THE PHOENIX INSTITUTE 2012 SUMMER SEMINARS FOR THE STUDY OF WESTERN INSTITUTIONS The Phoenix Institute is an international

educational organization that seeks to promote a deeper understanding of Western Civilization. To fulfill its mission, the Institute organizes summer courses, conferences and seminars, where the study of disciplines such as philosophy, literature and law is being offered to achieve this deeper understanding of the Western intellectual tradition. Since its foundation in 1987 the Phoenix Institute has gathered outstanding professors and highly motivated students from all over the world to attend its summer courses on The Study of Western Institutions. The first summer courses were held in 1987 at the University of Texas at Tyler (USA). Since 1991 the Phoenix Institute holds its annual summer course at the renowned University of Notre Dame (USA). In 1996, the Institute extended its programs to Europe where from 1996 to 2001 parallel summer courses were held at the University of Oxford (UK). In 2003, due to an increasing demand of students and others active in their professions to learn more about the richness and diversity of Western Civilization, the Phoenix Institute Europe Foundation decided to move the European summer course to a more central location in Europe: Austria. The 2012 Summer Seminars for the Study of Western Institutions at the University of Notre Dame (USA) and in Trumau-Vienna, Austria, are designed to foster a better understanding of the Western intellectual tradition among European and Pan-American students. These summer programs bring together students and professors to explore the enduring ideas of Western Civilization through the disciplines such as political philosophy, ethics, philosophical anthropology, literature and law. UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME, IN, USA JUNE 30 - JULY 28 HEROISM RECONSIDERED Dr. John X. Evans Professor (em.) of English Literature Arizona State University Starting with the heroic quest paradigm that originated with Gilgamesh and Greek mythology, we will explore the attributes and evolution of heroism from ancient to modern times. Because the warriorheroes of history have often ignored the common good with disastrous consequences, we will look at the various faces of heroism and ask if mankind would profit by loosening the grip that warrior-heroes have on the human imagination. Collaterally, we will explore what can be appropriated from competing models of the hero for personal strength of character, happiness, and humanitys hopes for peace on earth. Texts to be considered include those of Homer, Virgil, the Bible, John Milton, Shakespeare, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, and Viktor Frankl. Dr. John X. Evans. Founding Director of the Phoenix Institute. Professor Emeritus of English, Arizona State University. Ph.D. Yale University. Works include: The Works of Sir Roger Williams, as well as articles in The Huntington Library Quarterly, Shakespeare Quarterly, English Studies, Recusant History, Religion and the Arts, and other academic journals. AQUINAS AND MODERN DEMOCRACY Dr. Bradley Lewis Associate Professor, School of Philosophy Catholic University of America The political writings of St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) are a great font of Christian political thought in the West. His notions about legitimate political authority, the natural law, just war and other topics remain very influential. We shall first examine Aquinass views by studying his own work. Then we will examine Yves Simons accounts of political legitimacy, the common good, democratic representation, and questions about work and culture. Simons 1951 book, Philosophy of Democratic Government, is one of the most important theories (both critical and constructive) of liberal democracy inspired by Aquinass ideas. By looking both at Aquinass own thought and its application to some important

modern questions, we can hope to attain a better perspective on some central questions of political philosophy as well as contemporary affairs. Dr. Bradley Lewis. Ph.D., Government and International Studies, University of Notre Dame. M.A., Government and International Studies, University of Notre Dame. B.A., Government and Politics, University of Maryland. Associate Professor at the School of Philosophy of The Catholic University of America. Associate Editor of The American Journal of Jurisprudence. SCIENCE AND RELIGION Dr. John O`Callaghan Associate Professor of Philosophy Director of the Jacques Maritain Center University of Notre Dame A historical and philosophical examination of the relations, if there are any, between science and religion with particular reference to the Catholic intellectual tradition. Through the use of historical materials the course will attempt to isolate and examine philosophical difficulties that might be thought to obtain between the claims made by Christian revelation and various scientific theories about features of the world. Emphasis will be placed upon distinctive ways in which the intellectual tradition of the Catholic church has faced the issues raised. Figures to be considered may include Augustine, Aquinas, Galileo, Bellarmine, Darwin, Huxley, Dawkins, Newman, Leroy, Zahm, LeMaitre, and Hawking, as well as others. Topics to be discussed are Language, Meaning, and Revelation, the Nature of Science, Theory, and Hypothesis, Evolution, the Big Bang, Soul and Body, Creation versus Making, Providence and Chance. These topics will be considered through the examples of Galileo and Genesis, the Evolution of Species and the role of God in it, and Cosmology and the Big Bang. Dr. John O`Callaghan. Ph.D., University of Notre Dame. Areas of interest include Medieval Philosophy, Thomas Aquinas, and Thomistic Metaphysiscs. He is the author of Thomistic Realism and The Linguistic Turn: Toward a More Perfect For of Existence, among others. Articles recently published include Concepts, Mirrors, and John of St. Thomas: Reply to Deely" in American Catholic Philosophical Association; "St. Thomas Aquinas", Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy; Actively Forgetting the Image of God: Nietzsche and Great Texts" in Finding a Common Thread: Reading Great Texts from Homer to O'Connor. Permanent member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas. TRUMAU-VIENNA, AUSTRIA JULY 6-28 THE GREATNESS OF BEING HUMAN: DANTE AND THE MIDDLE AGES Dr. Bernhard Dolna Dean of Studies and Professor of Philosophy at the International Theological Institute Lecturer of Jewish Studies at the University of Vienna, Austria The great Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) lived at the height of the Middle Ages and witnessed the first signs of the oncoming Renaissance. In no other work the life and spirit of the Middle Ages is so thoroughly revealed and at the same time so passionately defended as in the Divine Comedy. The course will present Dantes masterpiece in the framework of Western philosophy, history, religion and culture. The concept of the world in the Middle Ages was based on a set of strong theological foundations. The new age of Renaissance then shifted away from these foundations towards the individualism that would eventually shape the world of Modern Man. The course will outline, question and discuss this development and its ramifications for the development of Western Thought. Through the study of the Divine Comedy, the foundations of European culture can be better understood whilst a deeper sense for the fullness of Western culture as a whole can be attained. These considerations should also enable the participants to appreciate the greatness of being human, which is so clearly mirrored in the Divine Comedy: in his Reason Man may be limited, in the use of his Will he may be constructive or

