The Thomistic Institute

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 December 9th, 2024, at Dominican House of Studies.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-eventsAbout the Speaker:Fr. Irenaeus Dunlevy was born in Columbus, Ohio and grew up in the southeast suburb of Canal Winchester. The youngest of four children, his parents would drive everyone on Sunday to Mass at St. Mary’s Church. However, after leaving the area for college, his family joined the parish of St. Patrick’s in Columbus. While home on Christmas and summer breaks, Fr. Irenaeus would join his family to hear the holy preaching of the friars. He received a Bachelor and Masters of Architecture from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and practiced for a religious architecture firm in the DC area. After meeting the student brothers and reading about the life of St. Dominic and

Sr. Anna Wray draws upon Dominican sources, such as St. Thomas Aquinas and A.G. Sertillanges, to explore the activity of studying and its connection to the spiritual life, emphasizing study's intellectual nature and its role in preparing us for contemplation and union with God.This lecture was given on November 15th, 2023, at Dominican House of Studies.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-eventsAbout 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-eventsAbout 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 Mediev

Fr. Ambrose Little explores the concept of praying always and becoming aware of God's constant presence in our lives, discussing biblical exhortations, patristic interpretations, and four ways God is present to us: by his presence, power, essence, and divine indwelling.This lecture was given on September 13th, 2024, at Duke University.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-eventsAbout 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 Conc

Prof. Francis Beckwith explores the arguments for moral relativism, particularly the argument from disagreement and the argument from tolerance, and offers critiques, emphasizing that disagreement does not necessarily entail relativism and highlighting the common moral ground underlying many disagreements.This lecture was given on October 9th, 2023, at University of Alabama at Birmingham.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-eventsAbout the Speaker:Francis J. Beckwith is Professor of Philosophy & Church-State Studies at Baylor University, where he also serves as Associate Directorof the Graduate Program in Philosophy. Among his over one dozen books are Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice (Cambridge University Press, 2007), Politics For Christians: Statecraft As Soulcraft (IVP, 2010), and Taking Rites Seriously: Law, Politics, and the Reasonableness of Faith (Cambridge University Press, 2015), winner of the American Academy of Religi

Prof. Michael Sirilla explains how faithful Catholics should approach problematic magisterial teaching with a disposition of respect while recognizing that, in rare instances, fraternal correction motivated by love is necessary when Church authorities promulgate errors that contradict established doctrine.This lecture was given on October 17th, 2024, at University of Florida.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-eventsAbout the Speaker:Michael Sirilla is a Professor of Dogmatic and Systematic Theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, where he has taught since 2001. His research has focused on ecclesiology and Aquinas’s theology of the episcopacy.  Archbishop Augustine Di Noia, OP wrote the foreword for his book, The Ideal Bishop: Aquinas’s Commentaries on the Pastoral Epistles (CUA Press, 2017).  His other research interests include natural theology, fundamental theology, and the theology of the Church’s magisterium.  He and his w

Prof. Francis Beckwith discusses moral relativism, presenting arguments for and against it, while emphasizing the importance of objective morality in the context of the Catholic intellectual tradition.This lecture was given on January 26th, 2024, at University of Miami.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-eventsAbout the Speaker:Francis J. Beckwith is is a philosopher who teaches, publishes, and speaks on a variety of topics and issues in ethics, law, politics, and religion. He is currently Professor of Philosophy & Church-State Studies, Affiliate Professor of Political Science, Associate Director of Graduate Studies in Philosophy, and Resident Scholar in the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University, where he has served on the faculty since 2003. He earned an Ph.D. and M.A. in philosophy from Fordham University, and a Master of Juridical Studies (M.J.S.) degree from the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, where he won the CALI Awa

