in cases of extreme need, taking another's property may not constitute theft, suggesting a nuanced approach to absolutist moral frameworks.

This lecture was given on March 3rd, 2025, at Yale University.

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About the Speaker: Marshall Bierson—a Foreign Service brat—grew up living in Bangladesh, Paraguay, Sri Lanka, and the D.C. suburbs. He received at B.A. at Wheaton College (IL) in 2014, and then earned his Ph.D. in philosophy from Florida State University in 2022. His research focuses on the intersection of ethics and the nature of persons. Dr. Bierson is particularly interested in the work of Elizabeth Anscombe on 'philosophical psychology.'

Keywords: Absolutism in Ethics, Moral Philosophy, Consequentialism vs. Absolutism, Elizabeth Anscombe, Peter Singer's Famine Affluence and Morality, Justice and Property Rights, Moral Absolutes, Sidgwick's Ethics, Starving Man Scenario, Thomas Aquinas on Theft

Prof. Paul Gondreau reflects on the profound meaning of suffering, disability, and human frailty in light of Christ’s redemptive suffering, emphasizing shared vulnerability as a source of mercy and unity within the Church.

This lecture was given on March 8th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies.

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About the Speaker:

Prof. Paul Gondreau is professor of theology at Providence College, where he has taught for 26 years. He received his doctorate in theology from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, doing his dissertation on Christ's full humanity (Christ's human passions/emotions) under the renowned Thomist scholar Jean-Pierre Torrell. He specializes in the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas and has published widely in the areas of Christology (focusing on Christ’s full humanity and his maleness), Christian anthropology, the moral meaning and purpose of human sexuality and sexual difference, the biblical vision of Aquinas' theology, the theology of disability, the sacrament of the Eucharist and the priesthood, and the Catholic vision of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

Keywords: Dualism and Suffering, Redemptive Suffering, Human Frailty, Divine Providence in Job, Disability in Christian Theology, Kenosis and the Incarnation, Vulnerability, Pope John Paul II’s Salvifici Doloris, Suffering as Participation in Christ’s Body, Tolkien’s Edenic Yearning

Prof. Stephen Meredith explores the essence of being human through the lens of Aristotelian and Thomistic philosophy, contrasting it with biological and scientific perspectives that often overlook the importance of form and final cause.

This lecture was given on September 14th, 2024, at Dominican House of Studies.

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About the Speaker:

Stephen Meredith (University of Chicago) is a professor of Pathology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Neurology. He is also an associate faculty member in the University of Chicago Divinity School. He has published more than 100 journal articles, focusing on the biophysics of protein structure. Much of his work has been the application of solution and solid-state NMR to the study of amyloid proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease. His teaching includes courses to graduate students in biochemistry and biophysics, medical students, and undergraduates and graduate students in the humanities, including courses on James Joyce’s Ulysses, St. Thomas Aquinas, Augustine, Dostoevsky (focusing on Brothers Karamazov), Thomas Mann and David Foster Wallace. He is currently working on a book examining disease and the theological problem of evil. Other current writing projects include a study of James Joyce and the problem of evil.

Keywords: Accidents and Essence, Aristotle's Four Causes, Biology and Definition of Human, Causality and Teleology, Ectogenesis and Transhumanism, Empiricism vs. Essence, Hylomorphism and Form, Rational Animal Definition, Soul as Form of Body, Thomas Aquinas's Angelology

Fr. Anselm Ramelow critically examines whether artificial intelligence can achieve personhood, arguing that machines lack the essential qualities of being, consciousness, and unity inherent to human nature.

This lecture was given on September 14th, 2024, at Dominican House of Studies.

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About the Speaker:

Fr. Anselm Ramelow, O.P., a native of Germany, teaches philosophy at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley, California, where he is also currently the chair of the philosophy department. He is also a member of the Core Doctoral Faculty at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and the Academy of Catholic Theology. He obtained his doctorate under Robert Spaemann in Munich on Leibniz and the Spanish Jesuits (Gott, Freiheit, Weltenwahl, Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1997) and did theological work on George Lindbeck and the question of a Thomist philosophy and theology of language. Areas of research and teaching include Free Will, the History of Philosophy and Philosophical Aesthetics. He has worked on a philosophical approach to Miracles and other topics of the philosophy of religion, and more recently the philosophy of technology.

