Graduate Philosophy

Student Research

The MA Philosophy faculty provide a mentoring program that assists graduate students in writing articles that are then presented at conferences or published in philosophy journals. A sample of these accomplishments is listed below.

• James Baresel
  • "The Question of Evil and the Need for Natural Theology," presented at the Annual Conference of the American Maritain Association held at the University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas, 2009.
  • "Saint Edith Stein's Theory of Christian Philosophy in Light of the Papal Encyclicals," presented at the Edith Stein Conference held at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, 2010.
• Matthew Barry
  • "Evil as Agent Relative in Plotinus," presented at the Legacy of Neo-Platonism Conference held at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, 2009.
• Michelle Blohm
  • "Re-Articulating the God-Experience: The Archetypal Significance of Iamblicus and Caputo," presented at the Legacy of Neo-Platonism Conference held at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, 2009. Publication is forthcoming in Quaestiones Disputatae.
  • "The Idolatry of Trent: A Phenomenology of Iconicity," presented at the Jean-Luc Marion Conference held at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, 2008. Publication is forthcoming in Quaestiones Disputatae.
  • "The Feminine and Masculine as Fundamental Principles of Ascent in the Itinerarium Mentis In Deum of Bonaventure," presented at the Sewanee Medieval Colloquium, Sewanee, Tennessee, 2010.
• Joseph Friona
  • "Neurology and Free Choice," presented at the Institute of Bioethics Annual Conference held at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, 2009.
• Andrew Haines
  • "Vere Ipsum and the Intelligible Object: An Exploration of the Neoplatonic Foundations of Thomistic Realism According to Cornelio Fabro," presented at the Legacy of Neo-Platonism Conference held at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, 2009.
  • "Aquinas' Model of Creation & the Neoplatonic Cosmology," presented at the Patristics, Medieval and Renaissance Conference held at Villanova University, 2009.
  • "Who Are the Greeks? Pastoral Motives in Anselm of Canterbury's Understanding of the Trinity," presented for the Saint Anselm Lecture Series held at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, 2009.
  • "Inter Fidem et Rationem: Discerning the Proper Intersection of Philosophical and Theological Methodologies in the Works of Nicholas Rescher and Joseph Ratzinger," published in Lyceum, 2009.
• Emilyn Haremza
  • "Should We Hold the Professional Athlete Responsible for What He Does in Private?" presented at the Sport and Society Conference, held at St. Norbert College, 2010.
• Andrew Moran
  • "The Metaphysics of Blessed John Duns Scotus: Idolatrous or Iconic?" presented at the Jean-Luc Marion Conference held at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, 2008.
• Catherine Nolan
  • "Ratio, Intelligere and Cogitare in Anselm's Ontological Argument," presented for the Saint Anselm Lecture Series held at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, 2009. Also presented at the American Catholic Philosophical Association Annual Meeting held in New Orleans, Louisiana, 2009. Publication is forthcoming in the proceedings.
  • "The Tripartite Structure of Beauty in Plotinus," presented at the Legacy of Neo-Platonism Conference held at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, 2009.
• Vance Opdyke
  • "Obsession with Freedom: A Menippean Reading of Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy," presented at the Boethius Conference held at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, 2007.
• Stephen Phelan
  • "Love and Will in Von Hildebrand's The Nature of Love," presented at the Dietrich Von Hildebrand Conference held at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, 2007.
• Joel Potter
  • "The Status of 'Status.' Boethian Realism in Abelard," presented at the Boethius Conference held at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, 2007.
  • "Six Reasons Why Duns Scotus is Probably not a Moderate Realist," presented for the Duns Scotus Lecture Series held at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, 2008.
• Marjorie Rowe
  • "The Necessity of Individual Forms for Human Individuation," presented at the Edith Stein Conference held at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, 2010.
  • "Valuing Human Life by Accurately Defining Death," presented at the Institute of Bioethics Annual Conference held at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, 2009.
  • "The Necessity of Eigenleben in Spousal Love," presented at the Dietrich Von Hildebrand Legacy Project Conference held in Rome, Italy, 2010.
• Mark Spencer
  • "Time as a Stratified Phenomenon in the Work of Duns Scotus: Understanding a Modern Concept in a Medieval Context," presented for the Duns Scotus Lecture Series held at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, 2008.
  • Full Human Flourishing: The Place of the Various Virtues in the Quest for Happiness in Aristotleís Ethics," presented at the American Catholic Philosophical Association Annual Meeting, 2007. Published in the Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association, 2007.
  • "Liturgy as a Foundation of Ethical Practice: Marion as a Mediator Between Levinas and Radical Orthodoxy," published in Fides Quaerens Intellectum, 2007.
• William Tullius
  • "The Problem of Individuation in Scotus and Husserl," presented for the Duns Scotus Lecture Series held at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, 2008.
  • "The Role of Passivity in Von Hildebrand's Epistemology," presented at the Dietrich Von Hildebrand Conference held at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, 2007.
  • "Faith, Reason, and the Place of 'Christian Philosophy' in Edith Stein," presented at the Edith Stein Conference held at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, 2010.
• Michael Wiitala
  • "Reexamining the Compatibility of von Hildebrand's Value Ethics and Aristotle's Eudaimonism," presented at the Dietrich Von Hildebrand Conference held at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, 2007.
  • "The Good Beyond Reminiscence: Beginning a Dialogue between Levinas, Augustine, and the Neo-Platonic Tradition," presented at the Legacy of Neo-Platonism Conference held at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, 2009.