The Thomistic Institute

Natural and Artificial Instruments for Investigating the Cosmos - Prof. John Brungardt

The Thomistic Institute

Show Notes

Prof. John Brungardt explores the Aristotelian-Thomistic necessity of scientific instruments as essential tools for the human mind to investigate the cosmos and overcome the limitations of natural sensation.

This lecture was given on July 17th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events

About the Speaker:

Dr. John G. Brungardt is assistant professor of philosophy in the School of Catholic Studies at Newman University in Wichita, Kansas. Previously, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago, Chile. A graduate of Thomas Aquinas College, Brungardt completed his doctorate in philosophy at The Catholic University of America. As a philosopher, Catholic layman, and Dominican tertiary, his studies, teaching, and scholarship aim at continuing the philosophical tradition of St. Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle, and their heirs, attempting to bring their insights into meaningful dialogue with modern theories. His central interests lie in the philosophy of nature and the philosophy of science. He is working on a monograph for CUA Press, Searching for the Cosmos. Brungardt is a scholar associate of the Society of Catholic Scientists and an ordinary member of The Sacra Doctrina Project. He also serves as the general editor of The Charles De Koninck Project and as the assistant editor of Lux Veritatis: A Journal of Speculative Theology, both initiatives of the Sacra Doctrina Project.

Keywords: Natural Philosophy, Faith and Science, Aristotle, Epistemology, Philosophy Of Science, Cosmology

More from The Thomistic Institute

Oct 22, 2026

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.

Oct 21, 2026

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.

Oct 20, 2026

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

Oct 19, 2026

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

Oct 16, 2026

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.

See all episodes →