The Growth of Consciousness
A Philosophical Happy Hour on the nature, growth, and importance of understanding consciousness. The concept of “consciousness” today seems rather important: it is brought up in questions about artificial intelligence, neuroscience, the development of habits, “mindfulness”, self-improvement, and countless other related issues. But what is consciousness? Few good definitions seem available. Even many persons professionally […]
Do We Still Need Universities?
A Philosophical Happy Hour on the ends and purposes of higher education, universities, and the needs of teaching and learning. —Reading Francis Slade’s “Ends and Purposes” In the nearly two-years since Claudine Gay’s revealed plagiarism and subsequent resignation from Harvard University, familiar questions concerning the function and legitimacy of academic work—questions that, despite their familiarity […]
On the Shifting Sands of Language
A Philosophical Happy Hour on Owen Barfield’s “Philology and the Incarnation”, wherein we will think about meaning and metaphor in language. For this week’s Philosophical Happy Hour, we will again take up a specific short text to read and discuss: this time, Owen Barfield’s short article, “Philology and the Incarnation”, available in this attached PDF. […]
Course Catalog (2026)
The Lyceum continues to grow: in 2019, a single instructor gave 4 philosophy seminars. In 2026, twelve Faculty plan to offer no fewer than 20 distinct courses, across the Trivium, Latin, Greek, Philosophy Seminars, and Reading Circles. We plan to offer several studies in Literature and Colloquia, as well. The concrete planned offerings are as […]
On “Idols of the Mind”
A Philosophical Happy Hour thinking through the challenges posed by Francis Bacon’s Idols of the Mind. The concept of idols as a philosophical problem is one that has captured the attention of a wide variety of thinkers, from early modern philosophers such as Descartes and Francis Bacon to 20th century phenomenologists such as Jean-Luc Marion. […]
Dr. Brian Kemple on “The Lame Shall Enter First”
Executive Director Brian Kemple joined Dcn. Harrison Garlick of Ascend: The Great Books Podcast to discuss a short story of Flannery O’Connor, “The Lame Shall Enter First”. You can find (and follow) Ascend on X.com here, and listen to their podcasts on all these many platforms—or watch on YouTube below.
Philosophy and the Art of Reasoning
John Boyer joins Brian Kemple to discuss the decline of traditional liberal education and its impact on university curricula, emphasizing the superficial engagement with important questions in contemporary society, particularly through social media. In place of these superficial approaches, we ought to recover the Aristotelian understanding of causality, developing habits of real inquiry, and discovery […]
Digital Technology and the Malformation of the Human Soul
Dr. Brian Kemple of the Lyceum Institute joins Anthony Alberino for a discussion on digital technology and its relation to the human soul. Together they reflect philosophically on: This is the third installment in Dr. Alberino’s “Dangers of the Digital Age” series, which can be found here.
Building Habits of True Learning
In this conversation, Dr. Jacob Joseph Andrews discusses his journey into the intellectual life, emphasizing the importance of personal development, moral formation, and the role of classical education. He highlights the significance of language study, particularly Latin, in understanding culture and fostering intellectual habits. Andrews also reflects on the value of specialized study and the […]
Maritain Musings
I would like to draw attention to two episodes of the American Maritain Association’s podcast, Maritain Musings, hosted by our own Dr. Matthew Minerd. The first features friend of the Lyceum Institute, Dr. Jim Jacobs, Director of Philosophy Programs at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, Louisiana. Together with Dr. Minerd, Dr. Jacobs discusses the […]
