The Thomistic Institute exists to promote Catholic truth in our contemporary world by strengthening the intellectual formation of Christians at universities, in...
Creation and Big Bang Cosmology | Prof. Karin Öberg
This lecture was given on February 15th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.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.
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Should Catholics Run (Away) From Secular Politics? | Fr. John Harris, O.P.
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.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.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
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A Neurologist's Reflections on Human Dignity and Suffering | Dr. Paul LaPenna
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.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.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
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Famine, Affluence, and Aquinas | Prof. Marshall Bierson
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.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.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
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Making Up What is Lacking: Disability and Suffering in Christ's Body, the Church | Prof. Paul Gondreau
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.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.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
The Thomistic Institute exists to promote Catholic truth in our contemporary world by strengthening the intellectual formation of Christians at universities, in the Church, and in the wider public square. The thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Universal Doctor of the Church, is our touchstone.
The Thomistic Institute Podcast features the lectures and talks from our conferences, campus chapters events, intellectual retreats, livestream events, and much more.
Founded in 2009, the Thomistic Institute is part of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC.
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