The Thomistic Institute

The Thomistic Institute
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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. St. Thomas Aquinas on Pleasure and the Good Life – Dr. Erik Dempsey

    7H AGO

    St. Thomas Aquinas on Pleasure and the Good Life – Dr. Erik Dempsey

    Dr. Erik Dempsey explains how St. Thomas Aquinas sees pleasure as a natural and God-given part of the good life, one that both signals our true human ends and yet must be disciplined by temperance in a fallen world. This lecture was given on December 4th, 2025, at Southern Methodist University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Professor Erik Dempsey an Associate Professor of Instruction in the Departments of Government, Classics, and Religious Studies, and is the Assistant Director of the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Study of Core Texts and Ideas. He has taught at the University of Texas at Austin for over ten years, during which time he has offered classes in the history of political philosophy, on the Bible and its interpreters, on American political thought, on classical philosophy and literature, and others. His favorite classes to teach are Jerusalem and Athens, a class comparing the political, moral, and theological ideas of the Hebrew Bible to Aristotle's, and the Question of Relativism, a class on what he considers the central quandary of our time. He writes primarily about Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas, and he is currently studying John Locke's commentaries on St. Paul's epistles. Last but not least, he is an Eagle Scout. Keywords: Asceticism and Grace, Desire, Natural Law, Original Sin, Pleasure and Temperance, Screwtape Letters, Virtue and the Good Life

    46 min
  2. Suffering and the Communion of Saints – Prof. Timothy O'Connor

    1D AGO

    Suffering and the Communion of Saints – Prof. Timothy O'Connor

    Prof. Timothy O’Connor examines why an all-loving, omnipotent God permits horrendous suffering and explores how, within a Christian framework, such evils can be “defeated” and taken up into the communion of saints as part of our eternal union with God. This lecture was given on December 3rd, 2025, at University of Scranton. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Tim O’Connor is the Mahlon Powell Professor of Philosophy and Cognitive Science at Indiana University, Bloomington. He has held research fellowships at the Universities of Oxford, St. Andrews, and Notre Dame. He specializes in metaphysics, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of religion. He has given 200+ lectures in 26 countries. He has written two books, one on free will and the other on God and ultimate explanation. He is currently co-writing a large and wide-ranging book entitled Human Persons: A Contemporary Philosophical-Scientific Synthesis. Having spent many years as an ecumenical Protestant, Tim was received back into the Catholic Church in February 2024. He has an apostolate to help Protestants better understand and be receptive to the fullness of Catholic faith. Keywords: Communion of Saints, Eleonore Stump, Horrendous Evil, Marylyn McCord Adams, Problem of Evil, Suffering and Divine Love, Theodicy, Union With God, Wandering in Darkness

    53 min
  3. Friendship: The Art of Striving and Thriving Together – Sr. Mary Madeline Todd, O.P.

    2D AGO

    Friendship: The Art of Striving and Thriving Together – Sr. Mary Madeline Todd, O.P.

    Sr. Mary Madeline Todd draws upon Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas, and friendship with Christ in order to show that sharing a common journey and life, together with mutual self-gift, turns everyday relationships into true, virtuous friendships that enable us not merely to survive but to thrive in happiness with God and one another. This lecture was given on November 27th, 2025, at Thomistic Institute in Limerick. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Sister Mary Madeline Todd, O.P., a Dominican Sister of the Congregation of Saint Cecilia, has spent over three decades joyfully living consecrated life and sharing the teaching ministry of Christ. After completing a master’s degree in English at the University of Memphis and in theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Sister was blessed to study in Rome, earning her doctorate in Sacred Theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. Sister Mary Madeline speaks and writes on spiritual and moral theology. She currently teaches theology at Aquinas College in Nashville, where she finds joy in helping the next generation discover the liberating freedom of who they are in Christ. Keywords: Aristotle on Friendship, Benevolence, Divine Friendship, Friendship, Mutuality, True and Virtuous Friendship, Willing the Good of the Other

    52 min
  4. Burnout Society – Dr. R.J. Snell

    5D AGO

    Burnout Society – Dr. R.J. Snell

    Dr. R. J. Snell analyzes our “burnout society” as an achievement-obsessed culture that drives people to anxiety, depression, and exhaustion by demanding endless self-optimization while starving them of leisure, contemplation, and a meaningful narrative for their lives. This lecture was given on December 8th, 2025, at University of Pennsylvania. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: R. J. Snell is Editor-in-Chief of Public Discourse and Director of Academic Programs at the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, NJ. He has been a visiting instructor at Princeton University, where he is also executive director of the Aquinas Institute for Catholic Life. He's written books and articles on Natural Law, Education, Bernard Lonergan, Boredom, Subjectivity, and Sexual Ethics for a variety of publications. Keywords: Achievement Society, Attention Economy, Burnout and Depression, Byung-Chul Han, Disenchantment and Meaning, Existential Poverty, Leisure and Contemplation, Sabbath Rest, Student Anxiety, Thin Soul

    50 min
  5. From the Dictatorship of Relativism to the Tyranny of Pathos – Dr. Kevin Kambo

