Rational Mind and Non-Rational Agency: Aquinas' Augustinian Account of the Sinning Will & the Hierarchy of the Soul – Dr. Albert von Thurn und Taxis

Dr. Albert von Thurn und Taxis analyzes the Augustinian and Thomistic accounts of the rational mind, will, and the hierarchy of the soul, exploring how sin emerges from the complex interplay of reason, freedom, and non-rational agency.

This lecture was given on June 15th, 2025, at Schloss St. Emmeram.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speakers:

Dr. Albert von Thurn und Taxis is the twelfth Prince of Thurn und Taxis and the current head of the Princely House. Born in Regensburg in 1983, his academic career reflects a diverse range of studies across economics, theology, and philosophy.

Prince Albert completed his early education in Regensburg and at the German School in Rome. He went on to study economics and theology at the University of Edinburgh, graduating with a Master of Arts in 2008. He further honed his financial expertise by training as a chartered financial analyst in Zurich from 2008 to 2010. He later returned to Rome to pursue philosophy, earning a doctorate in 2022 from the Pontificia Universitas Studiorum a Sancto Thoma Aquinate in Urbe (Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas). His research interests touch on morality and agency, evident in his publication, "John Stuart Mill and the Criterion of Morality: The Good, the Self and the Other" (2011), and his Licentiate Thesis, "Triumph of the Will? Rationality and Freedom in Aquinas' Theory of Agency" (2014).

He is also a member of several other noble and religious orders, including the Royal Order of Saint George for the Defence of the Immaculate Conception (2005) and an honorary knight of the Sovereign Order of Malta (2010).

Keywords: Augustinian Voluntas, Freedom And Agency, Hierarchy Of The Soul, Imago Dei, Intellectual Appetite, Liberum Arbitrium, Moral Evil, Non-Rational Agency, Ordo Amoris, Voluntarism Debate