Aquinas and the Basic Principles of the Material World – Prof. Michael Gorman

The Thomistic Institute

Prof. Michael Gorman explores Aquinas’s foundational philosophy of the material world, detailing key concepts such as the four causes, hylomorphism, act and potency, matter and form, and the distinction between substantial and accidental change.

This lecture was given on July 17th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies.

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About the Speakers:

Michael Gorman is Professor of Philosophy at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He has doctorates in philosophy and theology, and his work covers both areas, with a special emphasis on metaphysical themes. He is the author of over thirty-five scholarly articles, a book entitled Aquinas on the Metaphysics of the Hypostatic Union (Cambridge University Press, 2017), and a book that will appear in the spring of 2024 entitled A Contemporary Introduction to Thomistic Metaphysics (The Catholic University of America Press, 2024).

Keywords: Act and Potency, Aristotle, Final Causality, Hylomorphism, Matter and Form, Metaphysics, Natural Philosophy, Prime Matter, Nicomachean Ethics, Substantial Change