The Thomistic Institute

Prof. Scott Cleveland explores the Aristotelian and Thomistic vision of friendship, arguing that true flourishing requires overcoming the vices of envy and apathy through the practice of charity and virtuous love.

This lecture was given on February 24th, 2026, at North Carolina State University.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events

About the Speaker:

Professor Scott Cleveland received his PhD in philosophy (Baylor University) and is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Catholic Studies at the University of Mary (Bismarck, ND). His research interests are in ethics, moral psychology, and philosophy of religion. He is especially interested in the study of virtues and emotions, the relation between the two, and the role of each in the moral and intellectual life. His thought is deeply influenced by Aristotle and Aquinas and his work has appeared in journals such as American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly, Res Philosophica, Religious Studies, Religions, and the Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association. He is the co-editor with Adam Pelser of Faith and Virtue Formation: Essays in Aid of Becoming Good with Oxford University Press.

This project/publication was made possible through the support of Grant 63391 from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

Keywords: Aristotelian Ethics, Thomistic Philosophy, Virtue Ethics, Human Flourishing, Friendship, Fraternity, Charity, Love

Prof. Erik Dempsey explores Original Sin as a fundamental, lived reality inherently inclining the human person toward wrongdoing, but recognizing our brokenness is essential for understanding our constant need for divine grace and justification.

This lecture was given on March 20th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events

About the Speaker:

Professor Erik Dempsey an Associate Professor of Instruction in the Departments of Government, Classics, and Religious Studies, and is the Assistant Director of the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Study of Core Texts and Ideas. He has taught at the University of Texas at Austin for over ten years, during which time he has offered classes in the history of political philosophy, on the Bible and its interpreters, on American political thought, on classical philosophy and literature, and others. His favorite classes to teach are Jerusalem and Athens, a class comparing the political, moral, and theological ideas of the Hebrew Bible to Aristotle's, and the Question of Relativism, a class on what he considers the central quandary of our time. He writes primarily about Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas, and he is currently studying John Locke's commentaries on St. Paul's epistles. Last but not least, he is an Eagle Scout.

Keywords: Original Sin, Justification, Conscience, Concupiscence, Grace, Nature, Christian Anthropology, Pelagianism, Benedict XVI

Prof. Adam Eitel argues that modern identity theories ultimately fail because they lack a stable metaphysical grounding, and he proposes an alternative view rooted in Saint Thomas Aquinas’s exposition of Psalm 8.

This lecture was given on February 27th, 2026, at St. Raphael Retreat Center.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events

About the Speaker:

Professor Eitel is an Associate Professor of Theology at the University of Dallas. Before joining the UD faculty in 2023, he taught for eight years at Yale University, holding appointments in the Divinity School, the Program in Medieval Studies, and the Humanities Program. A specialist in medieval scholasticism, his research interests include doctrinal and moral theology, with a particular focus on the works of Thomas Aquinas and his contemporaries. His teaching and research bring historical Christian theology into dialogue with contemporary moral and political issues.

Keywords: Identity, Salvation, Relativism, Psalms, Metaphysics, Theology, Human Nature, Christian Anthropology

Fr. Irenaeus Dunlevy examines the contemporary crisis of identity by contrasting modern fluid subjectivism with the Thomistic realist perspective of the human person, arguing our true identity is rooted in our nature as beings created by God and ordered toward Him

This lecture was given on February 28th, 2026, at St. Raphael Retreat Center.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events

About the Speaker:

Fr. Irenaeus Dunlevy, O.P. is a Coordinator for Campus Outreach at the Thomistic Institute in Washington, DC. He has served as a parochial vicar at St. Pius V Church in Providence, RI, as well as an adjunct professor and assistant chaplain at Providence College. He originates from Columbus, OH, studied architecture in Virginia and Switzerland, and practiced in the DC area before entering the Order of Preachers in 2013. He was ordained a priest in 2020 at the Dominican House of Studies during the quarantine. In his work with the Thomistic Institute, he has given talks on the virtue of penance, loving God with the mind, and the intersection of theology and architecture. He often travels the country visiting Thomistic Institute Campus Chapters, leading seminars that help students grasp Thomistic concepts. Additionally, he coordinates the TI's intellectual retreat programming, which affords students time to pray and integrate into their lives Thomistic theology and philosophy.

Keywords: Realism, Identity, Metaphysics, Philosophical Anthropology, Imago Dei, Virtue Ethics, Natural Theology

Prof. Adam Eitel contrasts the modern, self-constituted notions of identity with the Thomistic understanding of man as a creature capable of seeing God., whereby our human identity is fundamentally reordered from the Adamic image to the image of Christ

This lecture was given on February 28th, 2026, at St. Raphael Retreat Center.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events

About the Speaker:

Professor Eitel is an Associate Professor of Theology at the University of Dallas. Before joining the UD faculty in 2023, he taught for eight years at Yale University, holding appointments in the Divinity School, the Program in Medieval Studies, and the Humanities Program. A specialist in medieval scholasticism, his research interests include doctrinal and moral theology, with a particular focus on the works of Thomas Aquinas and his contemporaries. His teaching and research bring historical Christian theology into dialogue with contemporary moral and political issues.

Keywords: Christology, Ontology, Grace, Sacramental Theology, Christian Anthropology, Thomism, Creation, Salvation