Reading Romans with St. Thomas Aquinas (February 5-7, 2009)

The good people at the Aquinas Center for Theological Renewal at Ave Maria University are at it again. Every other year they put on a conference devoted directly to theological themes in Aquinas, while in the interceding year they have a conference on some feature of Catholic doctrine and practice. This year they are holding a conference on Aquinas's commentary on the Letter to the Romans, from February 5-7, 2009 (need the text of Thomas's commentary on Romans? Click here). The conference, entitled "Reading Romans with St. Thomas Aquinas: Ecumenical Explorations," brings together the following ecumenical cast of speakers:

  • Bernhard Blankenhorn, OP
  • Markus Bockmuehl
  • Hans Boersma
  • John Boyle
  • Edgardo Colon-Emeric
  • Holly Taylor Coolman
  • Adam Cooper
  • Scott Hahn
  • Mary Healy
  • Paul Keller, OP
  • Matthew L. Lamb
  • Matthew Levering
  • Bruce Marshall
  • Emmanuel Perrier, OP
  • Charles Raith
  • Patrick Henry Reardon
  • Michael Root
  • Michael Sherwin, OP
  • Gregory Vall
  • Geoffrey Wainwright
  • Michael Waldstein
  • Robert Louis Wilken
  • David S. Yeago

You can download the general conference flyer (PDF), and the conference registration (PDF). Register early, they say, because space is limited.

On a personal note, I have gone to all the Aquinas-specific conferences save the first, and have found them all to be profoundly informative. In a time when both travel budgets and time are tight, this is my only "can't miss" conference every year, topping even Kalamazoo. And the new digs at Ave Maria University form a lovely conference space—especially in early February!

Comment

Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is an associate professor of Theology at Marquette University, and founded thomistica.net on Squarespace in November of 2004. He studied with James Weisheipl, Leonard Boyle, Walter Principe, and Lawrence Dewan, at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto, Canada).

2008 Conway Lectures at Notre Dame (September 18, 23, and 25)

This in from Roberta Baranowski (Asst. Director, Medieval Institute, University of Notre Dame): The Medieval Institute will host Jonathan Riley-Smith, the distinguished historian of the Crusades, who will give three lectures on the subject of “The Templars and the Hospitallers as Professed Religious in the Holy Land, 1120-1291.” The three segments are entitled: “Ethos,” “Community,” and “Governance.”

Each lecture will take place at 5 p.m. at the Eck Visitors Center on the Notre Dame campus. All are free and open to the public. You are warmly welcome to attend.

If further information is needed, contact her by e-mail (rbaranow@nd.edu) or phone (574-631-8304).

Comment

Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is an associate professor of Theology at Marquette University, and founded thomistica.net on Squarespace in November of 2004. He studied with James Weisheipl, Leonard Boyle, Walter Principe, and Lawrence Dewan, at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto, Canada).

The University of Toronto Colloquium in Mediaeval Philosophy 2008

(This just in from Toronto): On 19-20 September 2008 the University of Toronto will be hosting its annual Colloquium in Mediaeval Philosophy. Everyone is welcome! Here is this year's schedule of events:

19 September 2008, Session 1 (4:30 - 6:30):

Chair: Cristina Van Dyke (Calvin College)
Speaker: Robert Pasnau (University of Colorado at Boulder): "The Scholastics and Secondary Qualities"
Commentator: Jean-Luc Solere

6:30 Reception, PIMS Common Room [59 Queen's Park Crescent East]

20 September 2008, Session 2 (10:00 - 12:00):

Chair: Kara Richardson (University of Syracuse)
Speaker: Therese-Anne Druart (Catholic University of America): "Avicenna and Duns Scotus"
Commentator: Robert Wisnovsky (McGill University)

20 September 2008, Session 3 (2:30 - 4:30):

Chair: Jeff Brower (Purdue University)
Speaker: Cecilia Trifogli (All Souls College / Oxford): "Thomas Wylton on Final Causality"
Commentator: Edith Sylla (North Carolina State University)

7:00 Conference Dinner (registration required)


All sessions will be held in Room 301 of the Lillian Massey Building (Centre for Medieval Studies) at 125 Queen's Park on the St. George campus of the University of Toronto, and are free and open to the public.