Prof. John O'Callaghan discusses Aquinas's perspective on divine justice in the act of creation, emphasizing that it is primarily an act of justice of God towards Himself, reflecting His will, wisdom, and goodness.This lecture was given on October 18th, 2024, at Dominican House of Studies.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-eventsAbout the Speaker:Prof. John O'Callaghan is the Director Emeritus of the Jacques Maritain Center at the University of Notre Dame as well as a permanent member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas, appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. He served as the past President of the American Catholic Philosophical Association. His areas of scholarly interest include medieval philosophy, the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, and Thomistic metaphysics and ethics.Keywords: Aristotle, Augustine, Creation, Distributive Justice, Divine Justice, Divine Will, Justice, Metaphor, Natural Law, Summa Contra Gentiles

Fr. Gregory Pine discusses justice as a virtue that enables us to render to others what is due to them, exploring its characteristics of otherness, equality, and precision, while also acknowledging its limits and the need to go beyond justice in our relationships.This lecture was given on November 7th, 2024, at University of Tulsa.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-eventsAbout the Speaker:Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. is an instructor of dogmatic and moral theology at the Dominican House of Studies and an Assistant Director of the Thomistic Institute. He holds a doctorate from the University of Fribourg (Switzerland). He is the co-author of Credo: An RCIA Program and Marian Consecration with Aquinas as well as the author of Prudence: Choose Confidently, Live Boldly. His writing also appears in Aleteia,Magnificat, and Ascension’s Catholic Classics series. He is a regular contributor to the podcasts Pints with Aquinas, Catholic Classics, The Thomistic Institute, and Go

Dr. John Haldane examines the themes of evil and vice as portrayed in film and entertainment, utilizing philosophical concepts and specific examples like The Exorcist and Apocalypse Now, to analyze the ethical dimensions of these representations.This lecture was given on November 28th, 2024, at University of Edinburgh.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-eventsAbout the Speaker:John Haldane is the Newton Rayzor Sr Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Baylor University, Texas, and Professor of Moral Philosophy, and Senior Fellow of the Centre for Ethics and Public Affairs, at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. He is also Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and Chair of the Royal Institute of Philosophy, London. As well as his many philosophical writings, he has contributed to the Times and the Guardian, and broadcast often with the BBC UK and World, and ABC Australia. In 2016 he was named by Best Schools one of the ‘50 Most Influential Living Philos

Fr. Gregory Pine explores the virtue of prudence as practical wisdom, emphasizing its role in navigating human limitations, ordering practical life, and integrating intellect and appetite to achieve human flourishing.This lecture was given on March 12th, 2024, at Stanford University.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-eventsAbout 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: Appetites, Charity, Christian Virtues, Fortitude, Human Flourishing, Moral Virtues, Practical Reason, Prud

Professor Stephen Meredith explores the problem of evil, particularly in the context of disease, examining philosophical and theological perspectives, including those of Aquinas, Leibniz, and Voltaire, while also considering biological factors like genetics and evolution.This lecture was given on November 7th, 2024, at Indiana University.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-eventsAbout the Speaker:Stephen Meredith is a professor at the University of Chicago’s Departments 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. He has also published articles on literature and philosophy in diverse as

Professor Adam Eitel explores Thomas Aquinas's treatment of truthfulness and falsehood, discussing different types of lies, their motivations, and how they relate to charity and friendship with God, as well as forms of deception beyond speech, like hypocrisy and irony.This lecture was given on June 22nd, 2023, at Stonyhurst College.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-eventsAbout the Speaker:Prof. 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 Preacher, examines the need for gifts of the Holy Spirit in light of the elimin

Fr. Thomas Petri explicates St. Thomas Aquinas's understanding of God as ipsum esse subsistens (being itself), the source of all existence and goodness, and that evil is not a thing but an absence or deficiency of good within God's ultimate plan.This lecture was given on January 17th, 2025, at University of Michigan.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-eventsAbout the Speaker:Father Thomas Petri, O.P. is the President 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.Keywords: Aristotelianism, Causality, Evil, Free Will, Goodness, Ipsum Esse Subsistens, Pantheism, Summa Theologica, Suffering, Theology, Trinity

