Catholic University of America
School of Philosophy
PhD, 2001
Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
  •  376
    Thomas Aquinas and Cognitive Therapy: An Exploration of the Promise of the Thomistic Psychology
    Philosophy, Psychiatry, and Psychology 17 (4): 347-366. 2010.
    In his classic introduction to the subject, Cognitive Therapy and the Emotional Disorders, Aaron Beck observes that “the philosophical underpinnings” of cognitive therapy’s (CT) approach to the emotional disorders “go back thousands of years, certainly to the time of the Stoics, who considered man’s conceptions (or misconceptions) of events rather than the events themselves as the key to his emotional upsets” (Beck 1976, 3). But beyond acknowledging that the stoics anticipated the central insigh…Read more
  •  82
    Contrary to the fairly standard view of Aquinas on temperance according to which this virtue habituates the concupiscible appetite to move in ways that accord with reason spontaneously, that is, independently of any immediate command from reason, the author of this paper argues that temperance is a virtue which "(1) disposes the concupiscible appetite to remain more or less still in the absence of any command from reason to move, thus preventing vehement, spontaneous passions of any sort, ordina…Read more
  •  39
    Second Harvest: Further Reflections on the Promise of the Thomistic Psychology
    Philosophy, Psychiatry, and Psychology 17 (4): 377-383. 2010.
    In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Second Harvest: Further Reflections on the Promise of the Thomistic PsychologyGiuseppe Butera (bio)Keywordsmethod, emotion, developmental psychology, rationalism, holismSamuel Johnson was once accosted by a lady demanding to know why he had defined “pastern” as “the knee of a horse.” Seeing perhaps that escape was impossible, the great man simply confessed, “Ignorance, madam, pure ignorance” (Fadiman 1985, 312). In preparing to write…Read more
  •  22
    The Ethics of Organ Transplantation edited by Steven J. Jensen (review)
    The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly 15 (1): 187-190. 2015.
  •  22
    Abelard in Four Dimensions: A Twelfth-Century Philosopher in His Context and Ours. By Jon Marenbon (review)
    International Philosophical Quarterly 57 (1): 110-112. 2017.
  •  20
    Thomistic Thoughts on Changing Representations of Self and Other
    Philosophy, Psychiatry, and Psychology 24 (3): 261-264. 2017.
    Alexandra Pârvan's appropriation of Augustine's metaphysical distinction between self and action is both creative and laudable. It surely has the potential to add an important element to the treatment of both victims and perpetrators of violence by helping them to change negative self-models that puts them at risk "for both receipt and perpetration of relationship violence". What I would like to do is suggest ways that this potential might be increased i) through a more refined understanding of …Read more
  •  16
    Thought and World: The Hidden Necessities by James Ross (review)
    Review of Metaphysics 68 (4): 867-870. 2015.
  •  15
    Living The Good Life: A Beginner’s Thomistic Ethics. By Steven J. Jensen (review)
    American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 89 (2): 346-348. 2015.
  •  14
    The First Grace (review)
    American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 81 (4): 671-674. 2007.
  •  8
    The First Grace (review)
    American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 81 (4): 671-674. 2007.
    A review of Russell Hittinger's The First Grace.
  •  5
    Reading the Cosmos: Nature, Science, and Wisdom (edited book)
    the Catholic University of America Press. 2011.
    " Presents a series of fifteen essays by professional philosophers that elaborate and extend Jacques Maritain's philosophy of nature"--Provided by publisher.
  •  3
    A defense of the view that every truly human action (that is, every action that proceeds from reason and will) is a moral action. There is no such thing as a concrete, pre-moral action.
  •  1
    Thomas Aquinas on Reason's Control of the Passions in the Virtue of Temperance
    Dissertation, The Catholic University of America. 2001.
    This dissertation examines Aquinas's teaching on the acts specific to temperance. According to a widespread interpretation of this teaching , the proper act of temperance is spontaneous, ordinate passion. Temperance thus not only causes someone to experience the right passions towards the right objects but does so antecedent to reason's command. Indeed, temperance is thought to have little if anything to do with reason's control of the passions. In an introductory chapter, I show that this under…Read more