How the Highest of the Inanimate Touches the Lowest of the Living: A Contemporary Thomistic Approach – Fr. Thomas Davenport, O.P.

Fr. Thomas Davenport examines the philosophical and scientific boundaries between the inanimate and the living, highlighting how Thomistic principles, spontaneous generation, and structured homogeneity offer new ways to understand life’s emergence and complexity.This lecture was given on July 19th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.About the Speakers: Fr. Thomas Davenport, O.P., is professor of philosophy at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, where he teaches philosophy of nature and epistemology. He has written and spoken on the relationship of faith and science in a variety of venues, including being a main contributor to the Thomistic Evolution project. He was ordained to the priesthood in 2017 and is working on his second PhD in philosophy. Keywords: Abiogenesis, Aristotle’s Four Elements, Biological Complexity, David Oderberg, Emergence, Homogeneity, Integral Parts, Scala Natura, Spontaneous Generation, Structured Elementarity

Prof. Santiago Schnell’s lecture examines the challenges of measurement, scientific constants, and replicability in the life sciences, highlighting how philosophical and mathematical models are crucial for advancing biological research.This lecture was given on July 19th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies.Will you hand on the Faith to those who need it the most? Give by October 31st to film the next season of Aquinas 101! https://aquinas101.thomisticinstitute.org/oct25podcastFor more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.About the Speakers: Santiago Schnell, is a Venezuelan-born mathematical biologist and academic leader known for his pioneering work in quantitative biology and enzyme kinetics, including the development of the Schnell-Mendoza equation. After earning his biology degree from Universidad Simón Bolívar and his doctorate at the University of Oxford, he held faculty positions at Indiana University and the University of Michigan, where he chaired the Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology. Since 2021, Schnell has served as the William K. Warren Foundation Dean of the College of Science at the University of Notre Dame, where he is also a professor of Biological Sciences and Applied & Computational Mathematics & Statistics. His research focuses on mathematical modeling of complex biomedical systems, and he is a fellow of the AAAS, Royal Society of Biology, and Royal Society of Chemistry.Keywords: Error Analysis, Enzyme Kinetics, Experimental Design, Mathematical Modeling, Measurement Uncertainty, Michaelis Constant, Philosophy Of Science, Replicability, Reproducibility Crisis, Standard Equation

Prof. Keith Kozminski explores the plasma membrane’s evolving scientific understanding, highlighting its role as both boundary and bridge in cellular life through detailed analysis of structure, function, and paradigm shifts in biology.This lecture was given on July 19th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.About the Speakers: Keith Kozminski is an Associate Professor of Biology and Cell Biology at the University of Virginia, where he studies polarized cell growth, in particular the role of lipid transfer proteins in intracellular membrane trafficking and secretion. In addition, he conducts research in the field of synthetic biology, as applied to health and environmental sustainability. He leads the Mid-Atlantic Synthetic Biology Network comprised of academic, private sector, and government researchers from Georgia to Delaware, in addition to being the senior Features editor of Molecular Biology of the Cell, the research journal of the American Society of Cell Biology. He also co-founded the biotech company Ourobio in 2020.Keywords: Abbe’s Resolution Limit, Cell Biology, Compartmentalized Fluid Model, Electron Microscopy, Gordon Grendel Experiment, Lipid Bilayers, Membrane Transport, Phospholipids, Protein Structure, Singer Nicholson Model

Prof. John Cuddeback presents Thomistic wisdom for the pilgrimage to God emphasizing the importance of cleaving to the final end—God—as the ultimate rule and measure of all actions, fostering order and peace in the spiritual journey.This lecture was given on June 28th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies.Will you hand on the Faith to those who need it the most? Give by October 31st to film the next season of Aquinas 101! https://aquinas101.thomisticinstitute.org/oct25podcastFor more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.About the Speakers: John A. Cuddeback, PhD, is professor of Philosophy at Christendom College, where he has taught for thirty years. He lectures widely on topics including friendship, fatherhood, virtue, homesteading, and household. His professional writings appear in various academic journals and books, and his book True Friendship was republished by Ignatius Press. His podcasts, blogging, and courses at LifeCraft are renowned for applying a timeless wisdom to life today.Keywords: Blessed Columba Marmion, Divine Order, Final End, Holiness, Human Fulfillment, Rule Of Life, St. Catherine Of Siena, St. Thomas Aquinas, Spiritual and Material Goods, Wisdom

Prof. Paige Hochschild explores Thomistic wisdom for the pilgrimage to God, focusing on the virtues required for spiritual journey, the meanings of patience, hope, and memory, and the role of Dante’s Divine Comedy in illuminating the challenges and fulfillment of the pilgrim’s quest.This lecture was given on June 28th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.About the Speakers:Dr. Paige Hochschild is a professor of historical and systematic theology at Mount St. Mary's University (MD), specializing in Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and the early Church. She also teaches philosophy courses at the Seminary at Mount St. Mary's. She has written a book on the place of memory in Augustine's theological anthropology, and publishes on the Church, education, tradition, and 20th Century theological debates within the Church (scripture, history, marriage). Keywords: Contrition, Dante Alighieri, Divine Fulfillment, Fear and Faith, Fortitude, Homo Viator, Memory, Patience and Hope, Pope St. Gregory the Great, The Divine Comedy

