Courses

COURSES (2023/2024)

Mariusz Tabaczek, O.P.

STL level

tP 335dP 3469 – Philosophy, Theology and Natural Sciences (course offered both in the faculty of theology and philosophy) – STL – 3 ECTS

The course will address and discuss philosophical and theological repercussions of the theory of biological evolution, with a special emphasis on issues related to the classical AThe course will address and discuss the most important aspects of the Christian philosophy and theology in its encounter with natural sciences, including: models of relating theology and science, selected issues concerning the historical development of the science/theology dialogue, scientific atheism, creationism versus evolutionary biology, scientific challenges for Christian interpretation of the Bible, methodical versus ontological naturalism, creation and scientific cosmology, divine action and natural science, theological anthropology and neurosciences, and the problem of evil. These and other topics will be discussed in reference to the Aristotelian-Thomistic tradition of philosophy and theology. The objective goal of the course is to help students develop a critical reflection and understanding of the current state of the debate and dialogue engaging natural science, philosophy, and theology.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Stump, James B. Science and Christianity: An Introduction to the Issues. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2017.

Southgate, Christopher, ed. God, Humanity and the Cosmos – 3rd Edition: A Textbook in Science and Religion. London and New York: T & T Clark, 2011.

Dodds, Michael J. Unlocking Divine Action: Contemporary Science and Thomas Aquinas. Washington DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2012.

Ferngren, Gary B., ed. Science and Religion: A Historical Introduction. Second edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2017.

Clayton, Philip, and Zachary Simpson, eds. The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Science. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.

dS 3470 – The Origin and Propagation of Sin – STL – 4 ECTS

The seminar will address some key questions concerning plausibility of the classical The question concerning the origin and propagation of sin is one of the most important and challenging topics in both dogmatic theology and theological anthropology. Apart from its speculative aspects, it affects the practice of the Christian life and preaching. This seminar course will explore the notion of original sin and its transmission in the Bible, in the pre-Augustinian and Augustinian tradition, in the works of Aquinas, in the Council of Trent, in modern philosophical and theological speculation, in reference to empirical science and evolutionary theory (including the question of mono- versus polygenism), and in contemporary theology. It will compare and contrast the classical doctrine with some more recent developments offered by Friedrich Schleiermacher, Karl Barth, Reinhold Niebuhr, Piet Schoonenberg, Karl Rahner, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and others.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Thomas Aquinas – selected works/fragments.

Cavanaugh, William T., and James K. A. Smith, eds. Evolution and the Fall. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2017.

Madueme, Hans, and Michael Reeves, eds. Adam, the Fall, and Original Sin: Theological, Biblical, and Scientific Perspectives. Grand Rapid, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2014.

Rondet, Henri. Original Sin: The Patristic and Theological Background. Staten Island, N.Y: Alba House, 1972.

Wiley, Tatha. Original Sin: Origins, Developments, Contemporary Meanings. New York: Paulist Press, 2002.

STB level

TE 3472 – Theology of Creation – STB – 3 ECTS

The course will address and discuss the most important aspects of scriptural exegesis The course will address and discuss the most important aspects of scriptural exegesis and the dogmatic definition of creation and its crucial aspects such as: creatio ex nihilo, beginning of time and space, Trinity in creation, God-world relationship, divine action, creation and evolution, angels, anthropogenesis, theological anthropology (human condition before and after the original sin), theology of work, and ecology. Based on classical Aristotelian-Thomistic philosophy and theology and the teaching of the Magisterium of the Church, enriched with necessary references to contemporary science, the course is thought to help students develop a critical theological reflection and understanding of creation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Morales, J. Creation Theology. Four Courts Press, Dublin, 2001. [El Misterio de la Creación. Ediciones Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, 1994.]

Paul Haffner, Mystery of Creation. Leominster: Gracewing, 2010.

Zachary Hayes, The Gift of Being: A Theology of Creation. Collegeville, Minn: Michael Glazier, 2001.

Schmaus, M. Dogma. Vol 2: God and Creation. Sheed and Ward, London, 1969.

Ratzinger, J. Im Anfang schuf Gott. Erich Wewel Verlag, 1986. [‘In the Beginning…’ A Catholic Understanding of the story of Creation and the Fall. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1995.]

SD 2543 – Seminar for doctoral Students – 4 ECTS

The seminar will analyze the relation of Christianity to natural sciences throughout the history of the Western culture. The topics discussed will include the following: Antiquity – the origin of science and Christian attitude to Greek and Roman science / The seminar will concentrate on the methodology for doctoral research and writing. Students will be able to work on, present, and discuss their tentative doctoral research projects.

