In Defense of Politics | Professor Erik Dempsey

The Thomistic Institute

Christianity, Society & Culture, Catholic Intellectual Tradition, Catholic, Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality, Thomism, Catholicism

4.8 • 729 Ratings

🗓️ 21 July 2023

⏱️ 73 minutes

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Summary

This lecture was given on April 27th, 2023, at the University of Texas at El Paso. For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website: https://thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events Speaker Bio: Erik Dempsey (Ph.D., Boston College) is the Assistant Director of UT's Thomas Jefferson for the Study of Core Texts and Ideas. He completed his doctorate at Boston College in June 2007. He is interested in understanding human virtue and the proper place of politics in a well-lived human life, the different ways in which human virtue is understood in different political situations, and the ways in which human virtue may transcend any political situation. His dissertation looks at Aristotle's treatment of prudence in the Nicomachean Ethics, and Aristotle's suggestion that virtue should be understood as an end in itself. He is currently at work turning his dissertation into a book by adding chapters that consider Thomas Aquinas' interpretation of Aristotle in terms of natural law and Marsilius of Padua's critique of Thomas.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Thank you so much, Jared. Before I get started, let me just say to all of you, I've said this to some of you individually,
0:07.1	but let me say to everyone here tonight, what a pleasure it is to be here.
0:12.6	Jared and Roberto have been gracious hosts this afternoon. Juan did a fine job and was so helpful in bringing me in and making me feel welcome even before I got here. I have to say that one, I don't know where Juan is, actually. Oh, there you are. Okay, up in the dark. I have to, I wanted to say before I get into the, get into my talk, that one thing that really has taken me just in the last three hours since I've landed is how beautiful El Paso is.
0:42.3	You know, if you're from New York like I am, El Paso is not one of those places, I must admit to you, that has a reputation for great natural beauty.
0:52.3	In fact, it's a magnificent city.
0:55.0	The mountains are gorgeous.
0:56.0	The tour has been wonderful.
0:58.0	The campus is beautiful.
1:00.0	This is Quinn Hall.
1:02.0	This is one of the most beautiful rooms I have ever spoken in.
1:06.0	And you all minors, right, should be proud of your campus.
1:10.0	I'm very delighted. Anyway, I'm not here
1:13.5	just to flatter you. I'm here to give a talk on Thomas and Chesterton. Okay, so when I proposed this
1:22.0	talk to Juan and to the Timistic Institute, I had proposed it as a talk that was primarily going to be about Thomas
1:30.1	Aquinas with a little bit of G. K. Chesterton thrown in and I think a few other thinkers.
1:38.1	As I was composing this talk, and I have to, I will again, I feel like I'm starting,
1:43.3	well perhaps it's appropriate for a talk to a Catholic group like this
1:48.0	that I'm beginning my discussion with so many confessions. But I will confess to you also that I have not read that much, G.K. Chesterton. I wanted to make a point or two based on him, and that was my
2:02.5	plan. But Juan told me that the Tomistic Institute this semester has been reading Chesterton's
2:10.3	book on Thomas Aquinas. And so, beginning back in, I forget when exactly you invited me,
2:17.1	but I think it was February when you invited me, but I think it was February
2:18.3	when you invited me, I started reading G.K. Chesterton, and I somehow fell in love, right?
	...

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