destructive, yet he always stands in relation to God his creator. This he may acknowledge or reject, yet it constitutes the essential meaning of life: that Man is a complex being in which heaven and earth are interlaced. This is one of main dramas of the Divine Comedy. The course is an invitation to delve into one of one of the most important and influential works of world literature. Dr. Bernhard Dolna. Assistant Professor of Ecumenical Studies and Jewish Studies and Dean of the International Theological Institute. Researcher and Lecturer at the University of Vienna, Dr. Dolna publishes extensively internationally. CONSCIENCE, PRACTICAL REASON AND SOCIAL ORDER: RECONSTRUCTING POLITICAL THEORY IN THE POST-MODERN WORLD Dr. Gabriel Mora-Restrepo Associate Professor of Legal Theory and Constitutional Law Universidad de La Sabana, Colombia Many have claimed the world we live in is no longer shaped by the ideological movements that emerged over the past two centuries; that the world has come to a turning point, and that a new epoch has begun. Such post-ideological epoch is commonly conceptualized as a time of disbelief and discontent; a nihilistic era marked by the loss of faith in the technological advancements, political systems and economic aspirations previously grounded in all sorts of ideological rationalizations. One of the most notable consequences of this phenomenon has been the generalized loss of sense and purpose in human endeavors. A new world arises where there is no place for wonder and true reasoning. The purpose of this course will be to examine the rise and fall of ideologies, the nature of contemporary nihilism, and possible alternatives to the nihilistic attitude through the recovery of philosophy, theology, a theory of consciousness, and the order of the good. Readings will include works by C.S. Lewis, Eric Voegelin, Gerhart Niemeyer, and David Walsh. Dr. Gabriel Mora-Restrepo. Ph.D., Universidad Austral (Argentina). Associate Professor of Law at the Universidad de La Sabana (Colombia) and Editor of Dkaion. Revista de Fundamentacin Jurdica. Works include Constitutional Justice and Judiciary Abuse. A theory of legitimacy in constitutional judgments, and Legal science and the art of Law. A study about the role of the jurist, plus diverse chapters in collective books and academic journals. LOVE AND RESPONSIBILITY IN THE PERSONALISTIC PHILOSOPHY OF KAROL WOJTYLA Dr. Rodrigo Guerra-Lopez Professor of Anthropology and Bioethics Center for Advanced Social Research, Mexico Modernity has been understood by many as the age of autonomous and self-centered reason. However, Modernity is more than Enlightenment. It is also the rediscovery of human subjectivity, relationality, rights and duties, and the dignity of the human body. The Philosophy of Karol Wojtyla is one of the most important contemporary contributions to this influential current of thought. Mainly, his Normative Anthropology helps us to discover new ways of arguing the primacy of love and truth in the life of human persons and societies. The purpose of this course will be to examine the main insights in Wojtylas Love and Responsibility, The Acting Person and some selected philosophical papers in order to grasp the enormous methodological potential of this rather unknown personalistic philosophy. Dr. Rodrigo Guerra-Lpez. Ph.D., Internationale Akademie fr Philosophie im Frstentum Liechtenstein. Author of Affirming the person by its own sake. Dignity as the grounds for personal rights, and Back to the person. The philosophical method of Karol Wojtyla, as well as chapters in diverse collective works and academic journals. Member of the Pontifical Academy for Life. Founding Director and Professor of Anthropology and Bioethics of the Center for Advanced Social Research (Mexico).