Metaphysical Aspects of Nature: Thomistic and Contemporary Perspectives

February 25, 2017

The question of how we should understand “nature” is especially pressing in our time, and has applications to a diverse range of philosophical issues ranging from the explanation of human action, on the one hand, to the analysis of fundamental scientific concepts, such as “causation” and “laws”, on the other. To address such issues, Aristotelian-Thomistic ways of thinking are increasingly making a comeback in contemporary philosophical circles. This interest is, however, in its early stages and has been narrowly focused. This conference, organized jointly with the Pontifical University of Santa Croce, will bring together a team of top scholars (including historians of philosophy, metaphysicians, and philosophers of science) to expand the discussion, exploring what a Thomistically-informed philosophy of nature might look like in our own age.