Keith E. Yandell was a respected philosopher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, retiring in 2011. He specialized in the philosophy of religion, and wrote the philosophy of religion volume for the Routledge Contemporary Introductions to Philosophy series (which I highly … Continue reading Yandell’s Presentation and Analysis of the First Way
The question of what existence is/means is a controversial one in philosophy. In the last few centuries, the debate has largely centered around the question of whether existence is a predicate or property, especially in relation to ontological arguments for … Continue reading What is Existence? Aquinas’s Argument for Existence as Act
In the recent debate hosted on the Pints with Aquinas show between Fr. Gregory Pine and Real Atheology host Ben Watkins, Watkins presented some objections to the quinque viae or five ways of St. Thomas Aquinas. One of the objections … Continue reading The Five Ways and Quantifier Shift Fallacies
Jonathan MS Pearce of the “A Tipppling Philosopher” blog has written a reply to my response to his critique of the Thomistic understanding of act and potency. Recall that his original critique, in essence, stipulated that causal determinism undermines the … Continue reading Second Response to A Tippling Philosopher on Act and Potency
Over at the “A Tippling Philosopher” blog, Jonathan MS Pearce has written a brief post critiquing the Thomistic understanding of actuality and potentiality (or act and potency, or actus and potentia). His aim in doing so appears to be to … Continue reading Response To A Tippling Philosopher On Act and Potency
In the previous post, we examined a critique of the Thomistic view of act and potency from Ben Bavar (a cohost of Real Atheology) and offered a response. Bavar maintained that potency, in order to be real, must itself be … Continue reading Resonse to Ben Bavar on Act and Potency, Part 2
Ben Bavar, a cohost of the Real Atheology Podcast, and Matthew Su, one of the admins for the Thomism Discussion Group on Facebook, have been having a back and forth on Bavar’s critique of Feser’s presentation of the argument from … Continue reading A Response to Ben Bavar on Act and Potency, Part 1
In a previous post, we began a series explaining and defending the “twenty-four Thomistic theses,” a list of theses which constitute the major, central principles of the philosophy of Saint Thomas Aquinas and the tradition which has followed him. The … Continue reading Defending the 24 Thomistic Theses: The Second Thesis
The “Twenty-Four Thomistic Theses” is a list of theses accepted by the Sacred Congregation of Studies as the major, central principles of the philosophy of Saint Thomas Aquinas. These principles identify the philosophy of Thomism and distinguish it from other … Continue reading Defending the 24 Thomistic Theses: The First Thesis
Disputed Questions 