Please join us for this week's History of Philosophy Works-in-Progress Luncheon! This week's presenter is Prof. Mary Keys (Department of Political Science, University of Notre Dame), who will present on "Aquinas and Weil on the Virtue of Study."
Each meeting consists of a presentation by a graduate student or faculty member on a project that they are working on in the history of philosophy, followed by a period of comments/questions from other participants. The workshop is designed to give contributors the opportunity to develop ideas and receive helpful feedback on projects/papers in a friendly and low stakes environment.
Lunch is provided for registered attendees.
Abstract: A frequent concern about new media is its adverse effect on young persons’ (and not so young persons') capacity for focus and attention. It is not difficult to see the risks this impact carries for social and civic life. With this context in mind, this paper returns to Thomas Aquinas's theory of the moral virtue of “studiousness” (studiositas) and its opposing vice “curiosity” (curiositas), as laid out in the second part of the Summa Theologiae. In continuation this study examines Simone Weil's treatment of the benefits of sustained study in the capacity for interpersonal as well as academic attention or attentiveness, in her essay “Reflections on the Right Use of School Studies with a View to Love of God.” The concluding section will considers the social and civic value of Aquinas's and Weil's virtues of study, especially regarding political prudence and civic friendship, and the potential of the contemporary university in educating for these practices and traits, fomenting both the beneficial use and healthy transcendence of new media.