The curious case of Pope Francis and the “new natural lawyers”
The “new natural law theory” (NNLT) was invented in the 1960s by theologian Germain Grisez and has found prominent advocates in law professors John Finnis and Robert P. George. Other influential...
View ArticleFive Proofs is coming
Five Proofs of the Existence of God will be out this Fall. You can pre-order at the Ignatius Press website and at Amazon. Here’s the book jacket description:Five Proofs of the Existence of God...
View ArticleStroud on Hume
David Hume, as I often argue, is overrated. But that’s not his fault. It’s the fault of those who do the overrating. So, rather than beat up on him (as I have done recently), let’s beat up on them...
View ArticleSurf dat web
A lecture by David Oderberg answering the question: Should there be freedom of dissociation?Philosopher of physics Tim Maudlin defends the reality of time and change, at Quantamagazine. At The Weekly...
View ArticleArguments from desire
On his radio show yesterday, Dennis Prager acknowledged that one reason he believes in God – though not the only one – is that he wantsit to be the case that God exists. The thought that there is no...
View ArticleFr. Z on By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed
The esteemed Fr. John Zuhlsdorf kindly calls his readers’ attention to By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed: A Catholic Defense of Capital Punishment, my new book co-written with Joseph Bessette. Fr. Z...
View ArticleIt’s the next open thread
Here is your latest opportunity to converse about topics that have not arisen in the course of other combox discussions at this here blog. From neo-Kantianism to neo-conservatism, from mortal sin to...
View ArticleTaking Aquinas seriously
At First Things, Connor Grubaugh interviews me on the subject of Thomas Aquinas and Analytical Thomism. Some other interviews I’ve given can be found here.
View ArticleCapital punishment on the radio
Joe Bessette and I will be doing a number of radio interviews in connection with our new book By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed: A Catholic Defense of Capital Punishment. Yesterday I appeared on Kresta...
View ArticleBriggs on By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed
At One Peter Five, Matt Briggs, statistician to the stars, kindly reviews By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed: A Catholic Defense of Capital Punishment. From the review:[A] book so thorough and so...
View ArticleAquinas watches Glengarry Glen Ross
David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross is a thing of beauty. This assertion is bound to shock some readers who have seen the movie (originally a stage play). It is notoriously foul-mouthed. The dialogue...
View ArticleMcCaffrey and Murray on By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed
At Catholic Media Apostolate, Roger McCaffrey and Fr. Gerald Murray discuss my book (co-authored with Joseph Bessette) By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed: A Catholic Defense of Capital Punishment. Some of...
View ArticleEssence and existence
Recently, Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, NY hosted a workshop on the theme Aquinas on Metaphysics. I spoke on the topic of “The Distinction of Essence and Existence.” Audio of the talk has now...
View ArticleMsgr. Swetland’s confusions
Msgr. Stuart Swetland is a theologian and the president of Donnelly College. You might recall that, almost a year ago, he gained some notoriety for his bizarre opinion that having a positive view of...
View ArticleCapital punishment on radio and TV
Tomorrow, Thursday, July 27 at 1:40 pm PT, I’ll be on The Ed Morrissey Showto discuss By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed. On the same day, my co-author Joe Bessette will be on Meet the Author with Ken...
View ArticleCartesian angelism
Angels, as Aquinas and other Scholastic theologians conceive of them, are purely intellectual substances, minds separated from matter. An angel thinks and wills but has no corporeal operations at all....
View ArticleCapital punishment on EWTN
Yesterday, Joe Bessette and I appeared on EWTN’s The World Over with Raymond Arroyo to discuss our book By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed: A Catholic Defense of Capital Punishment. The segment can now be...
View ArticleCapital punishment with Prager
Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 8 at 11 am PT, Joe Bessette and I will be on The Dennis Prager Show to discuss our book By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed: A Catholic Defense of Capital Punishment. For other...
View ArticleCapital punishment with Patrick Coffin
Recently I did a long Skype interview about By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed: A Catholic Defense of Capital Punishmentfor The Patrick Coffin Show. You can watch it here. (Boy do I need to master the...
View ArticleRucker’s Mindscape
In his book Infinity and the Mind (which you can read online at his website), Rudy Rucker puts forward the notion of what he calls the “Mindscape.” He writes:If three people see the same animal, we...
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