<If> you plan to attend please let us know—medieval.philosophy@utoronto.ca—and be sure to let us know if you intend to participate in the conference dinner! The colloquium is sponsored by the Department of Philosophy, Department of Classics, the Centre for Medieval Studies of the University of Toronto, and the Canada Research Chair program of the Canadian government.

Comment

Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is an associate professor of Theology at Marquette University, and founded thomistica.net on Squarespace in November of 2004. He studied with James Weisheipl, Leonard Boyle, Walter Principe, and Lawrence Dewan, at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto, Canada).

Ethics of organ transplantation conference at University of St Thomas (Houston)

The Center for Thomistic Studies is sponsoring a conference on the ethics of organ transplantation (March 27–29, 2009). The mini-site for the conference has the following description:

The Ethics of Organ Transplantation, an interdisciplinary conference on medical and philosophical issues surrounding organ transplantation, will bring together experts from a variety of fields, such as philosophy, theology, and medicine. The conference seeks a coherent vision that promotes healing united with a respect for the dignity of each individual.

Keynote speakers include:

  • D. Alan Shewmon, M.D., Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
    Topic: Brain Death
  • Janet Smith, Ph.D., Fr. Michael J. McGivney Chair of Life Issues, Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit, MI
    Topic: The Ethics of Ova Donation for Stem Cell Research
  • A.A. Howsepian, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Psychiatry, Veterans Administration Central California Health Care System, Fresno, CA
    Topic: Organ Transplantation and Anencephalic Infants
  • Christopher Kaczor, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Philosophy, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA
    Topic: Organ Donations after Cardiac Death

It is possible to submit a paper for inclusion in the conference, responding to the call for papers. Papers will be accepted as they are received, preference given to earlier submissions, with a final deadline of January 1, 2009.

Comment

Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is an associate professor of Theology at Marquette University, and founded thomistica.net on Squarespace in November of 2004. He studied with James Weisheipl, Leonard Boyle, Walter Principe, and Lawrence Dewan, at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto, Canada).

A Conference about MacIntyre in Indiana

The International Society for MacIntyrean Philosophy is holding its second annual conference at Saint Meinrad’s in Indiana, from July 30 through August 3, 2008. The topic is: “Theory, Practice, and Tradition: Human Rationality in Pursuit of the Good Life.” You can see the conference’s dense schedule here (DOC format).

1 Comment

Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is an associate professor of Theology at Marquette University, and founded thomistica.net on Squarespace in November of 2004. He studied with James Weisheipl, Leonard Boyle, Walter Principe, and Lawrence Dewan, at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto, Canada).

SIEPM colloquium at Notre Dame (October 8-10, 2008)

With thanks to Roberta Baranowski at the Medieval Institute at Notre Dame, news of an upcoming colloquium: "Philosophy and Theology in the Studia of the Religious Orders and at the Papal Court," to be held at the University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, Indiana), October 8-11, 2008. The colloquium is actually put on by the Société Internationale pour l'Étude de la Philosophie Médiévale (SIEPM), to mark its 50th anniversary. The description of the colloquium:

The XVth Colloquium of the Société Internationale pour l'Étude de la Philosophie Médiévale (SIEPM), which will mark the 50th anniversary of the Société, will take place at the University of Notre Dame on Wednesday, October 8 through Friday, October 10, 2008. The Colloquium, organized by Kent Emery, Jr. (Notre Dame) assisted by William J. Courtenay (Madison, Wisconsin), will focus on the particularities of the teaching of philosophy and theology in the studia of the mendicant (Augustinian, Carmelite, Dominican, Franciscan) and monastic (Benedictine, Cistercian) orders and at the theological schools at the Papal Court (notably at Avignon) as distinct from instruction in the faculties of the university proper.

More about it here, with a PDF file containing its entire program here.

