The Thomistic Institute

Sr. Jane Dominic Laurel explores the project of literature from the classical to the modern era, highlighting how stories like Anna Karenina shape the moral imagination through themes of virtue, marriage, culture, and the perennial question of what it means to be human. This lecture was given on March 11th, 2025, at Trinity College Dublin. Secular campuses are being transformed, but the students n...

Prof. Lee Oser explores the intertwined lives, faith journeys, and literary legacies of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and the Inklings, highlighting their countercultural Christian imagination against modernist trends. This lecture was given on November 22nd, 2024, at College of William and Mary. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the...

Fr. Isaac Morales and Prof. Michael Root explore how Thomas Aquinas’ biblical commentaries on Matthew and 1 Corinthians illuminate the beatific vision, resurrection, and the role of Scripture in shaping Christian life through literal and spiritual interpretation. This lecture was given on June 28th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies. Secular campuses are being transformed, but the students need...

Dr. Rebekah Lamb explores J.R.R. Tolkien’s “detached aesthetics,” revealing how his Christian understanding of spiritual detachment shapes his writing, especially in "The Lord of the Rings," as a means of cultivating hope, wonder, and a rightly ordered love for the world. This lecture was given on January 30th, 2025, at University of Edinburgh. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at...

Prof. Thomas Ward explores C. S. Lewis’s "The Abolition of Man", analyzing how technology’s conquest of nature risks diminishing humanity unless anchored by objective moral values. This lecture was given on April 8th, 2025, at Indiana University. Secular campuses are being transformed, but the students need your help! Your gift before September fifteenth can launch a new TI chapter and change live...

Prof. Christopher Malloy defends the Catholic understanding of Mary’s role in salvation history, refuting common objections and demonstrating how her divine maternity, perpetual virginity, and immaculate grace magnify rather than diminish the glory of Christ. This lecture was given on April 6th, 2025, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at th...

Prof. Christopher Mooney's lecture confronts the philosophical objection that heaven would be unbearably boring due to its infinite duration, arguing instead that Christian eternity is fulfilled in the beatific vision of God, which offers infinite and undiminished joy. This lecture was given on April 23rd, 2025, at Texas A&M University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thom...

Prof. Bruce Marshall presents a deep Catholic theological exploration of predestination, examining its biblical foundations, historical development, doctrinal boundaries, and the enduring tension between God’s sovereign will, grace, and human freedom. This lecture was given on October 6th, 2024, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisti...

Prof. Thomas Pfau offers an in-depth theological and philosophical analysis of Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, focusing on Ivan and Alyosha’s contrasting worldviews, the “Rebellion” and “Grand Inquisitor” chapters, and the novel’s profound exploration of freedom, suffering, and divine love. This lecture was given on January 31st, 2025, at University of Texas at Austin. For more information on...

Prof. Christopher Kaczor explores the relationship between positive psychology and Catholic theology, uncovering how empirical psychological findings on happiness align with and deepen spiritual practices like gratitude, service, and forgiveness. This lecture was given on February 15th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org...

Dr. Nathaniel Peters explores and compares the theological views of Martin Luther and Thomas Aquinas on justification, focusing on grace, faith, merit, and the fundamental differences shaping Catholic and Lutheran perspectives. This lecture was given on February 25th, 2025, at University of Virginia. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . Abou...

Fr. Cajetan Cuddy provides an in-depth exploration of charity as the highest theological virtue in the thought of Saint Thomas Aquinas, laying foundational principles for understanding just war, peace, and the ordered structure of the Christian moral life. This lecture was given on June 10th, 2024, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitu...

Dr. Erik Dempsey explores the positions of Martin Luther and Thomas Aquinas against Pelagianism, highlighting their shared rejection of justification by human effort and their nuanced theological differences on grace, merit, and free will. This lecture was given on March 18th, 2024, at Regent University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events ....

Fr. Dominic Legge delves into the philosophical and moral considerations that determine whether laws are truly just, highlighting the ongoing relevance of these questions in contemporary society. This lecture was given on March 26th, 2025, at Harvard University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speaker: Fr. Dominic Legge is the...

Prof. Matthew Shea examines the classic philosophical question “Can we be happy without God?” by analyzing historical and contemporary perspectives on happiness, ultimately contrasting the limitations of atheistic views with the theistic argument for true human fulfillment in God. This lecture was given on April 22nd, 2025, at Franciscan University of Steubenville. For more information on upcoming...

Prof. Timothy J. Pawl examines the nature, divisions, and cultivation of virtue, harmonizing Christian moral wisdom with contemporary psychological research and offering eight practical steps to growing in virtue. This lecture was given on April 24th, 2025, at North Dakota State University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Spea...

Prof. Thomas Ward explores the resurgence of Stoicism in modern culture and critically contrasts it with Christian philosophy, especially through the lens of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy , advocating for divine providence and the Christian virtues of hope and charity in place of Stoic apathy. This lecture was given on May 4th, 2025, at Stanford University. For more information on upcomi...

Prof. Raymond Hain examines the four cardinal virtues—prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance—tracing their philosophical and theological roots while exploring their essential role in living a morally excellent and flourishing human life. This lecture was given on March 27th, 2025, at University of Louisiana at Lafayette. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute...

Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P., delves into St. Augustine's understanding of love for "confused lovers," drawing from the Confessions to explore the transformative power of God's grace and the ordering of human loves toward divine union. This lecture was given on April 4th, 2025, at University of Wisconsin-Madison. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events...

Prof. Gina Noia explores the Catholic Church's nuanced teachings on birth control, responsible parenthood, and the moral distinctions between natural family planning, direct contraception, and sterilization, rooted in theological and philosophical reasoning. This lecture was given on October 1st, 2024, at North Carolina State University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomist...

Prof. Christopher Kaczor critically examines the ethics of abortion by exploring whether the unborn are alive and human, whether killing is justified, and whether bodily autonomy overrides other moral considerations. This lecture was given on April 14th, 2025, at Duke University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speaker: Dr. Ch...

Prof. Jordan Wales offers a theological critique of artificial intelligence, examining the limitations of computational and behaviorist definitions of intelligence and emphasizing the need for intentionality, interior experience, and a Christian understanding rooted in Augustine. This lecture was given on April 4th, 2024, at Hillsdale College. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at t...

Prof. Raymond Hain explores the Catholic imagination through the literary works of Flannery O'Connor and J.R.R. Tolkien, revealing how Catholic literature intertwines hope, redemption, and the complexities of faith in the face of suffering and beauty. This lecture was given on May 28th, 2025, at University of Washington. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/u...

Harvard astronomer Prof. Karin Öberg examines the compatibility of science and faith, addressing perceived conflicts through philosophical, doctrinal, psychological, and historical lenses while emphasizing Catholic intellectual tradition and the role of reason. This lecture was given on March 28th, 2025, at Ohio State University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstit...

Sr. Elinor Gardner explores the vocation of women as companion and mother, drawing on Edith Stein’s philosophy to highlight the natural ethos of femininity as a gift received from God, characterized by a unique capacity for nurturing and companionship that shapes both family and professional life. This lecture was given on February 22nd, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on...