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 literature to probe the relationship between nature, artifice, and the beautiful.This lecture was given on May 31st, 2025, at Mount Saint Mary College.Will you hand on the Faith to those who need it the most? Give by October 31st to film the next season of Aquinas 101! https://aquinas101.thomisticinstitute.org/oct25podcastFor more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.About the Speakers:Raymond Hain is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Associate Director of the Humanities Program at Providence College in Providence, RI. Educated at Christendom College, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Oxford, he is the founder of the PC Humanities Forum and Humanities Reading Seminars and is responsible for the strategic development of the Humanities Program into a vibrant, world class center of teaching, research, and cultural life dedicated to the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. His scholarly interests include the history of ethics (especially St. Thomas Aquinas), applied ethics (especially medical ethics and the ethics of architecture), Alexis de Tocqueville, and philosophy and literature (especially Catholic aesthetics). His work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Templeton Foundation, the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, and the Charles Koch Foundation. His essays have appeared in various journals and collections including The Thomist, International Journal of Applied Philosophy, and The Anthem Companion to Tocqueville. He is the editor of Beyond the Self: Virtue Ethics and the Problem of Culture and is currently working on a monograph titled The Lover and the Prophet: An Essay in Catholic Aesthetics. He joined Providence College in 2011 and lives just across the street with his wife Dominique and their five children.Keywords: Aesthetics, Art and Imitation, Christopher Alexander, Clarity And Proportion, Creative Intuition, Etienne Gilson, Integration and Wholeness, Jacques Maritain, Smith of Wootton Major, Thomistic Metaphysics

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 have intrinsic natures and purposes that fulfill the social aspect of human flourishing.This lecture was given on May 31st, 2025, at Mount Saint Mary College.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.About the Speakers:Joshua Hochschild is Professor of Philosophy at Mount St. Mary’s University, where he also served six years as the inaugural Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. His primary research is in medieval logic, metaphysics, and ethics, with broad interest in liberal education and the continuing relevance of the Catholic intellectual tradition. He is the author of The Semantics of Analogy: Rereading Cajetan’s De Nominum Analogia (2010), translator of Claude Panaccio’s Mental Language: From Plato to William of Ockham (2017), and co-author of A Mind at Peace: Reclaiming an Ordered Soul in the Age of Distraction (2017). His writing has appeared in First Things, Commonweal, Modern Age and the Wall Street Journal. For 2020-21 he served as President of the American Catholic Philosophical Association.Keywords: Alasdair MacIntyre, Aristotelianism, Catholic Social Teaching, Civil Society, Common Good, Community, Corporate Personality, Moral Agency, Politics, Subsidiarity

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 perfect human nature.This lecture was given on May 31st, 2025, at Mount Saint Mary College.Will you hand on the Faith to those who need it the most? Give by October 31st to film the next season of Aquinas 101! https://aquinas101.thomisticinstitute.org/oct25podcastFor more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.About the Speakers:Fr. John Sica, O.P. is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Providence College. KeywoAristotelianism, Ethics, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Habits And Dispositions, Human Flourishing, Metaphysics, Morality, Nicomachean Ethics, Rational Powers, Virtue Theory

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 objective moral norms, bridging fact and value through teleology and reason.This lecture was given on May 30th, 2025, at Mount Saint Mary College.Will you hand on the Faith to those who need it the most? Give by October 31st to film the next season of Aquinas 101! https://aquinas101.thomisticinstitute.org/oct25podcastFor more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.About the Speakers:Catherine Peters is an associate professor of medieval philosophy at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. Her work centers on issues of philosophical anthropology, metaphysics, and natural theology. She is passionate about translating medieval thought into modern terms and applying its insights to perennial questions such as “Who am I?” “What should I do?” and “Is there a God?” A frequent presenter in both the United States and Europe, her scholarship has been published in numerous volumes and journals, including The Thomist, New Blackfriars, National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, The Journal of Islamic Philosophy, European Journal for the Study of Thomas Aquinas, Lex Naturalis, and Jesuit Higher Education. When not in the classroom, she can often be found in local coffee shops, at the dog park, or in a HIIT class. Keywords: Anthropology, Eternal Law, Humean Empiricism, Law and Morality, Natural Law, Naturalistic Fallacy, Practical Reason, Rational Animal, Teleology, Treatise of Human Nature

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 Thomistic frameworks.This lecture was given on May 30th, 2025, at Mount Saint Mary College.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.About the Speakers: Christopher Frey is currently the McFarlin Professor of Philosophy at The University of Tulsa. Prof. Frey works primarily in Ancient Greek philosophy, especially Aristotle’s natural philosophy and metaphysics. He also works in contemporary philosophy of perception and mind and has written extensively on the relationship between the intentionality and phenomenality of perceptual experience.Keywords: Agriculture, Anthropocentrism, Aristotelianism, City-Building, Completion of Nature, External Principle, Homonymy, Natural Substance, Republic, Techne