To whet your appetite, the speakers at the conference are:

  • Fabrizio Amerini (Parma)
  • Luca Bianchi (Vercelli)
  • Alain Boureau (Paris)
  • Stephen F. Brown (Boston)
  • Julie Casteigt (Toulouse)
  • Amos Corbini (Torino)
  • Russell Friedman (Leuven)
  • Hester Gelber (Palo Alto, California)
  • Joseph W. Goering (Toronto)
  • Wouter Goris (Amsterdam)
  • Guy Guldentops (Köln)
  • Jacqueline Hamesse (Louvain-La-Neuve)
  • Maarten Hoenen (Freiburg Im Breisgau)
  • Alfonso Maierù (Roma)
  • Michèle Mulchahey (Toronto)
  • Lauge Nielsen (København)
  • Patrick Nold (Albany)
  • Adriano Oliva, O.P. (Paris)
  • Alessandro Palazzo (Lecce)
  • Georgio Pini (The Bronx, New York)
  • Sylvain Piron (Paris)
  • François-Xavier Putallaz (Fribourg, Suisse)
  • Christopher Schabel (Nicosia)
  • Neslihan Senocak (New York)
  • Thomas Sullivan, O.S.B. (Conception Abbey, Missouri)
  • Christian Trottmann (Dijon-Paris-Tours)
Comment

Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is an associate professor of Theology at Marquette University, and founded thomistica.net on Squarespace in November of 2004. He studied with James Weisheipl, Leonard Boyle, Walter Principe, and Lawrence Dewan, at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto, Canada).

Journée d'étude (May 15 2008): L’Institut de Recherche et d'Histoire des Textes

Thanks to Adriano Oliva, OP, for this information about an upcoming event in Paris. While it might be difficult for people in the USA to attend, Adriano provided the program of the event, so we can see what's going on these days in Paris, at the Institut de Recherche et d'Histoire des Textes:

Journée d'étude, jeudi 15 mai 2008
Les innovations du vocabulaire latin à la fin du moyen âge :
autour du Glossaire du latin philosophique (philosophie, théologie, sciences)

Le Glossaire du latin philosophique, un fichier d'environ 230.000 fiches consacré au vocabulaire philosophique du moyen âge, se trouve désormais à l'Institut de Recherche et d'Histoire des Textes, où il est consultable à la Section latine.

A l'occasion de l'arrivée du Glossaire du latin philosophique à l'Institut de Recherche et d'Histoire des Textes et pour marquer un nouveau départ, nous organisons une journée d'étude consacrée à ce fichier, le jeudi 15 mai 2008, à l'IRHT, 40 avenue d'Iéna, 75016 Paris.

Programme:

9.00-9.30 Accueil des participants
9.30 introduction par Louis Holtz
9.40-10.20 Jacqueline Hamesse, Le « Glossaire du latin philosophique médiéval » : histoire, buts et utilization
10.20-11.00 Anne Grondeux, Parler de grammaire en philosophie : l'enrichissement du vocabulaire médiolatin de la pensée grammatical

pause

11.10-11.50 Alfonso Maierù, Sur la « suppositio vaga » au XIIIe siècle
11.50-12.30 Charles Burnett, The Enrichment of Latin philosophical vocabulary through translations from Arabic

déjeuner

14.00-14.40 Ruedi Imbach, Experiri et experiential chez Albert le Grand et Thomas d'Aquin
14.40-15.20 Monica Calma, La "rhetorica viatoris » dans les commentaires des Sentences au XIVe siècle
15.20-16.00 Ana Gómez Rabal, Exemples de termes philosophiques dans les glossaires médiévaux et leur survivance/ oubli chez un humaniste, Michel Servet

16.15-17.30 Table ronde : discussion générale sur l'avenir du Glossaire et une éventuelle version informatisée, avec la participation de Bruno Bon, Dragos Calma, Monica Calma, Anita Guerreau, Caroline Heid, Louis Holtz, Adriano Oliva, Jacqueline Hamesse, Jean-Pierre Rothschild, Mariken Teeuwen, Olga Weijers.