Keywords: AI and Personhood Debate, Consciousness and Qualia, David Chalmers on Materialism, Human Unity in Consciousness, Immaterial Nature of Humans, Nagel’s What Is It Like to Be a Bat?, Reductionism in AI Ethics, Simulation vs. Reality in AI, Thomas Hobbes’ Materialism

Dr. Daniel De Haan examines the interplay between philosophical, theological, and scientific images of human persons, emphasizing their complementarity and addressing challenges posed by reductionist scientific perspectives.

This lecture was given on September 28th, 2023, at University of Edinburgh.

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About the Speaker:

Dr. Daniel De Haan is a Research Fellow of the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion at the Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Oxford. He is working on the Renewal of Natural Theology Project directed by Professor Alister McGrath. Before coming to Oxford, De Haan was a postdoctoral fellow in the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge working on the neuroscience strand of the Templeton World Charity Foundation Fellowships in Theology, Philosophy of Religion, and the Sciences Project, directed by Sarah Coakley. During this postdoctoral fellowship, he conducted research on the intersections of theology, philosophy, and neuroscience in Lisa Saksida’s Translational Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory in the Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge.

Keywords: Aristotelianism, Augustine’s De Trinitate, Catholic Anthropology, Divine Image, Human Dignity, Psychological Analogy of the Trinity, Rational Animals, Reductionism in Neuroscience, Scientific Challenges to Theology

Fr. John Mark Solitario explores the transformative power of grace offered by Christ, emphasizing the perfection of charity and voluntary poverty as a means to participate in divine goodness and a sure path to eternal life.

This lecture was given on July 10th, 2024, at Theodore House at Stonyhurst.

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About the Speaker:

Fr. John Mark Solitario, O.P. is a coordinator for campus outreach at the Thomistic Institute. He met the nuns and friars of the Order of Preachers at the Dominican Monastery of the Mother of God in his hometown of West Springfield, MA. Their lives of Christian totality, marked by sacrifice, prayer, and preaching but above all, a supernatural goodness and joy, made a huge impact on him. After studying the liberal arts and philosophy at Christendom College and teaching high school theology as a member of Providence College’s PACT program, Father entered the Dominican novitiate in Cincinnati, OH, and went on for theological studies at the Dominican House of Studies. Following the solemn profession of religious vows, he was ordained a priest of Jesus Christ in 2019. Focusing on the Universal Call to Holiness in the theology of the Spanish Dominican Juan Arintero, Fr John Mark earned his licentiate in sacred theology in 2020. He is delighted to be working with students and professors as they seek to know better the truth about God and his creation through the patronage of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Keywords: Abandonment of Riches, Evangelical Poverty, Grace and Divine Goodness, Incarnation Theology, Material Detachment, Perfection of Charity, Saint Augustine’s Eighty-Three Questions, Saint Jerome’s Commentary on Matthew, Voluntary Poverty, Way of Perfection

Fr. Dominic Legge explores the intricacies of the hypostatic union, focusing on Aquinas's understanding of how the divine and human natures are united in the person of Christ, while navigating various Christological heresies.

This lecture was given on February 24th, 2024, at Dominican House of Studies

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About the Speaker:

Fr. Dominic Legge is the Director of the Thomistic Institute and Associate Professor in Systematic Theology at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. He is an Ordinary Member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas, and holds a J.D. from Yale Law School, a Ph.L. from the School of Philosophy of the Catholic University of America, and a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. He entered the Order of Preachers in 2001, after having practiced constitutional law for several years as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice. He has also taught at The Catholic University of America Law School and at Providence College. He is the author of The Trinitarian Christology of St. Thomas Aquinas (Oxford University Press, 2017).

Keywords: Albert the Great, Christological Heresy, De Unione, Divine Nature, Ephesus, Hypostatic Union, Monophysitism, Nestorianism, Saint Thomas Aquinas

Professor Paul Gavrilyuk explores Cyril of Alexandria's Christology as a sustained meditation on majesty and lowliness, driven by the desire to probe the mystery of the hypostatic union in light of the Nestorian controversy.

This lecture was given on February 23rd, 2024, at Dominican House of Studies.

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About the Speaker:

Prof. Paul L. Gavrilyuk holds the Endowed Aquinas Chair in Theology and Philosophy in the Theology Department at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA (2013- present). His fields of expertise range from historical theology to philosophy of religion to ecumenical studies. He has contributed to the understanding of the early Christian doctrine of God, of modern Russian religious thought, and of Orthodox-Catholic dialogue. He is the founding president of the International Orthodox Theological Association and Rebuild Ukraine.

