Thomas M Osborne
Biographic Data
| ID | 2789264 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Thomas M Osborne |
| GIVEN NAMES | Thomas M |
| FAMILY NAME | Osborne |
| SIGNATURE | OSBORNE T M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of St. Thomas - Texas |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 7 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 18 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1971 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Penser l’amour avec Thomas d’Aquin: Lecture philosophique
William of Ockham: “Questions on Virtue, Goodness, and the Will”
Francisco De Vitoria on the Nature and Source of Civil Authority
Readers have found at least two distinct and perhaps contradictory accounts of civil authority in the works of Francisco de Vitoria, and some hold that Vitoria himself holds contradictory positions. This article argues that Vitoria holds one consistent position, namely, that civil power is based on a necessity that is rooted in human nature, and in particular on the final cause of human life, and not on a necessity that is a result of any histori…
La démonstration de l’existence de Dieu: Les conclusions des cinq voies de saint Thomas d’Aquin et la preuve a priori dans le thomisme du XVII e siècle
La démonstration de l’existence de Dieu: Les conclusions des cinq voies de saint Thomas d’Aquin et la preuve a priori dans le thomisme du XVIIe siècle. Igor Agostini. The Age of Descartes 1. Turnhout: Brepols, 2016. 704 pp. €105. - Volume 71 Issue 4
Human Action in Thomas Aquinas, John Duns Scotus, and William of Ockham
This book sets out a thematic presentation of human action, especially as it relates to morality, in the three most significant figures in Medieval Scholastic thought: Thomas Aquinas, John Duns Scotus, and William of Ockham. Thomas, along with his teacher Albert the Great, was instrumental in the medieval reception of the action theory of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. Scotus and Ockham were part of a later Franciscan theological tradition. Thom…
Evidence for a climate signal in trends of global crop yield variability over the past 50 years
Low variability of crop production from year to year is desirable for many reasons, including reduced income risk and stability of supplies. Therefore, it is important to understand the nature of yield variability, whether it is changing through time, and how it varies between crops and regions. Previous studies have shown that national crop yield variability has changed in the past, with the direction and magnitude dependent on crop type and loc…
Practical Reasoning
Aquinas argued that practical reason is distinct but not entirely insulated from speculative reason. Practical reason is distinct from speculative reason because it is ordered to some work or end. The difference between the practical and speculative intellects is that the speculative is concerned only with the truth, whereas the practical apprehends the truth for the sake of some further end. The rectitude of the speculative intellect consists so…
Thomas and Scotus on Prudence Without all the Major Virtues: Imperfect or Merely Partial?
The Thomist 74 (2010): 165-88 THOMAS AND SCOTUS ON PRUDENCE WITHOUT ALL THE MAJOR VIRTUES: IMPERFECT OR MERELY PARTIAL? THOMAS M. OSBORNE, JR. University ofSt. Thomas Houston, Texas THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN Thomas Aquinas and John Duns Scotus on the connection of the acquired moral virtues is in large part a disagreement over the unity of prudence.1 Thomas thinks that the moral virtues are connected through one prudence which commands actions that …
The concept as a formal sign
This article expands on a central theme of John Deely's Four ages of understanding, which is that John Poinsot's understanding of the concept as a formal sign sidesteps many problems raised by modern epistemology and contemporary scholars. First, I will look at the Thomistic view that the concept is a quality which is distinct from the act of understanding. Second, I shall show how according to Poinsot this concept both represents the object and …
MacIntyre, Thomism and the Contemporary Common Good
Alasdair MacIntyre’s criticism of contemporary politics rests in large part on the way in which the political communities of advanced modernity do not recognize common goals and practices. I shall argue that although MacIntyre explicitly recognizes the influence of Jacques Maritain on his own thought, MacIntyre’s own views are incompatible not only with Maritain’s attempt to develop a Thomistic theory which is compatible with liberal democracy, b…
Perfect and Imperfect Virtues in Aquinas
