On the Recovery of Time
A Philosophical Happy Hour exploring the experience of time, its loss, and the possible paths to its recovery. Imagine yourself outdoors and alone—truly alone. No friends, no family, no strangers. No living human being in sight, no voice close enough to be heard (or ears to hear). No phone; no connection to anything but the […]
Seminar: Steps toward Dialectical Logic [Fall 2025]
Announcement of our Fall 2025 seminar, “What Kind of Certainty?: Steps Toward Dialectical Logic”—have we overlooked an important Aristotelian text and tradition in our understanding of reasoning? Description Details All Lyceum Institute seminars include weekly readings, lectures, and live discussion sessions. The discussion sessions are recorded. This seminar includes extensive readings, but does not require […]
On Christianity and the Interpretation of Philosophy
A Philosophical Happy Hour on the influences of Christian belief on philosophical interpretation, and of philosophical wisdom on the practice of the Christian faith. Is there such a thing as “Christian philosophy”? Today, thinking of antiquity draws new interest. The texts of Plato and Aristotle, Plotinus and Porphyry—even the fragments of Parmenides and Heraclitus, the […]
On Violence
A Philosophical Happy Hour on the concept of violence, both physical and cognitive. When I was five years old, I was hit in the face with a croquet mallet, and not gently. It was an accident—the consequence of mutual carelessness between my brother and I while goofing around in the garage one evening, neither paying […]
On Memory and its Training
A Philosophical Happy Hour on the nature, operations, and training of the memory. “This invention [of writing]”, says the Egyptian King Thamus, in Plato’s Phaedrus, “will produce forgetfulness in the souls who have learned it.” It perhaps shocks us, slightly at least, to read this condemnation of writing. But let us consider the rest of […]
Rethinking Nature: A Thomistic Approach to Environmental Philosophy
What does it mean to care for creation? In an age dominated by climate rhetoric and ecological anxiety, conversations about the environment often drift into extremes: either sentimental reverence for nature or technocratic management of “resources.” But what if there were another way—one rooted in a deeper understanding of nature, of the human person, and […]
A Reflection on Magnificence
When I thanked a donor for making a generous contribution to our Endowment Fund, he sent a simple reply—one I was not expecting. “I’m glad to help and want to thank you for guiding us towards truth and good in a world sorely lacking in both.” I’m probably not the guide the world needs (or the […]
On Pity and Resentment
A Philosophical Happy Hour on pity, resentment, mercy, justice, vengeance, and the multitude of human weaknesses. The two titular terms here present a conflict we have all doubtless encountered at one point or another: one person pitying another, and the pitied person reacting with resentment. Much could and ought to be said about resentment and […]
Ethics: The Good Life [Winter 2025]
Description This is an introductory seminar which provides an entryway into the practice of philosophical reflection. Participants should be able to dedicate a minimum of one hour per day to its study. Details All Lyceum Institute seminars include weekly readings, lectures, and live discussion sessions. The discussion sessions are recorded. This seminar includes a range […]
Jefferson, Natural Rights, and the Sources of the Declaration of Independence
Presenting the fifth in our Colloquium series for the year 2024, Dr. John Pinheiro (PhD in History, Director of Research at the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty), challenges the common narrative that reduces Thomas Jefferson’s thought in writing the Declaration to the philosophy of John Locke. Dr. Pinheiro was previously professor […]