Inscriptions et renseignements : aoliva@nerim.net, olgaweijers@hotmail.com

Comment

Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is an associate professor of Theology at Marquette University, and founded thomistica.net on Squarespace in November of 2004. He studied with James Weisheipl, Leonard Boyle, Walter Principe, and Lawrence Dewan, at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto, Canada).

Papers on Aquinas at Kalamazoo 2008

Every year I try to "scrape" the PDF file that the people at Western Michigan University put out for that year's Congress. Here are the papers directly on Aquinas for this year's Congress, plus some allied topics.

Forty-third International Congress on Medieval Studies May 8–11, 2008

Papers on Aquinas

  • Thomas Aquinas on the Gift of Wisdom (Daria Lucas, Univ. of Notre Dame)
  • Aquinas, Scandal, Public Figures, and Freedom of the Press: A Test Case for Natural Law Theory (David Conter, Huron Univ. College)
  • Natural Law, Practical Reason, and Prudence in Thomas Aquinas (James M. Jacobs, Notre Dame Seminary)
  • Natural Rights and Unnatural Persons: Coercion and Rights in Augustine, Aquinas, and Some Twelfth-Century Thinkers (Toy-Fung Tung, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY)
  • Aquinas on the Political Autonomy of the Household (Thornton Lockwood, Boston Univ.)
  • Analogy and Accommodation in Aquinas and Calvin (Laura Smit)
  • Saint Thomas on the Question of the Sacramentality of Religious (Paul Jerome Keller, OP, Providence College
  • Inclination, Appetite, and Will: Continuities and Discontinuities (Mary Veronica Sabelli, RSM, St. John's Seminary)
  • The Palindromic Structure of Aquinas's Adoro devote (Lucia Treanor, FSE, Grand Valley State Univ)
  • Saint Thomas's Third Way Revisited (Lawrence Dewan, OP, Dominican Univ. College)
  • Can Being Be Accidental: Ens per Accidens in Saint Thomas's Metaphysics (Barbara Freres, Cardinal Stritch Univ.)
  • Person and Relation in the Summa theologiae (Patrick Meredith Gardner, Univ. of Notre Dame)
  • Aquinas: Prayer as a Rational Act (Michael R. Miller, Mount St. Mary's Univ.)
  • Papers on Steven A. Long's The Teleological Grammar of the Moral Act
    • Long's "Natural Teleology" and the Finis Operis (Thomas M. Osborne, Jr., Univ. of St. Thomas, Houston)
    • The Disappearing Act: The Teleology That Went Away (Steven J. Jensen, Univ. of St. Thomas, Houston)
    • Why This Book Matters (Romanus Cessario, OP, St. John's Seminary)
    • Response to Papers: (Steven A. Long, Ave Maria Univ.)
  • Thomas Aquinas on Courage, Death, and the Good of Reason (James Carey, St. John's College)
  • Courage and Faith in the Village of Le Chambon, France (Randall Smith, Univ. of St. Thomas, Houston)
  • Ordinary Martyrs: Thomas Aquinas on Courage in Everyday Life (Colleen McCluskey, St. Louis Univ)
  • Putting the Evil in Medieval and Other Adventures: Chaucer, Dante, and Aquinas in Newberry (Warren S. Moore III, Newberry College)
  • Love Bears All Things: Aquinas on the Virtue of Courage and the Gift of Fear (Rebecca Konyndyk De Young, Calvin College)
  • The Grammar of Courage and the Vision of God (Gary Culpepper, Providence College)
  • Woman and War: Andromache, Jeanne d'Arc, and Rosie the Riveter (Mary C. Sommers, Center for Thomistic Studies)
  • Abstraction and the Moral Species of Human Acts (David M. Gallagher, Independent Scholar)
  • Courage in the Early Moral Works of Albert the Great (Martin Tracey, Benedictine Univ.)
  • The Role of Courage in Intellectual Work (Liliana Beatriz Irizar, Sergio Arboleda Univ)
  • Procession as Communication of the Divine Essence: The Heart of Aquinas's Trinitarian Theology (Anselm K. Min)