The Thomist 71 (2007): 39-64 PERFECT AND IMPERFECT VIRTUES IN AQUINAS THOMAS M. OSBORNE, JR. University ofSt. Thomas Houston, Texas RECENT YEARS have seen much criticism of the traditional Thomistic position that the acquired moral virtues are connected through prudence and that neither they nor acquired prudence can exist perfectly in someone who has not been assisted by grace. This criticism is in large part based on an oversimplification of Th…
Ockham as a divine-command theorist
Although this thesis is denied by much recent scholarship, Ockham holds that the ultimate ground of a moral judgement's truth is a divine command, rather than natural or non-natural properties. God could assign a different moral value not only to every exterior act, but also to loving God. Ockham does allow that someone who has not had access to revelation can make correct moral judgements. Although her right reason dictates what God in fact comm…
The Augustinianism of Thomas Aquinas’s Moral Theory
The Thomist 67 (2003): 279-305 THE AUGUSTINIANISM OF THOMAS AQUINAS'S MORAL THEORY THOMAS M. OSBORNE, JR. University ofNevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada IN RECENT YEARS two scholars have attacked the thesis that Thomas Aquinas has an Augustinian view of pagan virtue. Bonnie Kent argues that according to Thomas an individual can fully possess acquired moral virtues even without the virtue of charity.1 These natural virtues are directed towards pu…
Utopia, Counter-Utopia
This article addresses the question of utopia through some reflections on the work of the Russian writer Andrei Platonov (1899-1951). Platonov's work represents an inspirational series of investigations into the circumstances of utopia: not so much utopia as fantasy, nor utopia as actualized in failure, nor even dystopia, but what is here termed `actually existing utopia'. As such his work captures aspects of utopianism that may have been largely…
Faith, Philosophy, and the Nominalist Background to Luther's Defense of the Real Presence
Recent scholarship has brought into question the traditional interpretation of Luther as being hostile towards philosophy. 1 Graham White claims that Luther holds a place in the history of logic as a member of the Nominalist tradition. 2 Bruce D. Marshall argues that Luther and Thomas Aquinas fundamentally agree on the relationship between faith and reason. 3 Both scholars recognize that Luther himself stressed the importance of logic and used la…
Dominium regale et politicum: Sir John Fortescue's Response to the Problem of Tyranny as Presented by Thomas Aquinas and Ptolemy of Lucca
Le present article plaide en faveur de la these que l'interpretation de John Fortescue (1395-1477) d'une suzerainete royale et politique est une excroissance naturelle de la tentative de Thomas d'Aquin de trouver un moyen d'empecher le monarque de devenir un tyran. Il explique d'abord la nature problematique de l'approche de la royaute par Thomas. Il montre ensuite que la maniere de Ptolemee de Lucques d'aborder ce probleme contredit les argument…
Unibilitas: The Key to Bonaventure's Understanding of Human Nature
Unibilitas: The Key to Bonaventure’s Understanding of Human Nature Thomas M. Osborne Jr. Historians of medieval philosophy have sometimes described St. Bonaventure’s anthropology as dualist or Augustinian. The conventional story runs that the conservative Bonaventure was afraid of contemporary attempts to describe the rational soul as the substantial form of the corporeal body.1 Bonaventure’s relationship to two intellectual trends lends some sup…
Drugs and Youth: Proceedings of the Rutgers Symposium on Drug Abuse
Utopia, Counter-Utopia
This article addresses the question of utopia through some reflections on the work of the Russian writer Andrei Platonov (1899-1951). Platonov's work represents an inspirational series of investigations into the circumstances of utopia: not so much utopia as fantasy, nor utopia as actualized in failure, nor even dystopia, but what is here termed `actually existing utopia'. As such his work captures aspects of utopianism that may have been largely…
Francisco De Vitoria on the Nature and Source of Civil Authority
Readers have found at least two distinct and perhaps contradictory accounts of civil authority in the works of Francisco de Vitoria, and some hold that Vitoria himself holds contradictory positions. This article argues that Vitoria holds one consistent position, namely, that civil power is based on a necessity that is rooted in human nature, and in particular on the final cause of human life, and not on a necessity that is a result of any histori…
Faith, Philosophy, and the Nominalist Background to Luther's Defense of the Real Presence
