The Thomistic Institute

The Thomistic Institute

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.

  1. The Measure of All Things? Rethinking Constants and Replicability in the Life Sciences – Prof. Santiago Schnell

    16 HR AGO

    The Measure of All Things? Rethinking Constants and Replicability in the Life Sciences – Prof. Santiago Schnell

    Prof. Santiago Schnell’s lecture examines the challenges of measurement, scientific constants, and replicability in the life sciences, highlighting how philosophical and mathematical models are crucial for advancing biological research. This lecture was given on July 19th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies. Will you hand on the Faith to those who need it the most? Give by October 31st to film the next season of Aquinas 101! https://aquinas101.thomisticinstitute.org/oct25podcast For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Santiago Schnell, is a Venezuelan-born mathematical biologist and academic leader known for his pioneering work in quantitative biology and enzyme kinetics, including the development of the Schnell-Mendoza equation. After earning his biology degree from Universidad Simón Bolívar and his doctorate at the University of Oxford, he held faculty positions at Indiana University and the University of Michigan, where he chaired the Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology. Since 2021, Schnell has served as the William K. Warren Foundation Dean of the College of Science at the University of Notre Dame, where he is also a professor of Biological Sciences and Applied & Computational Mathematics & Statistics. His research focuses on mathematical modeling of complex biomedical systems, and he is a fellow of the AAAS, Royal Society of Biology, and Royal Society of Chemistry. Keywords: Error Analysis, Enzyme Kinetics, Experimental Design, Mathematical Modeling, Measurement Uncertainty, Michaelis Constant, Philosophy Of Science, Replicability, Reproducibility Crisis, Standard Equation

    50 min
  2. Must Beautiful Things be Natural? – Prof. Raymond Hain

    8 OCT

    Must Beautiful Things be Natural? – Prof. Raymond Hain

    Prof. Raymond Hain examines whether beauty must be natural, exploring Thomistic metaphysics, twentieth-century debates between Maritain and Gilson, and contemporary examples from architecture and literature to probe the relationship between nature, artifice, and the beautiful. This lecture was given on May 31st, 2025, at Mount Saint Mary College. Will you hand on the Faith to those who need it the most? Give by October 31st to film the next season of Aquinas 101! https://aquinas101.thomisticinstitute.org/oct25podcast For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Raymond Hain is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Associate Director of the Humanities Program at Providence College in Providence, RI. Educated at Christendom College, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Oxford, he is the founder of the PC Humanities Forum and Humanities Reading Seminars and is responsible for the strategic development of the Humanities Program into a vibrant, world class center of teaching, research, and cultural life dedicated to the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. His scholarly interests include the history of ethics (especially St. Thomas Aquinas), applied ethics (especially medical ethics and the ethics of architecture), Alexis de Tocqueville, and philosophy and literature (especially Catholic aesthetics). His work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Templeton Foundation, the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, and the Charles Koch Foundation. His essays have appeared in various journals and collections including The Thomist, International Journal of Applied Philosophy, and The Anthem Companion to Tocqueville. He is the editor of Beyond the Self: Virtue Ethics and the Problem of Culture and is currently working on a monograph titled The Lover and the Prophet: An Essay in Catholic Aesthetics. He joined Providence College in 2011 and lives just across the street with his wife Dominique and their five children. Keywords: Aesthetics, Art and Imitation, Christopher Alexander, Clarity And Proportion, Creative Intuition, Etienne Gilson, Integration and Wholeness, Jacques Maritain, Smith of Wootton Major, Thomistic Metaphysics

    48 min
  3. Are Societies Natural? The Metaphysics of Thomistic Social Thought – Prof. Joshua Hochschild

    7 OCT

    Are Societies Natural? The Metaphysics of Thomistic Social Thought – Prof. Joshua Hochschild

    Prof. Joshua Hochschild examines whether societies are natural by tracing the Aristotelian and Thomistic understanding of social forms, arguing that certain social bodies like families and states have intrinsic natures and purposes that fulfill the social aspect of human flourishing. This lecture was given on May 31st, 2025, at Mount Saint Mary College. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: 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: Alasdair MacIntyre, Aristotelianism, Catholic Social Teaching, Civil Society, Common Good, Community, Corporate Personality, Moral Agency, Politics, Subsidiarity

    50 min

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About

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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