Keywords: Alexandria, Antioch, Christology, Cyril of Alexandria, Divine Impassibility, Hypostatic Union, Kenosis, Logos, Nestorius, Philippians 2:5-11

Fr. Khaled Anatolios argues that the Nicene Council and its doctrine of creation from nothing entail a comprehensive understanding of Christian existence, particularly as illuminated by Athanasius's "On the Incarnation," which configures human life within the dialectic of being and nothingness.

This lecture was given on February 8th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies.

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About the Speaker:

Fr. Khaled Anatolios is John A. O'Brien Professor of Theology at Notre Dame. He is interested in all aspects of the theology of the early Church, with special emphases on the Trinitarian, Christological, and soteriological doctrines of the Greek fathers and Augustine; early Christian biblical exegesis; and the development of theological methodology in Patristic and medieval theology. He has published on a variety of early Christian theologians including Irenaeus, Origen, Athanasius, Augustine, and Gregory of Nyssa. A particular focus of his work is the engagement between early Christian theological reflection and contemporary theological concerns.

Keywords: Saint Athanasius, Creation From Nothing, Existential Theology, Gabriel Marcel, Homoousios, Nicene Council, On The Incarnation, Theology, Word of God

Fr. Jordan Schmidt explores the concept of humans being created in God's image and likeness (Imago Dei) from a biblical perspective, particularly focusing on the Genesis creation account and St. Paul's teachings.

This lecture was given on November 7th, 2024, at University of South Florida.

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About the Speaker:

Fr. Jordan Schmidt graduated with a BA in English and Philosophy from St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN in 2002. He entered the Order of Preachers in 2005 and after completing his theological studies (STL and Mdiv), he was ordained a priest in 2012. Fr. Jordan initially served as associate pastor of St Mary’s parish in New Haven, CT, and subsequently returned to the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC to pursue doctoral studies at CUA, ultimately earning his PhD in biblical studies in 2018. He is currently an assistant professor of Sacred Scripture at the PFIC where he teaches various Old Testament courses, including survey courses on the Pentateuch, Prophets, and Wisdom literature as well as seminar courses on biblical inspiration, eschatology and apocalyptic literature, theological history, and creation theology.

Keywords: Ancient Near East, Creation, Genesis, Imago Dei, Jesus Christ, Original Sin, Saint Paul, Sacrifice, Worship

This lecture was given on February 9th, 2024, at Dominican House of Studies.

The speaker requests that anyone interested in a summary of this talk listen to the whole thing.

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About the Speaker:

Sr. Anna Wray, O.P. (Thomistic Institute) is a native of Connecticut and a member of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia. Sister received her PhD in philosophy from The Catholic University of America, having written her dissertation on Aristotle’s account of the activity of contemplation. Sister is on faculty in CUA's School of Philosophy.

Keywords: Aristotelian Contemplation, Aristotle’s De Anima, Contemplation, Fulfillment in Human Activity, Peripatetic Therapy, Saint Thomas Aquinas on Contemplation, Speculative Thinking vs. Practical Thinking, Therapeutic Philosophy, Virtue Ethics, Unmoved Mover

Fr. Irenaeus Dunlevy explores the meaning of loving God with all our minds, drawing from St. Thomas Aquinas's interpretation of the greatest commandment.

This lecture was given on April 9th, 2024, at the University of Pennsylvania.

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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: Analogical Predication, Articles of Faith, Deposit of Faith, Ignorance, Love of God, Saint Paul, Sacred Study, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Wounds of Original Sin

This lecture was given on November 15th, 2023, at Dominican House of Studies.

The speaker requests that anyone interested in a summary of this talk listen to the whole thing.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events

About the Speaker:

Sister Anna Wray is a native of Connecticut and a member of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia. Sister received her Ph.D. in philosophy from The Catholic University of America, having written her dissertation on Aristotle’s account of the activity of contemplation. Sister is on faculty in CUA's School of Philosophy.

Keywords: A.G. Sertillanges, Contemplation, Crucifixion of the Desk, Dominican Order, Prayer, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Spiritual Growth, Studying, Study and the Spiritual Life

Professor Rik Van Nieuwenhove explores Thomas Aquinas's concept of contemplation, emphasizing its intellective nature, self-transcendent character, and relationship to charity, while discussing its significance in modern life.

This lecture was given on November 28th, 2024, at University of St. Andrews.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events

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.

Keywords: Charity, Christian Love, Contemplation, Divine Names, Gratuitousness, Intellective Understanding, Modern Philosophy, Reason, Self-Transcendence, Thomas Aquinas