Recent scholarship has brought into question the traditional interpretation of Luther as being hostile towards philosophy. 1 Graham White claims that Luther holds a place in the history of logic as a member of the Nominalist tradition. 2 Bruce D. Marshall argues that Luther and Thomas Aquinas fundamentally agree on the relationship between faith and reason. 3 Both scholars recognize that Luther himself stressed the importance of logic and used la…
Drugs and Youth: Proceedings of the Rutgers Symposium on Drug Abuse
Unibilitas: The Key to Bonaventure's Understanding of Human Nature
Unibilitas: The Key to Bonaventure’s Understanding of Human Nature Thomas M. Osborne Jr. Historians of medieval philosophy have sometimes described St. Bonaventure’s anthropology as dualist or Augustinian. The conventional story runs that the conservative Bonaventure was afraid of contemporary attempts to describe the rational soul as the substantial form of the corporeal body.1 Bonaventure’s relationship to two intellectual trends lends some sup…
Dominium regale et politicum: Sir John Fortescue's Response to the Problem of Tyranny as Presented by Thomas Aquinas and Ptolemy of Lucca
Le present article plaide en faveur de la these que l'interpretation de John Fortescue (1395-1477) d'une suzerainete royale et politique est une excroissance naturelle de la tentative de Thomas d'Aquin de trouver un moyen d'empecher le monarque de devenir un tyran. Il explique d'abord la nature problematique de l'approche de la royaute par Thomas. Il montre ensuite que la maniere de Ptolemee de Lucques d'aborder ce probleme contredit les argument…
Faith, Philosophy, and the Nominalist Background to Luther's Defense of the Real Presence
Recent scholarship has brought into question the traditional interpretation of Luther as being hostile towards philosophy. 1 Graham White claims that Luther holds a place in the history of logic as a member of the Nominalist tradition. 2 Bruce D. Marshall argues that Luther and Thomas Aquinas fundamentally agree on the relationship between faith and reason. 3 Both scholars recognize that Luther himself stressed the importance of logic and used la…
The Augustinianism of Thomas Aquinas’s Moral Theory
The Thomist 67 (2003): 279-305 THE AUGUSTINIANISM OF THOMAS AQUINAS'S MORAL THEORY THOMAS M. OSBORNE, JR. University ofNevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada IN RECENT YEARS two scholars have attacked the thesis that Thomas Aquinas has an Augustinian view of pagan virtue. Bonnie Kent argues that according to Thomas an individual can fully possess acquired moral virtues even without the virtue of charity.1 These natural virtues are directed towards pu…
Utopia, Counter-Utopia
This article addresses the question of utopia through some reflections on the work of the Russian writer Andrei Platonov (1899-1951). Platonov's work represents an inspirational series of investigations into the circumstances of utopia: not so much utopia as fantasy, nor utopia as actualized in failure, nor even dystopia, but what is here termed `actually existing utopia'. As such his work captures aspects of utopianism that may have been largely…
Ockham as a divine-command theorist
Although this thesis is denied by much recent scholarship, Ockham holds that the ultimate ground of a moral judgement's truth is a divine command, rather than natural or non-natural properties. God could assign a different moral value not only to every exterior act, but also to loving God. Ockham does allow that someone who has not had access to revelation can make correct moral judgements. Although her right reason dictates what God in fact comm…
Perfect and Imperfect Virtues in Aquinas
The Thomist 71 (2007): 39-64 PERFECT AND IMPERFECT VIRTUES IN AQUINAS THOMAS M. OSBORNE, JR. University ofSt. Thomas Houston, Texas RECENT YEARS have seen much criticism of the traditional Thomistic position that the acquired moral virtues are connected through prudence and that neither they nor acquired prudence can exist perfectly in someone who has not been assisted by grace. This criticism is in large part based on an oversimplification of Th…
MacIntyre, Thomism and the Contemporary Common Good
Alasdair MacIntyre’s criticism of contemporary politics rests in large part on the way in which the political communities of advanced modernity do not recognize common goals and practices. I shall argue that although MacIntyre explicitly recognizes the influence of Jacques Maritain on his own thought, MacIntyre’s own views are incompatible not only with Maritain’s attempt to develop a Thomistic theory which is compatible with liberal democracy, b…
Thomas and Scotus on Prudence Without all the Major Virtues: Imperfect or Merely Partial?
