The Thomistic Institute

Fr. Uwe Michael Lang discusses the history and significance of veneration of the Eucharist, including its roots in early Christian worship, the importance of gestures of reverence, and the organic development of communion on the tongue. He also explores the practice of displaying the Eucharist in Renaissance churches and the profound relationship with God through Eucharistic adoration as exemplified by saints.

Fr. John Baptist Ku, O.P., discusses the role of virtue in guiding human action, the nature of human vulnerability, the significance of virtue in the moral life, levels of moral virtue and the interplay between reason, passions, and will. The podcast also explores the relationship between virtue and objectivity, and the role of fear in the spiritual journey.

Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P., discusses the cryteriological difference between philosophy and theology, the preambles of faith and the fourth way, the foreignness and historical impact of the fourth way, the concept of a maximally such thing and modes of observation for certainty, errors in judgment and knowledge, and the basis of certainty in faith and the role of the divine truth.

Dr. Steve Mrenna, particle theorist, discusses truth in particle physics and the discovery of the Higgs boson. He explores event generators and the Pithia simulator, the collision of protons, and the role of gluons. The efficiency of scintillators and the challenges of analyzing rare events are covered. The concept of causes in particle physics and measuring charged particles in a magnetic field are also explored.

Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. and Fr. Thomas More Garrett, O.P. discuss navigating morally compromising situations, leaving a job and relying on God's guidance, cooperation in immoral activities, and balancing courage and wisdom in the workplace. They explore examples such as ride-sharing and the ethical dilemmas it presents, as well as the factors that determine the moral permissibility of cooperation. The speakers emphasize the need to choose battles wisely and engage in virtuous causes.

Prof. Daniel Kuebler discusses the challenges and complexities of biology experiments, the species problem, and the ethical questions in biotechnology. He explores uncertainty and variability, the limitations of genetic models, and the role of systems biology in reducing uncertainty. He also talks about human hominids, seizure-like behavior in fruit flies, and the profound implications of uncertainty in the evolutionary process.

Prof. Lori Watson, specializing in unsaturated transition metal catalysts, discusses the application of x-ray diffraction in determining chemical structures, Dorothy Hodgkin's work on crystal structures of biological molecules, uncertainty in determining reaction mechanisms, and the complexities of defining bonds in chemistry.

Fr. Thomas More Garrett, O.P. discusses moral dilemmas faced by rideshare drivers, navigating ethical challenges in the workplace, Aquinas' principle of double effect, and the concept of moral cooperation. He explores immediate and remote moral cooperation in the workplace and examines the relevance of ignorance and institutional intention in determining moral compromises.

Fr. Thomas Davenport, O.P., Dominican friar, physicist, and philosopher discusses scientific realism, causal properties, perceiving individual things, different viewpoints on causal powers, scientific demonstration and certainty in the philosophy of nature, reasoning from effect to cause, and electric charge and experimental observations.

This lecture was given on July 13th, 2023, at the "Thomistic Philosophy & Natural Science Symposium" at the Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website: thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events Speaker Bio: Dr. Serena Kim is an Associate Research Professor and Associate Astronomer at Steward Observatory of the University of Arizona. Dr. Kim's recent research includes star formation in the "H II" region to investigate whether or not initial mass function and circumstellar disk evolution are affected by the star forming environment. She has also recently conducted research on debris disks around sun-like stars to study whether our solar system is common or rare. Kim focuses on multi-wavelength observational studies of star forming regions using both ground-based and space telescopes. Star forming regions Kim is working on are young clusters where the triggered mode of star formation is suggested. Kim is a member of the Spitzer Legacy program Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems. She has led and participated in various projects including Kuiper-Belt analogs around sun-like stars.