Philosophy Episodes

March 6, 2025

The Christian Tradition on the Virtue of Prudence | Fr. Gregory Pine,…

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.

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March 5, 2025

Disease and the Problem of Evil | Prof. Stephen Meredith

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...

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March 4, 2025

Put Away Falsehood | Prof. Adam Eitel

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...

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March 3, 2025

God and Suffering: How Could God Allow Evil? | Fr. Thomas Petri O.P.

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.

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Feb. 27, 2025

The Right Answers of Ethics | Fr. Bonaventure Chapman, O.P.

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.

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Feb. 26, 2025

Going for Glory: Seeking Honor Rightly | Fr. Dominic Verner, O.P.

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.

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Feb. 25, 2025

The Wrong Questions of Modern Action Theory | Fr. Bonaventure Chapman…

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 a...

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Feb. 24, 2025

Go and Do Likewise: The Saints as Models for Growth in Virtue | Prof.…

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.

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Feb. 21, 2025

Do Trees Have Souls? | Prof. Joshua Hochschild

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.

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Feb. 20, 2025

Do You Have a Soul? Are You Just a Cloud of Atoms? | Prof. Alexander …

Professor Pruss presents arguments against physicalist theories of mind, explores the challenges to biologism and functionalism, and discusses the possibility of consciousness in non-biological systems.

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Feb. 19, 2025

Neurobiology, Human Embodiment, and the Concept of Soul | Prof. Willi…

Professor William Hurlbut explores the relationship between neurobiology and the concept of the soul, examining the reductive scientific approach to life, the challenges posed by technology like large language models, cerebral organoids, and synthe...

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Feb. 18, 2025

Why Would a Biologist Believe in the Soul? | Prof. Jonathan Buttaci

Professor Jonathan Buttaci explores the concept of the soul as a biological principle, arguing for its relevance in scientific inquiry concerning living things, drawing from Aristotelian thought, and challenging the assumption that the soul is sole...

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Feb. 17, 2025

Evolution and the Soul | Prof. Christopher Baglow

Professor Christopher Baglow explores the compatibility of evolutionary science with Catholic faith, focusing on the role of chance and divine providence, and defending the unique creation of the human soul.

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Feb. 12, 2025

Marriage as Natural Community | Prof. Joshua Hochschild

Professor Joshua Hochschild connects Theology of the Body with Aristotelian philosophy, arguing that it supports the concept of marriage as a natural community amidst modern challenges from social contract theory and technology.

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Feb. 11, 2025

Affairs of the Heart: The Ethical Significance of Anger | Prof. Jenni…

Professor Jennifer Herdt examines the cognitive dimensions and ethical significance of anger, distinguishing human anger, linked to justice and reason, from animal anger, within an Aristotelian-Thomistic framework.

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