Professor Michael Krom evaluates the modern "Benedict Option" as a proposed Christian response to cultural decline, contrasting it with Saint Benedict’s historical withdrawal from Rome and analyzing its merits through Thomistic ethical frameworks governing obedience to authority and resistance to unjust laws.This lecture was given on November 8th, 2024, at Florida State University.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-eventsAbout the Speaker:Michael Krom started reading Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae shortly after his conversion at the end of college. Upon learning about Flannery O’Connor’s “hillbilly Thomist” habit of reading Aquinas every night, he started studying two articles a day and completed the Summa while in graduate school at Emory University. As a professor at Saint Vincent College, he saw the urgent need for collegians and seminarians to receive a solid foundation in Aquinas’s philosophical theology. In 2020, he published Justice and Charity: An Introduc

Fr. Bonaventure Chapman presents a philosophical exploration of ethics, drawing on Anscombe, Aristotle, and Aquinas to argue for moral absolutes grounded in human action itself, rather than solely relying on divine law.This lecture was given on October 5th, 2024, at Dominican House of Studies.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-eventsAbout the Speaker:Father Bonaventure Chapman, O.P. (Catholic University of America) was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. Father Bonaventure entered the Order of Preachers (Province of St. Joseph), in 2011 and was ordained a priest in 2017, having completed theology degrees at the Dominican House of Studies, as well as a Ph.L from The Catholic University of America. After teaching philosophy at Providence College, RI, he completed a Ph.D in philosophy at Catholic University in 2023 and joined the faculty of the School of Philosophy in Fall 2023. Father Bonaventure’s dissertation, “The Crusian Core of Kant’s Critical Project,” investi

Fr. Dominic Verner explores Aquinas' definition of honor as reverence exhibited in testimony to someone's excellence, explaining its importance for personal virtue, self-knowledge, friendship, and fostering a community that values true goodness.This lecture was given on March 9th, 2024, at Our Lady of Corpus Christi Retreat Center.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-eventsAbout the Speaker:Fr. Dominic Verner, O.P. (Providence College) after earning a B.S. in electrical engineering from Purdue University and an M.A. in philosophical studies from Mount St. Mary's University, Fr. Dominic Verner, O.P. entered the Order of Preachers and was ordained to the priesthood in 2016. He has an S.T.L. from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception and a Ph.D. in moral theology/Christian ethics from the University of Notre Dame, where he wrote his dissertation "Saving Honor: A Thomistic Ethics of Honor." He joined the Theology Faculty at Providence College as an Ass

Fr. Bonaventure Chapman analyzes the flaws in modern action theory, using Wittgenstein and Anscombe to argue against seeking intention in either physical or psychological states, and advocating instead for examining the description of intentional actions.This lecture was given on October 5th, 2024, at Dominican House of Studies.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-eventsAbout the Speaker:Father Bonaventure Chapman, O.P. (Catholic University of America) was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. Father Bonaventure entered the Order of Preachers (Province of St. Joseph), in 2011 and was ordained a priest in 2017, having completed theology degrees at the Dominican House of Studies, as well as a Ph.L from The Catholic University of America. After teaching philosophy at Providence College, RI, he completed a Ph.D in philosophy at Catholic University in 2023 and joined the faculty of the School of Philosophy in Fall 2023. Father Bonaventure’s dissertation, “The Crusian Core

Professor Michael Wahl discusses the Catholic Church's position on abortion, emphasizing the importance of both scientific and philosophical arguments in defending the pro-life stance.This lecture was given on May 5th, 2024, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.About the Speaker:Michael Wahl is Assistant Professor of Theology at Providence College. His research focuses on Catholic moral theology, Thomistic ethics, virtue theory, and moral development. His articles have been published in The Thomist, Nova et Vetera, and Philosophy, Theology, & the Sciences. He lives in Providence, RI with his wife and four young children.Keywords: Abortion Ethics, Catholic Church, Embryology, Fetal Development, Human Dignity, Natural Law, Personhood, Philosophy of Life, Pro-Life Arguments, Scientific Evidence

Professor Hochschild explores the question of whether trees have souls through the lens of Aristotelian biology, emphasizing the importance of empirical observation and questioning modern biology's approach.This lecture was given on September 13th, 2024, at University of North Florida.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 writin