Campus Lectures Episodes

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Prof. Michael Dauphinais explores the realism of the biblical view of sex and marriage, analyzing cultural challenges, scriptural diagnoses, and the transformative power of radical trust in God’s plan for relationships. This lecture was given on February 10th, 2025, at Ohio State University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speaker: Michael A. Dauphinais, Ph.D., serves as the Fr. Matthew Lamb Professor ...

Prof. Michael Foley critically examines the authentic role of the humanities in the modern American university, contrasting the consumerist and human models of education while advocating for self-emptying, integrated knowledge, and the cultivation of wonder.

Prof. George Corbett explores the philosophical and theological foundations of beauty through Mozart’s music, highlighting the "pathway of beauty" as a means of encountering the divine and engaging culture.

Prof. Jan C. Bentz examines the nature of beauty, arguing that beauty is not merely subjective but possesses objective and transcendent qualities rooted in metaphysical, ethical, and theological traditions from Plato and Aristotle to Aquinas.