NOVELTY IN NATURE: SCIENTIFIC AND PHILOSOPHICAL UNDERSTANDING OF FLUX AND CHANGE IN THE NATURAL WORLD

Modern science consistently presents us with new and surprising truths about the natural world, particularly about how new things come to be, whether stars and galaxies, plants and animals, or chemical and physical structures. In many ways this creativity and flux in nature might seem antithetical to the classical picture of nature that Aquinas inherited from Aristotle. The theme for the second annual Thomistic Institute symposium on modern science and Thomistic philosophy, “Novelty in Nature: Scientific and Philosophical Understanding of Flux and Change in the Natural World,” touches on this question. Expert scientists and philosophers will discuss whether Thomistic philosophy is compatible with our modern scientific view of nature and how the two might enrich one another. The symposium is primarily intended for graduate students in the sciences and the philosophy of science and will include introductory sessions on basic of Thomistic philosophy of nature in its own day and in the history of science.

2019 Featured Speakers:

Karin Oberg (Harvard University), Robert Koons, (University of Texas), Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, (Providence College), Marissa March (University of Pennsylvania), Fr. James Brent, OP, (Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception), Thomas McLaughlin (St. John Vianny Theological Seminary), Matthew Gaetano (Hillsdale College), Dr. Brian Carl (Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception).

**Registration for the 2019 Symposium is now closed**

Cost, Location, and Accommodation:

All registration costs, food, lodging and activities are covered by the Thomistic Institute..

This year’s symposium will once again be held in Washington, D.C. Attendees will stay at Theological College, 401 Michigan Ave NE, Washington, DC 20017, adjacent to the Dominican House of Studies. Lectures and meals will all be on site. Opportunities for Mass, Adoration, and Liturgy of the Hours will be available with the Dominican Friars.

Click here for information on the previous symposium, held June 5-8 2018. Audio recordings of the previous symposium are now available here. Videos of select lectures can also be found on our YouTube page.