“The Ethics of Organ Transplantation” at University of St. Thomas (Houston)

The Center for Thomistic Studies at the University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas, will be sponsoring a medical ethics conference addressing the topic of organ transplantation, on March 27-29, 2009. Here’s a scrape from the conference’s PDF file.

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:
D. Alan Shewmon, M.D., Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Brain Death

Janet E. Smith, Ph.D., Fr. Michael J. McGivney Chair of Life Issues, Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit, MI
Embryo Adoption as a Form of Organ Donation

A.A. Howsepian, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Psychiatry, Veterans Administration Central California Health Care System, Fresno, CA
Organ Transplantation and Anencephalic Infants

Christopher Kaczor, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Philosophy, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA
Organ Donations after Cardiac Death

You may also wish to visit the conference’s website: http://www.stthom.edu/organ_conference.

The Journée saint Thomas d’Aquin you might have seen

I meant to post this, but life got busy.

If you had been in Paris on Saturday, December 6, 2008, at the Saulchoir, you might have gone to the annual "Journée saint Thomas d'Aquin," sponsored by La societe thomist and the Le centre d'etudes du Saulchoir. Here were the papers and presentations:

• John Marenbon (Trinity College, Cambridge): L'epicurisme et le problème du paganisme au Moyen Age et à la Renaissance
• Jean-Baptiste Brenet (Université de Paris X - Nanterre) : Thomas d'Aquin pense-t-il ? (Retours sur Hic homo intelligit)
• Iacopo Costa (Radboud Universiteit, Nijmegen): Vertus générales et directives. Quelques problèmes de psychologie morale thomiste
• L. J. Bataillon, G. Berceville, R. Imbach, P. Krupa, A. Oliva : Présentation de quelques ouvrages de philosophie et de théologie médiévales

Mea culpa. I'll do better next time getting this upon the site in timely fashion.

Reading Romans with St. Thomas Aquinas: Conference line-up

Wow. If you are lucky enough to be attending Ave Maria University's upcoming conference, "Reading Romans with St. Thomas Aquinas (February 5-7, 2009)," you are in for a theological (and philosophical) feast. The conference:

…[i]n accord with the current interest in theological exegesis and the history of exegesis…investigates Aquinas's Lectures on Romans in hopes of understanding what Aquinas can teach contemporary Christians about the realities that Paul, and the Holy Spirit, sought to convey.

Here is the speaker and paper line-up for the conference:

• Robert Louis Wilken (University of Virginia): "Origen, Augustine and Thomas: Interpreters of Paul's Letters to the Romans"
• Charles Raith II (Ave Maria University):"Portraits of Paul: Aquinas and Calvin on Romans 7:14-25"
• Hans Boersma (Regent College): "Ressourcement of Mystery: The Ecclesiology of Thomas Aquinas and the Letter to the Romans"
• Matthew Levering (Ave Maria University): "Aquinas on Romans 8: Predestination in Context"
• Holly Taylor Coolman (Boston College): "Romans 9-11: Re-reading Aquinas on the Jews"
• Bruce Marshall (Southern Methodist University): "Beatus vir: The Role of 'Reckoning' in Justification"
• Markus Bockmuehl (Oxford University): "Aquinas on Abraham in Romans 4"
• Patrick Henry Reardon (All Saints Antiochan Orthodox Church): "Romans 11: Hermeneutics and Salvation History"
• Geoffrey Wainwright (Duke University Divinity School:) "Rendering God's Glory: St. Paul and St. Thomas on Worship"
• Michael Sherwin, O.P. (University of Fribourg): "The love poured into our hearts: Aquinas's Interpretation of the Pauline conception of love."
• Edgardo Colón-Emeric (Duke University Divinity School): "Aquinas' Theology of Preaching in the Commentary on Romans: A Lascasian Application"
• Leo Elders, S.V.D. (Rolduc Seminary): "St. Paul on Man's Natural Knowledge of God: Romans 1:18-32 according to the commentary of St. Thomas Aquinas"
• Scott Hahn (Franciscan University of Steubenville): "Sacrifice and the Spirit of Sonship"
• Bernhard Blankenhorn O.P. (University of Fribourg): "St. Paul's Flesh/Spirit Anthropology"
• Mary Healy (Sacred Heart Major Seminary): "Aquinas' use of the Old Testament in the Commentary on Romans"
• Emmanuel Perrier O.P. (Dominican Studium): "The Filial Economy of Grace"
• John Boyle (University of St. Thomas): "The Consideration of Grace in St. Thomas' Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans"
• Michael Root (Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary): "The Christian in Binocular Vision: Aquinas and Melanchthon on Romans."
• Paul Keller O.P. (Franciscan University of Steubenville): "St. Thomas on Sacraments in Romans"
• Adam Cooper (John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family): "Degrading the Body, Suppressing the Truth: Aquinas on Romans 1:18-25"
• David S. Yeago (Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary): "Fides Formata and Pauline Theology in St. Thomas"
• Gregory Vall (Ave Maria University): "Sonship and Glory in Romans"
• Michael Waldstein (Max Seckler Professor of Theology, Ave Maria University): "The Trinitarian, Spousal and Ecclesial Logic of Justification"

James Keating (Providence College), Jeremy Holmes (Wyoming Catholic College), Thomas Joseph White O.P. (Dominican House of Studies), Jörgen Vijgen (Rolduc Seminary), Daria Lucas (University of Notre Dame), Paul Gondreau (Providence College), Mark Johnson (Marquette University), and Robert Barry (Providence College), will serve as moderators of the sessions.

Aquinas conference at Pázmány Péter Catholic University (Hungary)

This in, from Kál Bulcsú Hoppál, a PhD student at the International Academy of Philosophy, Pontificia Universidad Catolica, in Chile, regarding a conference in Hungary from March 6-7, 2009. The conference is entitled "Thomas Aquinas and Thomism of Today—Tradition, Interpretation and Perspectives." Here is some more information, stripped from the conference flyer (PDF):

Contributions <were> invited from philosophers, theologians, religious scholars, medievalists, linguists, sociologists, psychologists, and other interested scholars on the following and related topics:

• Thomas Aquinas' philosophy and theology and its medieval interpretation
• Thomas Aquinas and Thomisms
• Scholastic and Thomist traditions
• Thomism and interreligious dialogue
• Thomism in modern philosophy
• Thomist schools in the 20th century
• In the footsteps of Thomas Aquinas: issues of ethics, metaphysics and epistemology today
• In the footsteps of Thomas Aquinas: issues of language and communication

The conference is organized by the Hungarian Thomas Aquinas Society (member of the S.I.T.A., Societá Internazionale Tommaso d'Aquino) and the Institute of Philosophy of the P.P. Catholic University, and is acknowledged as an official conference of the S.I.T.A. (http://www.hungariansita.org).

Alasdair MacIntyre 80th birthday conference in Dublin

By way of Fran O'Rourke (School of Philosophy, University College, Dublin):

A conference to honour Alasdair MacIntyre on his 80th birthday will take place at University College Dublin, 6-8 March 2009. Theme of the conference will be "What happened in and to moral philosophy in the twentieth century?".

Alasdair MacIntyre will deliver an autobiographical paper, "On having survived the moral philosophies of the twentieth century". A number of scholarships (air travel, registration, hotel) are available for postgraduates.

Details at http://www.ucd.ie/philosophy/macintyre

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!

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).

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.

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.

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).

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)

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 XIII^e 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 XIV^e 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