The Sun as a Universal Cause in Aristotelian-Thomistic Tradition | Prof. Catherine Peters

Professor Catherine Peters discusses the sun's role as a universal cause in Aristotelian-Thomistic philosophy, emphasizing its importance in understanding causality, universal causes, and creation. She examines the four causes in Aristotelian tradition and how the sun exemplifies universal causality. The lecture also delves into Thomas Aquinas's understanding of the sun's attributes and its relationship to God as the ultimate universal cause of existence.

This lecture was given on July 20th, 2024, at The Dominican House of Studies. This 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 author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

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About the Speaker:

Catherine Peters is a tenured associate professor at Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles, California). She specializes in medieval philosophy, with a particular focus on the thought of Thomas Aquinas and Avicenna. She earned her doctorate from the Center for Thomistic Studies at the University of St. Thomas (Houston, Texas) under the supervision of Jon McGinnis in 2019. Peters' research centers on the intersections of natural philosophy, metaphysics, and natural theology.

An overarching theme in her work is the consideration of how medieval thought might inform and advance our attempts to answer fundamental questions such as “who am I?”, “what do we know?”, “what should we do?” and “is there a God?” She is passionate about translating medieval philosophy into modern terms and applying its insight to perennial problems and concerns. To this end, she is now engaged in developing a "Thomistic" account of disability.