The Thomistic Institute

Prudence The Forgotten Queen | Prof. John Cuddeback

Professor John Cuddeback (Christendom College) is professor of Philosophy at Christendom College, where he has taught for twenty-five years. He lectures widely on topics including virtue, fatherhood, friendship, and household, and his professional writings appear in various academic journals and books. His book True Friendship was republished by Ignatius Press. His blogging at LifeCraft is renowned for applying an ancient wisdom to life today.

The Cardinal Virtues | Prof. Patrick Callahan

Patrick Callahan is director of the Newman Institute for Catholic Thought & Culture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as well as Assistant Professor of English & Humanities at St. Gregory the Great Seminary. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Dallas and his graduate work at Fordham University in Classical Philology. While his doctoral work focused on ancient Greek commentaries to the lyric poet Pindar, his recent work focuses on early Jesuit Latin texts.

Saint Thomas And The Acquired Virtues | Prof. Candace Vogler

Candace Vogler is the David B. and Clara E. Stern Professor of Philosophy and Professor in the College at the University of Chicago, and Principal Investigator on "Virtue, Happiness, and the Meaning of Life," a project funded by the John Templeton Foundation. She has authored two books, John Stuart Mill's Deliberative Landscape: An Essay in Moral Psychology (Routledge, 2001) and Reasonably Vicious (Harvard University Press, 2002), and essays in ethics, social and political philosophy, philosophy...

Is Certainty Possible in Science? | Dr. Brian Carl

Brian T. Carl earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy from The Catholic University of America. He is an assistant professor at the Center for Thomistic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. His research focuses on Thomistic metaphysics, philosophical theology, cognitive theory, and moral psychology.

Are Quality of Life Judgments Ethical? | Prof. Gina Noia

Gina Maria Noia, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Theology at Providence College. She received her Ph.D. in Theology and Health Care Ethics from Saint Louis University. She has served as a clinical ethicist for OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, IL and St. Alexius Hospital in St. Louis, MO, and she is published in Christian Bioethics and the Journal of Moral Theology. Outside of academia, you’ll find her spending time outdoors with her (philosopher) husband, Justin Noia, PhD, and their...

Helping Patients Who Are Dying Or Helping Patients To Die? | Prof. Farr Curlin

Farr Curlin is the Josiah C. Trent Professor of Medical Humanities and CoDirector of the Theology, Medicine, and Culture Initiative (TMC) at Duke University. Dr. Curlin’s ethics scholarship takes up moral questions that are raised by religionassociated differences in physicians’ practices. He is an active palliative medicine physician and holds appointments in both the School of Medicine and the Divinity School, where he is working with colleagues to develop a new interdisciplinary community of ...

Going Deeper Than Darwin God And Biological Evolution | Prof. Chris Baglow

Christopher T. Baglow is the director of the Science and Religion Initiative in the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, where he also serves as Professor of the Practice in the theology department. He is the author of the textbook Faith, Science, & Reason: Theology on the Cutting Edge (2nd ed., Midwest Theological Forum, 2019) and his work has been featured by the Word on Fire Institute and in That Man is You, Crux, Notre Dame Magazine and Church Life Journal. ...

Overcoming The Science And Religion Divide | Prof. Karin Oberg

Discovering Wisdom: A Journey with Edith Stein w/ Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. and Prof. Catherine Pakaluk

Join Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. of Aquinas 101, Godsplaining, and Pints with Aquinas for an off-campus conversation with Prof. Catherine Pakaluk about the philosophy of Edith Stein (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross). Learn how she inspired Prof. Pakaluk and why her work matters today! Discovering Wisdom: A Journey with Edith Stein w/ Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. and Prof. Catherine Pakaluk (Off-Campus Conversations) You can listen to more from Prof. Pakaluk here: on.soundcloud.com/JMU9u About the speaker...