The Thomist 74 (2010): 165-88 THOMAS AND SCOTUS ON PRUDENCE WITHOUT ALL THE MAJOR VIRTUES: IMPERFECT OR MERELY PARTIAL? THOMAS M. OSBORNE, JR. University ofSt. Thomas Houston, Texas THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN Thomas Aquinas and John Duns Scotus on the connection of the acquired moral virtues is in large part a disagreement over the unity of prudence.1 Thomas thinks that the moral virtues are connected through one prudence which commands actions that …
The concept as a formal sign
This article expands on a central theme of John Deely's Four ages of understanding, which is that John Poinsot's understanding of the concept as a formal sign sidesteps many problems raised by modern epistemology and contemporary scholars. First, I will look at the Thomistic view that the concept is a quality which is distinct from the act of understanding. Second, I shall show how according to Poinsot this concept both represents the object and …
Practical Reasoning
Aquinas argued that practical reason is distinct but not entirely insulated from speculative reason. Practical reason is distinct from speculative reason because it is ordered to some work or end. The difference between the practical and speculative intellects is that the speculative is concerned only with the truth, whereas the practical apprehends the truth for the sake of some further end. The rectitude of the speculative intellect consists so…
Evidence for a climate signal in trends of global crop yield variability over the past 50 years
Low variability of crop production from year to year is desirable for many reasons, including reduced income risk and stability of supplies. Therefore, it is important to understand the nature of yield variability, whether it is changing through time, and how it varies between crops and regions. Previous studies have shown that national crop yield variability has changed in the past, with the direction and magnitude dependent on crop type and loc…
Human Action in Thomas Aquinas, John Duns Scotus, and William of Ockham
This book sets out a thematic presentation of human action, especially as it relates to morality, in the three most significant figures in Medieval Scholastic thought: Thomas Aquinas, John Duns Scotus, and William of Ockham. Thomas, along with his teacher Albert the Great, was instrumental in the medieval reception of the action theory of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. Scotus and Ockham were part of a later Franciscan theological tradition. Thom…
La démonstration de l’existence de Dieu: Les conclusions des cinq voies de saint Thomas d’Aquin et la preuve a priori dans le thomisme du XVII e siècle
La démonstration de l’existence de Dieu: Les conclusions des cinq voies de saint Thomas d’Aquin et la preuve a priori dans le thomisme du XVIIe siècle. Igor Agostini. The Age of Descartes 1. Turnhout: Brepols, 2016. 704 pp. €105. - Volume 71 Issue 4
William of Ockham: “Questions on Virtue, Goodness, and the Will”
Francisco De Vitoria on the Nature and Source of Civil Authority
Readers have found at least two distinct and perhaps contradictory accounts of civil authority in the works of Francisco de Vitoria, and some hold that Vitoria himself holds contradictory positions. This article argues that Vitoria holds one consistent position, namely, that civil power is based on a necessity that is rooted in human nature, and in particular on the final cause of human life, and not on a necessity that is a result of any histori…
Penser l’amour avec Thomas d’Aquin: Lecture philosophique
Philosophy (16 works) · Medieval Philosophy and Theology (12 works) · Epistemology (10 works) · Law (7 works) · Theology (7 works) · History (6 works) · Philosophy (6 works) · Historical Philosophy and Science (5 works) · Political science (5 works) · Augustinian Studies and Theology (4 works)