Catherine Peters

I present my research to scholarly audiences and the wider public through conference papers, invited lectures, and workshops. My talks range from close readings of Aquinas and Avicenna to questions about disability, personhood, natural law, and human flourishing. Whether speaking to fellow philosophers, students, or audiences outside the university, I aim to make the argument clear without losing its complexity and to leave room for questions and conversation.

My talks often center on a question that medieval philosophy can help us ask more carefully: What do we owe one another when our abilities differ? Can we derive an ‘ought’ from an ‘is’? How should we understand human dignity? What can accounts of nature and virtue contribute to discussions of social responsibility? Why won’t “looksmaxxing” make us happy? I draw on historical texts to address these questions while attending to the differences between their concerns and ours.

Recent lectures explore the metaphysics of act and potency, the relationship between nature and moral norms, and various issues related to disability.

I welcome opportunities to speak with academic and public audiences about medieval philosophy and its relevance to contemporary life.

Recent & Upcoming Talks

Upcoming

  • “Is Disability a Mere-Difference? Nature, Teleology, and Normativity.” Sponsored Satellite Session of the Society for Thomistic Natural Philosophy, American Catholic Philosophical Association (Washington, DC). To be held: November 12-15, 2026.
  • “Who Counts as a Person? Disability and Thomistic Personhood.”North Dakota State University Thomistic Institute Chapter (Fargo, ND). To be held: December 3, 2026.
  • Annual Aquinas Lecture: “Thinking with Thomas Aquinas About Disability.” Saint Vincent Center for Catholic Thought and Culture, Saint Vincent College (Latrobe, PA). To be held: January 28, 2027. 
  • “The Door to Happiness: Thomas Aquinas on the Cardinal Virtues.”  University of Alabama at Birmingham. To be held: February 3, 2027.
  • “Is Faith a Leap? Thomas Aquinas on Faith and Reason.” University of North Texas Thomistic Institute Chapter (Denton, TX). To be held: March 2, 2027.
  •  “Thomas Aquinas on Linguistic Expression.” Philosophy of Saint Thomas Aquinas Satellite Session, 62nd International Congress on Medieval Studies at Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, MI). To be held: May 13-15, 2027.
  • “What is Reasoning?” Thomistic Institute 16th Annual Aquinas Workshop: “Aquinas on the Intellect and the Intelligible,” The Dominican House of Studies (Washington, DC). To be held: June 2-6, 2027.

Recent

  • “What Makes a Word a Word? Thomistic Reflections on Sign Language.” Symposium Thomisticum. Santiago, Chile.  October 22-24, 2026. 
  • “Why Looksmaxxing Won’t Make You Happy.” University of Michigan Thomistic Institute Chapter (Ann Arbor, MI). September 24, 2026.
  • “Words Matter: Thomas Aquinas on the Philosophy of Language.” UCLA Thomistic Institute Chapter (Los Angeles, CA). April 1, 2026. 
  • “What is the Philosophy of Disability? A Thomistic Answer.” The Center for Thomistic Studies Colloquium Series. University of St. Thomas (Houston, TX). November 21, 2025.
Recorded Talks