Louisiana State University

The Thomistic Institute chapter at Louisiana State University presents a lecture by Prof. Mark Barker of Notre Dame Seminary (New Orleans) titled “Does Science Render the Human Soul Obsolete?”

Room 135 of the French House, Baton Rouge, LA 70803

Tuesday, Oct. 8

6:00 PM

This event is free and open to the public.

About the speaker:

Dr. Barker was born and raised in New York City. He completed a doctorate in philosophy at the Center for Thomistic Studies (Houston). He holds an M.A. from the University of Paris (the Sorbonne) and a B.A. in Classical and Romance Languages from Harvard University, which included studies at the University of Seville, Spain. He studied two years of graduate-level theology while in France. While Dr. Barker has a broad range of competencies, his research focuses on philosophical psychology, notably in Aquinas, Aristotle, Avicenna, and Averroes. His research in contemporary philosophy focuses on Heidegger. He also translates Spanish, French, and Latin scholarly texts.

Dr. Barker enjoys teaching philosophy because it disposes seminarians to live holier lives and enables them to better defend truths accessible to reason such as the existence of God or the right to life.

His publications include: “Aquinas on Internal Sensory Intentions: Nature and Classification,” International Philosophical Quarterly 52.2 (2012); “Experience and Experimentation: The Meaning of Experimentum in Aquinas,” The Thomist 76.3 (2012); Review of Martin Rhonheimer, Vital Conflicts in Medical Ethics, in International Philosophical Quarterly 51.1 (2011); “Material Cooperation with Abortion: A Test-case,” Homiletic and Pastoral Review 109 (2009). He is nearing the completion of a book-length manuscript entitled Aquinas on the Cogitative Power: Sensory Knowledge of Kinds.