Lunch Lecture: "'The Nature We Ought to Love': A Thomistic Perspective on the Moral Evils of Racism"

Join the de Nicola Center for a lunch lecture by dCEC Faculty Fellow Thérèse Cory, John and Jean Oesterle Associate Professor of Thomistic Studies at Notre Dame, on "'The Nature We Ought to Love': A Thomistic Perspective on the Moral Evils of Racism."

The topic of racism is extremely complex, and it can be a challenge to figure out how all the relevant dynamics fit into traditional Catholic ethical theories, such as the theory of Thomistic ethics that has its roots in the thought of Thomas Aquinas. This lecture aims to develop a preliminary sketch of a properly Thomistic account of some of the various kinds of evils that are brought under the header of racism today. It argues that the thought of Aquinas can contribute some important and nuanced analyses of racism in terms of different kinds of harms to individuals and communities. For Thomistic ethics, a proper moral response to these harms derives from our positive obligations towards what Aquinas calls "a nature we ought to love." Cosponsored by Notre Dame Law School, the College of Arts and Letters, the Department of Philosophy, and the Jacques Maritain Center.

Lunch will be available beginning at noon, with the lecture beginning at 12:30 p.m. The Oak Room is located on the second floor of the South Dining Hall. Questions? Contact Margaret Cabaniss (mcabaniss@nd.edu).

Originally published at ethicscenter.nd.edu.