Thomas Davenport, O.P.

STB level

FE1019 – Epistomology I – STB – 3 ECTS

After some brief historical framing of the question of knowledge. This course will provide a thorough grounding and exposition of a Thomistic theory of knowledge, rooted in Thomistic metaphysics and anthropology. This will seek to answer, from a Thomistic perspective: What is knowledge? What does it mean for knowledge to be true? and What true knowledge can be certainly known?

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Aquinas, Summa Theologiae. Benzinger Bros., 1920.

Aristotle, The Basic Works of Aristotle. Edited by Richard McKeon, Random House, 2002.

Regis, Epistemology. MacMillan, 1959.

FE 1006 – Philosophy of Nature I – STB – 3 ECTS

This course aims to answer fundamental questions about physical nature. What are the common principles and causes underlying all natural things? It emphasizes the perennial notions of natural philosophy in the Aristotelian-Thomistic tradition, while engaging with issues and concerns from contemporary science. It will analyze the phenomenon of change in mobile beings using concepts of act and potency. Next it studies the notions of substance and accidents. Lastly, we examine the notions of form and matter more generally and the hylomorphic synthesis.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Aristotle, Categories, Physics.

J. Bobik, Aquinas on Matter and Form and the Elements. Notre Dame Press, 1998.

W. A. Wallace, The Modelling of Nature. Catholic University of America Press, 1996.

D. McInerny, The Philosophy of Nature. The Alquin Press, 2001.

M. Dodds, The Philosophy of Nature. Western Dominican Province, 2010.

FE 2158 – Sciences and Philosophy – STB – 5 ECTS

TThis course aims to answer various fundamental questions about contemporary science and philosophy. What is science? How is it related to philosophy and, specifically, the philosophy of nature? We will explain the compatibility and mutual enrichment that should exist between the practice and claims of science and philosophy. Beginning with a historical overview of the development of modern science. We will then consider the philosophical questions raised by the success of science, as well as some of its historical dead ends. Finally, we will investigate the ways science seems to challenge certain aspects of the Aristotelian-Thomistic philosophy of nature, and even raise issues for Christian faith more broadly, presenting arguments for broader compatibility.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

J. Ladyman, Understanding the Philosophy of Science. Routledge Press, 2002.

L. Principe, The Scientific Revolution: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2011.

W. A. Wallace, The Modelling of Nature. Catholic University of America Press, 1996.

R. Numbers, Galileo Goes to Jail and Other Myths About Science and Religion. Harvard University Press, 2010.

FE 2012 – Philosophy of Nature II – STB – 3 ECTS

TThis course continues the investigation of Aristotelian-Thomistic notions of natural philosophy and their relationship with experimental sciences. We will study the four causes, with a particular focus on efficient and final causality. Then we will look at the Thomistic account of motion and its related aspects of action and passion. We will then turn to issues surrounding time, space, infinity, and the continuity and divisibility of physical bodies. We will conclude with a discussion of whether and how philosophy of nature, in a contemporary context, can discover non-material non-physical realities.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Aristotle, Categories, Physics.

G. Frost. Aquinas on Efficient Causality and Causal Powers. Cambridge University Press, 2022.

W. A. Wallace, The Modelling of Nature. Catholic University of America Press, 1996.

D. McInerney, The Philosophy of Nature. The Alquin Press, 2001.

M. Dodds, The Philosophy of Nature. Western Dominican Province, 2010.

FE 2028 –Epistemology II – STB – 3 ECTS

This course complements the Epistemology I course by continuing the discussion of This course begins with a brief historical survey of the philosophy of knowledge. Then, building on the Thomistic grounding presented in Epistemology I, it seeks to engage with contemporary questions and debates in Epistemology. This includes questions around certainty and demonstration in contemporary science and philosophy, Thomistic responses to skepticism, and where a Thomistic epistemology fits in the taxonomy of contemporary Epistemology

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

N. Lemos, An Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge. Cambridge University Press, 2007.

J. Greco, Putting Skeptics in Their Place: The Nature of Skeptical Arguments and Their Role in Philosophical Inquiry. Cambridge University Press, 2000.

E. Stump, Aquinas. Routledge Press, 2003.

W. A. Wallace, The Modelling of Nature. Catholic University of America Press, 1996.