Dumb Ox to Angelic Doctor: The Life and Works of St. Thomas Aquinas | Fr. Conor McDonough, OP

This lecture was given on June 16th, 2023, at Glencomeragh House, Ireland. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events Fr. Conor McDonough, O.P. (Dominican House of Studies, Dublin) is a Dominican friar from Galway. He studied science and theology at the University of Cambridge and taught theology at secondary school before joining the Dominicans in 2009. He was ordained priest in 2016 and undertook further studies in theology at the University of ...

What is Freewill? And Do We Have It? | Prof. Paul Symington

This lecture was given on November 18th, 2023, at University of South Florida. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the speaker: Professor Paul Symington graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Philosophy and Religion from Roberts Wesleyan College in 1998. He received an M.A. in Theology from Northeastern Seminary in 2001 and an M.A. in Philosophy from Boston College in 2004. He graduated from the State University of New York at Buffa...

What We Owe to God and Country: Romans 13 | Prof. Erik Dempsey

This lecture was given on November 7th, 2023, at University of North Texas. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Erik Dempsey (PhD, Boston College) is the Assistant Director of UT's Thomas Jefferson for the Study of Core Texts and Ideas. He completed his doctorate at Boston College in June 2007. He is interested in understanding human virtue, and the proper place of politics in a well-lived human life, the different ways i...

Religious Liberty And The Human Good | Robert P. George

This lecture was given on September 28th, 2023, at Georgetown University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the speaker: Robert P. George is the sixth McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, a program founded under his leadership in 2000. George has frequently been a Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School. Born on July 10, 1955, Rob...

Accessing Aquinas' Account of Acedia: Can We Choose Joy? | Sr. Anna Wray, O.P.

This lecture was given on February 23rd, 2024, at Ave Maria University. 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 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...

Is There Always a Right Choice? Conscience, Prudence, and Natural Law |Prof. Joshua Hochschild

This lecture was given on June 21st, 2023, at Stonyhust College. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events Prof. Joshua Hochschild (Mount St. Mary’s University) is Professor of Philosophy and Director of Philosophy, Politics and Economics. 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 rel...

Who Gets to Judge?: Answering Objections to Truth in Morality | Professor Joshua Hochschild

Prof. Joshua Hochschild (Mount St. Mary’s University) is Professor of Philosophy and Director of Philosophy, Politics and Economics. 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 Cl...

The Gift Of Fear | Prof. Adam Eitel

Dr. Adam Eitel (Yale Divinity School) holds appointments in the Divinity School, the Program in Medieval Studies, and the Humanities Program. His research and teaching bring topics in the history of Christian theology to bear on questions of fundamental moral concern. A specialist in medieval scholasticism, his particular research interests span doctrinal and moral theology, especially in the works of Thomas Aquinas and his contemporaries. His first book, Thomas Aquinas and the Invention of the ...

Making Sense of Balderdash w/ Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. & Sr. Anna Wray, O.P.

Balderdash: what is it, exactly? Why do we tolerate balderdash? How can we reduce it? Join Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. of Aquinas 101, Godsplaining, and Pints with Aquinas for an off-campus conversation with Sr. Anna Wray, O.P. about her latest Thomistic Institute lecture, "Balderdash: What It Is, Why We Tolerate It, and How We Can Reduce It." Making Sense of Balderdash w/ Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. & Sr. Anna Wray, O.P. (Off-Campus Conversations) You can listen to the original lecture here: https://...

Humility & Pride | Prof. Adam Eitel

Dr. Adam Eitel (Yale Divinity School) holds appointments in the Divinity School, the Program in Medieval Studies, and the Humanities Program. His research and teaching bring topics in the history of Christian theology to bear on questions of fundamental moral concern. A specialist in medieval scholasticism, his particular research interests span doctrinal and moral theology, especially in the works of Thomas Aquinas and his contemporaries. His first book, Thomas Aquinas and the Invention of the ...

Common Good Politics an Intellectual Retreat | Fr. Dominic Legge

Seminars and discussions on themes surrounding the common good and spiritual conferences framed by the traditional elements of a retreat (Mass, adoration, the Divine Office, etc.).

