Podcast Episodes

Must Beautiful Things be Natural? – Prof. Raymond Hain

Season 12

Prof. Raymond Hain examines whether beauty must be natural, exploring Thomistic metaphysics, twentieth-century debates between Maritain and Gilson, and contemporary examples from architecture and lit…

Published on 4 weeks ago

Are Societies Natural? The Metaphysics of Thomistic Social Thought I Prof. Joshua Hochschild

Season 12

Prof. Joshua Hochschild examines whether societies are natural by tracing the Aristotelian and Thomistic understanding of social forms, arguing that certain social bodies like families and states hav…

Published on 4 weeks, 1 day ago

Are the Virtues Natural? I Fr. John Sica, O.P.

Season 12

Fr. John Sica explores whether virtues are natural by examining Aristotle and Aquinas, ultimately concluding that the virtues are not innate qualities, but are rather habituated character states that…

Published on 4 weeks, 2 days ago

From Nature to Norm: How to Derive 'Ought' From 'Is' I Prof. Catherine Peters

Season 12

Prof. Catherine Peters addresses the philosophical question of deriving moral ought from descriptive is, arguing from a Thomistic natural law perspective that the essence of human nature grounds obje…

Published on 1 month ago

The Natural and the Artificial I Prof. Christopher Frey

Season 12

Prof. Christopher Frey examines the distinctions and interactions between natural and artificial entities, showing how art can complete, imitate, or even subvert nature within Aristotelian and Thomis…

Published on 1 month ago

Nature's Cheat Codes? On the Course of Nature and its Laws I Prof. John G. Brungardt

Season 12

Prof. John Brungardt explores the concept of laws of nature as partial transcriptions of the natures of physical substances, emphasizing the interplay between philosophical tradition, scientific disc…

Published on 1 month ago

Aquinas on Nature and the Natural: Form and the Scale of 'Esse' I Fr. Raymund Snyder, O.P.

This lecture was given on May 29th, 2025, at Mount Saint Mary College.

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

About the Speakers:

Fr. Raymund Snyde…

Published on 1 month ago

Aquinas on Nature and the Natural: Endoxa and Principles I Fr. Raymund Snyder, O.P.

Season 12

Fr. Raymund Snyder explores the foundations of nature, natural philosophy, and metaphysics through a Thomistic lens, with special attention to Aristotelian principles, correlative pairs, and the inte…

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago

Usefulness and Elegance in Mathematics I Prof. Meraiah Martinez

Season 12

Prof. Meraiah Martinez explores the beauty and usefulness of mathematics, emphasizing the delight mathematicians find in elegant proofs, structured abstractions, and the interplay between pure and ap…

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago

How Planetary Science Unifies the Search for Life Beyond Earth I Prof. Jonathan I. Lunine

Season 12

Prof. Jonathan Lunine explains how planetary science unifies the search for life beyond Earth by integrating astronomy, geology, chemistry, and atmospheric science to investigate habitable environmen…

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago