Aquinas 101 - Course 2: Introduction to Thomistic Philosophy
The Thomistic Institute
This is the course listening for Aquinas 101 - Course 2: Introduction to Thomistic Philosophy--the second of six courses that together make up the Aquinas 101 Course. Each podcast episode accompanies a course video and course reading.
If you haven't enrolled already to receive semiweekly emails with all the materials, be sure to do so at http://www.aquinas101.com. Because it matters what you think!
If you haven't enrolled already to receive semiweekly emails with all the materials, be sure to do so at http://www.aquinas101.com. Because it matters what you think!
Episodes
Mentioned books
38 snips
Dec 2, 2019 • 57min
Episode 27 – What Are Virtues and Why Do We Need Them? | Fr. Michael Sherwin, O.P.
Why do we need virtues between our general powers and the choices we make in the moment? Through stories of a boy making lemonade, piano lessons, jazz, dance, and sports, this talk explores how practice and community shape moral action. It also examines Aquinas’s account of virtue, human flourishing, and the role of grace.
44 snips
Nov 27, 2019 • 46min
Episode 26 – Aquinas on Human Freedom and Free Will | Fr. James Brent, O.P.
What does it mean to be free? Explore Aquinas’s account of human choice, happiness, and the ways counterfeit goods and addictive habits can trap us. The discussion also visits intellect, conscience, prudence, and how repeated choices shape our character, drawing a contrast between lives formed by self-enslavement and lives shaped by love.
46 snips
Nov 25, 2019 • 42min
Episode 25 – Metaphysics and Goodness | Prof. Michael Gorman
Why is a squirrel’s tail part of what makes it a good squirrel? A lively tour of Aquinas’s view that goodness is tied to fulfilling a thing’s nature, while evil is a failure or lack. The discussion ranges from blood and broken veins to natural law, teleology, and how this approach differs from consequentialism.
4 snips
Nov 20, 2019 • 48min
Episode 24 – Aquinas and Realism | Prof. John Haldane
Course Listening for Lesson 24 - "Moderate Realism"
46 snips
Nov 18, 2019 • 31min
Episode 23 – Does Science Discredit Faith? | Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P.
Why do some scientific circles dismiss faith, and where do science and belief actually differ? The discussion explores Aquinas’s view of knowledge, modern science’s boundaries, testimony, and the three dimensions of faith, while touching on fundamentalism and the idea that faith and science engage reality in distinct ways.
39 snips
Nov 13, 2019 • 36min
Episode 22 – Thinking Like Angels - the Spark of Reason & the Fire of Intellectuality | Fr. Raymund Snyder, O.P.
What does it mean to think like an angel? Explore the striking contrast between angelic intellect and human minds that rely on the senses, images, and step-by-step reasoning. Along the way, discover how abstraction distinguishes us from animals, why first principles seem intuitive, and how humanity’s embodied nature can be both a limitation and a remarkable dignity.
50 snips
Nov 11, 2019 • 59min
Episode 21 – Analogical Naming of God in Aquinas | Fr. Thomas Joseph White, O.P.
Can we truly call God good, wise, or wise without reducing the divine to human terms? A close reading of Aquinas explores how we name God through creation, why our language is neither purely literal nor empty, and how analogy, negation, and divine transcendence fit together. The discussion also traces the biblical names of God from Exodus to Jesus.
56 snips
Nov 6, 2019 • 42min
Episode 20 – The Primary Being | Prof. Steven Long
A deep dive into Aristotle’s act and potency, and why being is spoken of in different ways rather than as one uniform concept. The discussion explores how finite things depend on a first cause, how creation relates to God, and why divine perfection is untouched by whether creatures exist.
24 snips
Nov 4, 2019 • 37min
Episode 19 – The Fifth Way | Fr. Steven Brock
Why do trees grow toward the light, and how can even an arrow’s aim reveal something about nature? This discussion explores the Fifth Way’s argument from natural tendencies, the difference between instinct and intellect, and whether purposeful activity points to a divine mind. Along the way: cypress trees, cow concepts, and a detour through poetry and robots.
30 snips
Oct 30, 2019 • 46min
Episode 18 – Causality According to the Aristotelian-Thomistic Perspective | Prof. Michael Gorman
Explore how Aristotelian-Thomistic philosophy differs from Hume’s account of causation, then unpack the four causes through examples ranging from footballs to cats. The discussion probes whether natural beings are more than arrangements of parts, what final causes mean in modern science, and how ordinary explanations lead toward the search for ultimate explanations.