The Power of the Love of God: Providence and Predestination | Prof. Corey Barnes

The Power of the Love of God: Providence and Predestination | Prof. Corey Barnes by The Thomistic Institute

The Priest As Sinner In The Thought Of Augustine | Fr. Robert Dodaro

Fr. Robert Dodaro, O.S.A. (Patristic Institute) is the president of the Patristic Institute in Rome, where he is also a professor. In addition, he is professor of patristic theology in the Pontifical Lateran University. He is the author of Christ and the Just Society in the Thought of Augustine, and co-edited Augustine: Political Writings and also Augustine and his Critics. He also serves as the Co-editor-in-Chief of the Augustinus-Lexikon.

Is Lying Always Wrong? | Fr. Gregory Pine

Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. is a doctoral student in Christology at the University of Fribourg. He serves as the Assistant Director for Campus Outreach with the Thomistic Institute in Washington, DC. Prior to the TI, he was 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 graduat...

Is Masculinity Toxic? A Thomistic Perspective on Marriage | Prof. John Cuddleback

John A. Cuddeback is professor of Philosophy at Christendom College, where he has taught for twenty-five years. He lectures widely on topics including virtue, fatherhood, friendship, and household, and his professional writings appear in various academic journals and books.

The Search for Life Beyond Earth| Prof Jonathan Lunine

Jonathan Lunine is the David C. Duncan Professor in the Physical Sciences and Chair of the Department of Astronomy at Cornell University. Lunine is interested in how planets form and evolve, what processes maintain and establish habitability, and what kinds of exotic environments (methane lakes, etc.) might host a kind of chemistry sophisticated enough to be called "life". He pursues these interests through theoretical modeling and participation in spacecraft missions. He works with data from th...

Rethinking Economic Equality: A Thomistic Perspective I Professor Mary Hirschfeld

Mary Hirschfeld is Associate Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. Before joining the faculty at Notre Dame, Mary Hirschfeld was Associate Professor of Economics and Theology in the Department of Humanities at Villanova University where she regularly taught the Humanities gateways Society and God, and honors ACS seminars (ancients and moderns). She completed a Ph.D. in economics (Harvard University) under the direction of Lawrence Summers and Jeffrey Williamson, and a Ph.D. in M...

Aquinas on Reason and Emotion | Professor Michael Gorman

Michael Gorman is professor of philosophy at The Catholic University of America. He has doctorates in philosophy and theology. He has authored over thirty academic papers and a book entitled Aquinas on the Metaphysics of the Hypostatic Union (Cambridge University Press, 2017). His main interests are metaphysics, human nature, and ethics.

Friendship with God and Others | Professor Adam Eitel

Professor Eitel is Associate Professor of Theology at the University of Dallas. Before joining the UD faculty in 2023, he taught for eight years at Yale University, where he held appointments in the Divinity School, the Program in Medieval Studies, and the Humanities Program. His research and teaching bring topics in the history of Christian theology to bear on questions of fundamental moral concern. A specialist in medieval scholasticism, his particular research interests span topics in doctrin...

Does Evil Disprove God? w/ Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. & Prof. W. Matthews Grant

Does evil disprove God? Join Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. of Aquinas 101, Godsplaining, and Pints with Aquinas for an off-campus conversation with Prof. W. Matthews Grant about his latest Thomistic Institute lecture, "Does Evil Disprove God?" Does Evil Disprove God? w/ Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. & Prof. W. Matthews Grant (Off-Campus Conversations) You can listen to the original lecture here: https://on.soundcloud.com/afxYp About the speaker: W. Matthews Grant is Professor of Philosophy at University o...

The Beautiful and the Sublime: How to Make Art that Leads to God | Professor Patrick Callahan

This lecture was given on October 10th, 2023, at The Ohio State 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 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as well as Assistant Professor of English & Humanities at St. Gregory the Great Seminary. While his doctoral work focused on ancient Greek commentaries to the lyric poet Pindar, his r...