Other papers

  • Aristotle, Politics, and the Dominicans in the Middle Ages (Charles F. Briggs, Georgia Southern Univ)
  • Tolomeo Fiadoni (Ptolemy of Lucca) and the Controversy over the Reception of Aristotle's Politics (James M. Blythe, Univ. of Memphis)
  • Procession as Communication of the Divine Essence: The Heart of Aquinas's Trinitarian Theology (Anselm K. Min)
  • Henry Harclay, Duns Scotus, and Their Critique of Aquinas's Theory of Relations (John Slotemaker, Boston College)
Comment

Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is an associate professor of Theology at Marquette University, and founded thomistica.net on Squarespace in November of 2004. He studied with James Weisheipl, Leonard Boyle, Walter Principe, and Lawrence Dewan, at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto, Canada).

The ACPA in Milwaukee

The ACPA (website: American Catholic Philosophical Association) is holding its annual conference here in Milwaukee this fall, from November 9-11, on the theme: Freedom, Will, and Nature. Here is the program for the conference, in DOC and PDF format.

Comment

Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is an associate professor of Theology at Marquette University, and founded thomistica.net on Squarespace in November of 2004. He studied with James Weisheipl, Leonard Boyle, Walter Principe, and Lawrence Dewan, at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto, Canada).

International Congress of Medieval Philosophy in Palermo, 2007

Thanks to Jörgen Vijgen for this:

Universality of Reason — Plurality of Philosophies in the Middle Ages
XIIth International Congress of Medieval Philosophy
Palermo, 16-22 September 2007

Organised by Société Internationale pour l’Étude de la Philosophie Médiévale (http://www.siepm.uni-freiburg.de).

4 special sessions devoted to Aquinas, coordinated by A. Oliva OP, papers dealing explicitly with Thomas Aquinas

  • Eleonore Stump: Aquinas on Divine Simplicity and the Knowledge of Persons
  • Alfredo Storck: La justice des juristes et celle des philosophes selon Thomas d’Aquin
  • Anto Gavric: Les disciples dominicains italiens de Thomas d’Aquin
  • Andrea Di Maio: “Ragioni dimostrative e probabili” o “potenza della testimonianza e dei miracoli”: due approcci dialogali ai non cristiani in Domenico e Tommaso d’Aquino e in Francesco, Antonio e Bonaventura
  • Gabriela Kurylewicz: In Search of the Unity of Contemplative and Active Life - Thomas Aquinas’ Theory of Music
  • Jozef Matula: Thomas Aquinas and his Reading of Isaac ben Solomon Israeli
  • Antonio Pérez-Estévez: Tomás de Aquino y la razón femenina
  • Patricia Moya Cańas: La representación en Tomás de Aquino
  • Ignacio A. Silva: Indeterminismo en la naturaleza y acción divina en De potentia Dei de Tomás de Aquino
  • Celina Ana Lértora Mendoza: Tres versiones del concordismo medieval: Averroes, Maimónides y Tomás de Aquino
  • Peter Hoffmann: The Epistemological Status of Thomas Aquinas’ Concept of Philosophy
  • Yoshihisa Yamamoto: Thomas Aquinas on Love as Radical Passivity: Reason and Emotion in Human Actions
  • Jorge J.E. Gracia: Individuality and the Principle of Individuation in Thomas Aquinas
  • David B. Twetten: Aquinas’ Definition of ‘God’ as a Foundation for a Pluralistic Natural Theology
  • Graziano Perillo: «…nam per voces significatur aliquid proprie, et aliquid figurative…» (Tommaso d’Aquino, Summa theologiae, I, 1, 10, ad 3). La metafora tra significato e interpretazione. La prospettiva di Tommaso d’Aquino
  • Luca Tuninetti: Veritŕ della proposizione e veritŕ dell’intelletto in Tommaso d’Aquino
  • Alexander Fidora: Concepts of Philosophical Rationality in Inter-Religious Dialogues: Crispin, Abaelard, Aquinas, Llull
  • Matthias Lutz-Bachmann, The Epistemological Role of Practical Philosophy: Abelard, Thomas Aquinas and William of Ockham
  • Barbara Faes: Violenza, raptus, estasi nella riflessione teologica di Rolando Cremona e di Tommaso d’Aquino
  • Adriano Oliva: Typologie, interprétation et datation des marginalia au Commentaire des Sentences de Thomas d’Aquin
  • Iacopo Costa: La réception de la qu. VI De malo de Thomas d’Aquin ŕ la fin du XIIIe sičcle
  • Rosa Errico: Ragione umana e veritŕ. Il problema ontologico del senso dell’essere in Edith Stein interprete di Tommaso d’Aquino
  • Harm Goris: Thomas Aquinas on the Historical Development of Philosophy
  • Yoshihisa Yamamoto: Thomas Aquinas on Love as Radical Passivity: Reason and Emotion in Human Actions
  • Luciano Cova: Per mortem a mundo excludi. Persecuzione e soppressione fisica degli eretici in Tommaso d’Aquino e nella tradizione teologica latina
  • Evanghelos Moutsopoulos: La restitution des textes aristoteliciens chez Thomas d’Aquin par D. Cydones
Comment

Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is an associate professor of Theology at Marquette University, and founded thomistica.net on Squarespace in November of 2004. He studied with James Weisheipl, Leonard Boyle, Walter Principe, and Lawrence Dewan, at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto, Canada).

The University of Toronto Colloquium in Mediaeval Philosophy 2007

This just in, from the University of Toronto's Collaborative Programme in Ancient and Medieval Philosophy:

Details to follow, but we thought you might like to know about the distinguished line-up for our annual colloquium this fall.

Friday, 28 September:

SESSION I
---------
Bonnie Kent (University of California at Irvine)
Jeff Hause (Creighton University), commentary

6:30 reception

Saturday, 29 September:

10:00 - 12:00

SESSION II
----------
Alfred Ivry (New York University)
Carlos Fraenkel (McGill University), commentary

lunch break

2:30 - 4:30

SESSION III
-----------
Brian Leftow (Oriel College, University of Oxford)
Antoine Cote (University of Ottawa), commentary

7:00 Conference Dinner (reservation required)

All sessions will be held in Alumni Hall, Room 400 (St. Michael's College, 121 St. Joseph Street). The sessions are free and open to the public. If you plan to attend please let us know: medieval.philosophy@utoronto.ca -- and be sure to let us know if you intend to participate in the conference dinner!

The colloquium is sponsored by the Department of Philosophy, Department of Classics, and Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto; University of St. Michael's College; Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies.

Accomodations:

The Holiday Inn Midtown in Toronto, located on Bloor Street next to the St. George campus, is offering rooms at a reduced rate for the conference. Please reserve online at http://www.holidayinn.com/torontomidtown, using the Corporate ID #100217931.

Comment

Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is an associate professor of Theology at Marquette University, and founded thomistica.net on Squarespace in November of 2004. He studied with James Weisheipl, Leonard Boyle, Walter Principe, and Lawrence Dewan, at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto, Canada).

Anti-Thomism, its history, themes, and personages

If you'd been able to hop a plane to Toulouse for this weekend (i.e., Friday, May 11-Saturday, May 12) you'd have been able to attend a fascinating conference on "Anti-Thomism," sponsored by the Revue thomiste: «Antithomisme: histoire, thèmes, figures». The conference covers medieval anti-Thomists (e.g., Durandus) and modern figures who labored in one way or another in reaction to "Thomism" (e.g., Henri Bouillard, SJ).

Thanks to Gilles Emery, OP, for providing the link.

Comment

Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is an associate professor of Theology at Marquette University, and founded thomistica.net on Squarespace in November of 2004. He studied with James Weisheipl, Leonard Boyle, Walter Principe, and Lawrence Dewan, at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto, Canada).