The Thomistic Institute

Fr. Dominic Legge discusses the relationship between justice, law, and the concept of good. He explores Aquinas' sappiential approach, the metaphysical grounding of moral discourse, and understanding the common good. He also discusses the hierarchical ordering of loves and reformulating claims to subjective rights in terms of justice and the common good.

Prof. Mats Wahlberg discusses Aquinas' view on the justification of beliefs based on God's testimony. Topics include the role of faith and knowledge in Christian theology, different interpretations of Aquinas' view, and the justification of Christian beliefs through trustworthy testimony.

Prof. Joshua Hochschild, Professor of Philosophy, discusses the ontology of social evil, the influence of social structures on moral agency, types of justice, the impact of social evils on distributive justice, challenges in perceiving community and moral agency, and understanding systemic racism and its effects.

Professor Michael Gorman discusses Aquinas' views on guilt and concepts such as evil as privation, Poyna and colpa, voluntariness, moral goodness, culpable actions, causes of voluntary actions, and guilty feelings. The speaker explores the concepts of object and end, analyzes factors influencing culpable actions, evaluates actions on a sliding scale, and distinguishes essential and accidental qualities for a successful performance.

This lecture was given on June 3, 2023, at the 12th Annual Aquinas Philosophy Workshop at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, NY For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: V. Bradley Lewis is an associate professor in the School of Philosophy at Catholic University of America. He specializes in political and legal philosophy, especially that of the classical Greeks and in the Thomistic tradition, and is currently working on a book on the idea of the common good. In addition to these things he has served as a consultant on ethics to the federal government, testified before a congressional subcommittee about immigration, and currently serves as associate editor of the American Journal of Jurisprudence.

Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. and Prof. Thomas Osborne discuss sin, evil, and God's role in human suffering. They explore the metaphysics of sin, the book of Job's lessons on divine life and suffering, the greatness of goodness, and the University of St. Thomas's focus on Thomism and Catholic education.

Prof. Steven Jensen explores the difference between sin and punishment, the concept of evil and its divisions according to Aquinas, the distinction between sin and suffering, the nature of evil and the human will, the relationship between sin, evil, and the good of completion, the connection between neighbor, common good, and divine good, and the different orders of sin's opposition to good.

Prof. Candace Vogler discusses vice, sin, human acts, salvation, obligation, original sin, vices, and human fulfillment. She explores the concepts of sin, virtue, and the impact of original sin on morality. She also discusses the nature of obligation, grace, and the influence of Christianity in understanding human nature and vices. Additionally, she explores the concept of aligning oneself with the best order and the motivations behind the Virgin birth theory.

Prof. Thomas Osborne, a philosopher from the University of St. Thomas, explores God's permission of sin, the relationship between God and human free choice, and the dichotomy of justice and mercy in God. He also delves into theological perspectives on God's intention in relation to good and evil, as well as the connection between Christ's redemptive act, predestination, reprobation, and baptism. Lastly, he discusses God's permission of moral evil and the predictability of human actions.

Fr. James Brent, O.P. discusses the nature of evil according to St. Thomas Aquinas. Topics include the metaphysics of evil as privation, different interpretations of perfection, the concept of evil as absence of good, and debunking misconceptions about completely evil beings.