Philosophy Episodes

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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Feb. 5, 2025

Aquinas's Shortest Way to God’s Existence, and How Darwinism Fits Wit…

Fr. Stephen Brock explains Aquinas's Fifth Way, focusing on the governance of things and how natural bodies without cognition display goal-oriented activity, ultimately placing the Fifth Way into dialogue with Darwinism.

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Feb. 4, 2025

Is Atheism Rational? | Prof. John O'Callaghan

Professor John O'Callaghan argues that atheism is not inherently irrational, exploring its varied historical meanings and proposing that, while not necessarily true, it can be a rational pursuit driven by a desire for truth.

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Feb. 3, 2025

More than Spiritual: Proofs for the Existence of God | Prof. Joshua H…

Professor Joshua Hochschild argues that Aquinas' proofs for God's existence, specifically the first way, are simple, accessible, and not merely spiritual exercises, but rather starting points for a deeper understanding of God and the relationship b...

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Jan. 31, 2025

Divine Causality and Human Freedom | Prof. W. Matthews Grant

Professor Grant examines the traditional Christian doctrine of divine universal causality, exploring how God can be the cause of all things, including human free acts, and how this relates to our understanding of freedom and responsibility.

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Jan. 23, 2025

True Courage: On Facing Death with Fortitude | Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P.

Fr. Gregory Pine discusses the virtue of courage, exploring its complexities, its relationship to the passions, and its importance in living a complete and virtuous life.

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Jan. 22, 2025

What is the Separated Human Soul? Incomplete Person, Survivalism or C…

Professor Daniel De Haan explores the Thomistic debate surrounding the nature of the separated human soul after death, contrasting survivalism, corruptionism, and incompletionism to understand whether the soul retains personhood after death.

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Jan. 21, 2025

What Happens After Death? | Prof. Jeffrey Brower

Professor Jeffrey Brower explores Aquinas's view of human nature, contrasting it with materialism and substance dualism, focusing on the relationship between body and soul and what happens at death.

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Jan. 20, 2025

Politics and the Modern State: Understanding the Common Good | Prof. …

Professor Brad Lewis discusses the concept of the common good in politics, contrasting contemporary Catholic social teaching with Aquinas's view and addressing criticisms of both.

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Jan. 17, 2025

Bored to Tears: Confronting the Taedium Vitae with Thomas Aquinas | F…

Fr. Stewart Clem examines the concept of boredom ("taedium vitae") through the lens of Thomistic moral theology, defining it, exploring its subjective and objective dimensions, and distinguishing it from related concepts like sloth (acedia).

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Jan. 15, 2025

Augustine and the Quest for Self-Knowledge | Prof. Michael Foley

Prof. Michael Foley explores Saint Augustine's lifelong pursuit of self-knowledge, dividing it into intellectual, moral, and religious dimensions, each achieved through conversion and hindered by specific obstacles.

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Jan. 13, 2025

The Moral Life | Prof. Michael Krom

Professor Michael Krom discusses Aquinas's approach to the moral life, emphasizing the pursuit of the good and the integration of faith, hope, and charity, while also addressing moral relativism and the importance of objective moral principles.

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