Tagged: Thomas Aquinas

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Basic Notions of Metaphysics: Univocal Concept of Being

In this episode of our ongoing series "Basic Notions of Metaphysics", we talk about univocal concept of being as explicated by John Duns Scotus. It is hard to overestimate the influence of the idea that being is an univocal concept, that is: the simple, indivisible and, above all, indifferent notion present in all other concepts - from the spec of dust to God Himself. We argue that univocity represents the point of departure from traditional metaphysics towards modernity and postmodernity; whereas, traditionally, being was understood as reality or act/ἐνέργειᾰ, with univocity it becomes a concept and hence opens the horizon of modern metaphysics with its conceptual systems and reliance on subjectivity. Naturally, we on KT have few objections about that.

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Basic Notions of Metaphysics: Analogia Entis

In this episode of our regular podcast Basic Notions of Metaphysics we provide an account on principle of analogy - a veritable sacred bond of the universe, according to Medieval scientia transcendens. We follow the genesis of this genuinely Christian transformation of the principle already partly known in the ancient world, its relevance in the context of the problem of mediation between equivocal and univocal predication of being, its roots in the doctrine of transcendentals and, ultimately, its nature as the form of the revelation of the presence of God in His creatures.

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KT Answers: What is Ontology?

In this episode of our regular Q&A podcast we answer the seemingly simple question, what is ontology? We delineate three thinkers and three notions of the primary philosophical science, out of which only one qualifies as ontology. Those thinkers are Christian Wolff, Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas, whereas Wolff is the one who, in 18th Century, introduced ontology as a discipline in the "system of philosophical sciences". We proceed to demonstrate that ontology, as modern invention, is a far cry from what Aristotle and Aquinas considered inquiry into "being qua being" to be. Off course, there are number of random digressions into all kinds of related subjects, from traditional notion of genera/species relation, nature of ens universalis, Kant's blending of metaphysics with Wolffian system and more.

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Basic Notions of Metaphysics: Nature

Our regular podcast spreading dark medieval lore, formerly known as wisdom, across the interwebs is back: in this episode of Basic Notions of Metaphysics we analyze classical Aristotle's notion of nature. As definition goes like this: "Nature is intrinsic principle of movement", we talk about what it means for something to be "intrinsic", "principle" and in "movement". We advertise one thing, provide you with three things and charge you with no-thing. Only on KT.

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What Is Not Metaphysics?

We usually point out how modern philosophy tends to invert traditional philosophical questions. So why not do it the other way around? In this podcast we examine the supposedly fundamental metaphysical question, as proposed by Martin Heidegger in his 1929 Freiburg lecture "Was ist Metaphysik?" and come to conclusion that it is not as "fundamental" as it seems.

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KT Answers: Stoics in the Age of -isms, Pt.2

In this episode we talk about objections to Stoicism and "Stoic attitude" in our own day. We discuss two seemingly different, but in fact quite congenial, attacks, i.e. about APA's document Guidlines for Psychological Practice with Boys and Men" and the survey "Stoicism and Well Being". In the process we discuss fruit of contemporary "dissolution mentality", clearly expressed in the first document and lay out the origin and nature of the pleasure principle which is at the base of the critique laid out in the second one. Finally, we discuss Christian evaluation of Stoicism.

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Beyondbound

Metaphysics is due to be resurrected! Or zombified? In this podcast we compare the Traditional understanding of Being with its inverted counterpart, we might, for the lack of the better term, call infraphysics, exemplified by its contemporary philosophical proponents. We proceed from somewhat simple framing of Traditional understanding of knowledge as a three phase process of Being-Logos/Intentio-name to its exemplary inversion in materialism and Kant's transcendental philosophy, ending up with fruits of modern inversion of metaphysics in contemporary "object oriented ontology".

We touch upon Rene Guenon's analysis of the main discrepancy of materialism and how this analysis is being reiterated by some contemporary thinkers bound to reach beyond and below the materialism; we expound on transformation of thinking into computation and the centrality of self referential systems for subphysics; also we explain why we will soon see the drive to liberate inanimate things and individual bodily organs from human tyranny and throw in some insights on various contemporary issues along the way.

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Appetite for Destruction

In this podcast we provide the exposition of traditional notion of evil as privation, with the customary KT spin: as contemporary intellectual climate tends to reject the old fashioned metaphysics of evil - where evil is just an addendum to the metaphysics of good - because it is, supposedly, inadequate to explain the "horrors of 20th Century", we introduce two real life examples of evil people to illustrate just how deep into depravity the seemingly innocuous act of privation can go.

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KT Answers, pt.3: All or Nothing

In the third episode of our Q&A podcast we address the questions about the nature of substance, being, person and soul, while pointing out the pitfalls of confusing the popular Science Fiction narratives with the philosophy proper.