[2021 Fall] Thomistic Psychology: The Meaning of Evil

This seminar aims to deepen our questioning concerning the meaning of evil, beginning with the nature of the goods to which various evils are opposed.   This introduction will lead us to the seminar’s main concern, which is with moral evil as a kind of primary rupture in the world of free beings, and the questions that evil poses for moral psychology: If moral goodness represents nothing other than the excellence of the human way of acting, what then does it mean willingly to oppose the norm of that excellence?  In the end, this will lead us to a consideration of how we might move beyond an account of moral evil merely as privation, and the possibility of addressing the shortcomings of the traditional account from a semiotic point of view.  The hope is that the seminar as a whole will be of some real assistance for the examination of our own consciences and the better fulfillment of our vocations as human persons.

In this seminar, lasting 8 weeks (see here for more information on all Lyceum Institute seminars), we will study the true meaning of evil, especially our role in the constitution of moral evil. This will incorporate considerations of the will, the Umwelt, the sign, and more. The instructor for this seminar is Kirk Kanzelberger, PhD, Faculty Fellow 2020. You can read more about Dr. Kanzelberger here and download the syllabus here.