Sept. 4, 2012

Lecture Series Dedicated to CUA Philosopher

Annual Series Remembers Rev. Kurt Pritzl, O.P.

The School of Philosophy at The Catholic University of America presents its 45th annual Fall Lecture Series, which this year will explore Aristotle's De Anima , "On the Soul." This year's series is held in remembrance of Rev. Kurt Pritzl, O.P., former dean of the school who died in 2011.
"In the more than four decades that the School of Philosophy has run its annual fall lecture series, we have never dedicated an entire series exclusively to the consideration of a single philosophical text," says John McCarthy, dean of the school. "Although Aristotle's thematic study of the soul ( anima in Latin, or psyche in the Greek original) is among the shortest of his writings, it is also by far one of the most influential works of classical antiquity that has come down to us.
"Not for nothing did Father Kurt Pritzl, O.P., the late dean of our school, spend so much of his life in studying the work, and in sharing the fruits of his study in the classroom and in his own scholarly writing," McCarthy says. "By dedicating the series this fall to the De anima , the school means in some measure to commemorate and thereby perpetuate the life of his mind."
The program is among the longest continuously running major philosophy lecture series in the country. The 11 lectures will be delivered by scholars from the United States and abroad, and are free and open to the public.
All the lectures will be held Fridays at 2 p.m. in the Aquinas Hall Auditorium located on CUA's campus at 620 Michigan Ave., N.E. The dates, names of the speakers, and the titles of their lectures follow.
  • Sept. 7, Edward Halper, professor of philosophy, University of Georgia, "Aristotle's De Anima and the Possibility of Thinking Being"
  • Sept. 21, Jean De Groot, associate professor of philosophy, Catholic University, "Pritzl on Aristotle's De Anima "
  • Sept. 28, Kevin White, associate professor of philosophy, Catholic University, "Aquinas and De Anima III.6: A Response to Kurt Pritzl"
  • Oct. 5, Rev. Arthur Madigan, S.J., professor and chair of philosophy, Boston College, "Dialectical Inquiry in Aristotle, De Anima I"
  • Oct. 12, Sean Kelsey, associate professor of philosophy, University of Notre Dame, "Aristotle on Thinking vs. Perceiving"
  • Oct. 19, Jonathan Beere, Professor für antike Philosophie und Wissensgeschichte, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, "Energeia in Aristotle's De Anima "
  • Oct. 26, Ronald Polansky, professor of philosophy, Duquesne University, "Aristotle on Accidental Perception"
  • Nov. 9, Andrea Falcon, associate professor of philosophy, Concordia University, "The Place of the De Anima in Aristotle's Explanatory Project"
  • Nov. 16, Therese-Anne Druart, professor of philosophy, Catholic University, "Aristotle or Galen? Islamic Philosophers on Animal Cognition and Behavior"
  • Nov. 30, Richard Taylor, professor of philosophy, Marquette University, "Averroes on Knowing Separate Substances." Note: This lecture has been CANCELLED.
  • Dec. 7, Timothy Noone, professor of philosophy, Catholic University, "Scotus and Scotists on Aristotle's De Anima "

The lecture series, offered each year since 1967, is made possible by a grant from the Franklin J. Matchette Foundation and support from the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation and the George Dougherty Foundation. For additional information, contact the Office of the Dean, School of Philosophy, at 202-319-5259, email cua-philosophy@cua.edu , or go to http://philosophy.cua.edu/lectures/index.cfm . To request disability accommodations, contact Mary Smith at 202-319-5259 at least a week prior to the event.

M EDIA: For details about covering the lectures, contact Katie Lee or Mary McCarthy Hines in the Office of Public Affairs at 202-319-5600.

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