    6D AGO

    From the Dictatorship of Relativism to the Tyranny of Pathos – Dr. Kevin Kambo

    Dr. Kevin Kambo argues that our culture has moved from a “dictatorship of relativism” to a “tyranny of pathos,” in which appeals to hurt feelings and empathy displace reasoned deliberation about truth, justice, and human nature. This lecture was given on October 23rd, 2025, at Fordham University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Kevin M. Kambo is an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Dallas in Irving, TX. Before completing his doctoral studies at the Catholic University of America, he earned a bachelor of science in Chemistry at Stanford University and worked as an intellectual property paralegal in Manhattan, NY. Dr. Kambo specialises in classical Greek philosophy, particularly on Platonic moral psychology and on the dramatic elements of Platonic dialogues. He also works on the reception of Platonic thought through history, from late antique (e.g., in Clement of Alexandria and Augustine of Hippo) through contemporary (e.g., W. E. B. Du Bois and Simone Weil) thinkers, and has broader scholarly interests in philosophy of technology, philosophy and literature (especially tragedy), philosophy of race, and liberal education. He is a partisan of the original Star Wars trilogy, P. G. Wodehouse, and receiving postcards--not necessarily in that order. Keywords: Aristotle and Logos, Benedict XVI Regensburg, Dictatorship of Relativism, Ethics and Politics, John Paul II, Nature and Human Flourishing, Politics of Pathos, Relativism and Tolerance, Tyranny of Pathos

    42 min
  6. Are Right and Wrong Just a Matter of Opinion? – Prof. Steven Jensen

    MAR 11

    Are Right and Wrong Just a Matter of Opinion? – Prof. Steven Jensen

    Prof. Steven Jensen argues that right and wrong are not just a matter of opinion by defending moral realism over moral relativism, showing that moral truths are grounded in human nature and goals rather than mere subjective attitudes. This lecture was given on November 13th, 2025, at Fordham University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Steven J Jensen holds the Bishop Nold Chair in Graduate Philosophy at the University of St. Thomas, Houston, where he 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. Keywords: Argument From Disagreement, Flat Earth Example, Human End and Purpose, Moral Objectivity, Moral Realism, Moral Relativism, Rationalization and Desire, Right and Wrong, Thomistic Moral Theory

    50 min
  7. Is the Church Anti-Capitalist? – Fr. Jacques-Benoît Rauscher, O.P.

    MAR 10

    Is the Church Anti-Capitalist? – Fr. Jacques-Benoît Rauscher, O.P.

    Fr. Jacques Benoit-Rauscher explores whether the Catholic Church is truly anti-capitalist by clarifying how Catholic social doctrine distinguishes legitimate market structures from the problematic “spirit of capitalism” and proposing a prudent, Thomistic way of living faithfully within contemporary economic systems. This lecture was given on October 30th, 2025, at University of Galway. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: A Dominican friar since 2010, Fr. Jacques-Benoît Rauscher, O.P. is Regent of Studies of the Province of France. He teaches moral theology at the Catholic University of Lyon. He is the author, among others, of Découvrez la Doctrine sociale de l’Église avant d’aller voter (Discover the Social Doctrine of the Church before Voting) (2022) and Des enseignants d’élite ? Sociologie des professeurs de classes préparatoires (Teaching Elite? Sociology of Teachers in Preparatory Classes at Grandes Écoles), published by Éditions du Cerf (2019). Keywords: Adam Smith, Catholic Social Doctrine, Common Good, Economics, Economy of Communion, John Paul II, Marxism, Pope Francis, Rerum Novarum, Spirit of Capitalism

    50 min
  8. Dante and Aquinas – Prof. George Corbett

    MAR 9

    Dante and Aquinas – Prof. George Corbett

    Prof. George Corbett examines how Dante’s vision of Christian wisdom, politics, and philosophy stands in deep harmony with Aquinas and Pope Leo XIII’s Leonine Thomistic revival, against Etienne Gilson’s charge that Dante shattered both Thomism and Christendom. This lecture was given on January 20th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: George Corbett is Professor of Theology at the University of St. Andrews, and the Director of Cephas (a Thomistic Centre for Philosophy and Scholastic Theology). He researches and teaches theology and the arts (with specialisms in Dante studies, sacred music, and theological aesthetics) and historical theology (with specialisms in medieval theology, Aquinas’s theology and its influence, and Catholic theology). His books include Dante’s Christian Ethics (2020), Dante and Epicurus (2013), and, as editor or co-editor, Vertical Readings in Dante’s ‘Comedy’ (2015-18), Annunciations: Sacred Music for the Twentieth-Century (2019), and Music and Spirituality: Theological Approaches, Empirical Methods, and Christian Worship (2024). Keywords: Aquinas and Dante, Catholic Political Thought, Christian Philosophy, Dante the Thomist, Etienne Gilson, Leonine Thomistic Revival, Philosophy and Theology, Pope Leo XIII, Thomism and Christendom

    50 min
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4.8
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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.

Information

  • Creator
    The Thomistic Institute
  • Years Active
    2014 - 2026
  • Episodes
    1.9K
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved 183125
  • Show Website
    The Thomistic Institute

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