
Show Notes
Prof. Adam Eitel argues that modern identity theories ultimately fail because they lack a stable metaphysical grounding, and he proposes an alternative view rooted in Saint Thomas Aquinas’s exposition of Psalm 8.
This lecture was given on February 27th, 2026, at St. Raphael Retreat Center.
For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events
About the Speaker:
Professor Eitel is an Associate Professor of Theology at the University of Dallas. Before joining the UD faculty in 2023, he taught for eight years at Yale University, holding appointments in the Divinity School, the Program in Medieval Studies, and the Humanities Program. A specialist in medieval scholasticism, his research interests include doctrinal and moral theology, with a particular focus on the works of Thomas Aquinas and his contemporaries. His teaching and research bring historical Christian theology into dialogue with contemporary moral and political issues.
Keywords: Identity, Salvation, Relativism, Psalms, Metaphysics, Theology, Human Nature, Christian Anthropology
More from The Thomistic Institute
Prof. Erik Dempsey explores Original Sin as a fundamental, lived reality inherently inclining the human person toward wrongdoing, but recognizing our brokenness is essential for understanding our constant need for divine grace and justification.
Fr. Irenaeus Dunlevy examines the contemporary crisis of identity by contrasting modern fluid subjectivism with the Thomistic realist perspective of the human person, arguing our true identity is rooted in our nature as beings created by God and ordered toward Him
Prof. Adam Eitel contrasts the modern, self-constituted notions of identity with the Thomistic understanding of man as a creature capable of seeing God., whereby our human identity is fundamentally reordered from the Adamic image to the image of Christ
Prof. Paul Gondreau explores the theological necessity of Christ's full humanity, arguing that by assuming a human nature complete with emotions and the capacity for suffering, Jesus provides the ultimate model for human perfection and moral integrity.
Prof. Tim Flanigan, in the face of a "conspiracy of silence" in clinical settings that discourages the expression of faith, urges medical professionals to embrace the discomfort of witnessing to their beliefs to better support their patients.