Peril and Promise in Early Modern Thought

What was gained over the centuries, and at what cost? How do we regain what we lost? Come listen and interact with John Patrick, John Robson, Graeme Hunter, Dominic Manganiello, Edward Tingley and others.

Start the week with Evensong on Sunday evening, and each day with spiritual insights from Father Doug Hayman.  Planned lectures include John Robson on “Those Terrible Middle Ages”, along with a lecture about what the middle ages did and did not bequeath to us in terms of liberty.  John Patrick will enlighten us on the “Endarkenment”, and Graeme Hunter will lend insight into “Descartes and Medicine”.  Mark Kristjanson will be discussing “MacIntyre’s view of the Enlightenment,” while Cory Wilson encourages a more Thomistic view of what human beings are.  Last but not least, Edward Tingley will help us better understand the importance of conscience rights.

More information coming soon, including information on accommodations, and things to do and see in Ottawa.  Come back frequently.

Speakers’ Recommended Reading List

John Robson
Those Terrible Middle Ages, Regine Pernoud
Magna Carta: Our Shared Legacy of Liberty, John Robson

Mark Kristjanson
After Virtue, Alisdair MacIntyre

Dominic Manganiello
The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri, with emphasis on Purgatorio and Paradiso
Candide, Voltaire

Graeme Hunter
Discourse on Method, Rene Descartes

Cory Wilson
The Soul: How We Know It’s Real and Why It Matters, JP Moreland
A Brief History of the Soul, Stewart Goetz and Charles Taliaferro
“Aquinas on the Human Soul,” Edward Feser, and “In Defense of a Thomistic-like Dualism,” JP Moreland in The Blackwell Companion to Substance Dualism
For those who are interested further, read The Recalcitrant Imago Dei: Human Persons and the Failure of Naturalism, JP Moreland.  This will be a somewhat slower read for those not familiar with the topic.  Of note, Graeme Hunter uses this book in one of his philosophy courses.

General Reading
Like a Pelting Rain: The Making of the Modern Mind, Roland Cap Ehlke.  This is a quick read and therefore merely representative of the issues at hand, but very informative.

The Tao of Right and Wrong, Dennis Danielson.  This short book is the subject of our group discussion on Friday afternoon.

Schedule For the Week:  

Registration Fee:  $1000 for the week for physicians, $500 for spouses and students, in the currency of your home country.  Please inquire about scholarships if cost is an issue.  We would like payment by May 1 if possible.  Checks can be mailed to:

Sally Patrick
Augustine College
163 Fifth Avenue, Ottawa
Ontario, Canada, K1S 2M8

Venue: Laurentian Leadership Centre of Trinity Western University, 252 Metcalfe Street, Ottawa.

CME:  Continuing Medical Education credits are available for a small fee (+/- $30).  We will update this when more information is available.  In 2018 the course was worth 20.75 credits from the College of Family Physicians of Canada.  From personal experience (Cory Wilson) these credits work for Division II credits with the ABFM.  Up to 1/2 of credits can be Division II.

Accommodations: There are some beds available at the Laurentian Centre where the conference is.  The following information was passed on from the Laurentian Centre:
Guest Suite: includes a queen sized bed and an ensuite washroom.
1 Family Room with 4 single beds and two ensuite washrooms.
5 upstairs dorm rooms all with ensuite washrooms.
Dorm A- 3 single beds
Dorm B- 4 single beds
Dorm C- 4 single beds
Dorm D- 4 single beds
Dorm E- 3 single beds
For a week long accommodation prices are:
Guest Suite – $285 + HST
Family Room – $300 +HST
Dorms (per person) – $175 + HST
In addition, there are several B&Bs and hotels within easy walking distance of the Laurentian Leadership Centre.

What to do in Ottawa: There is fun for all ages and interests in Ottawa! Walk, cycle along the Rideau Canal and Ottawa River, or take a river boat tour.  The Bytown Museum is right along the locks of the Rideau Canal near downtown.  Across the river is Gatineau, Quebec, which boasts the Canadian Museum of History and Parc Omega, a wildlike park.  The Augustine College Summer Conference is hosted at the Laurentian Leadership Centre, within walking distance of downtown Ottawa and numerous attractions including Parliament Hill (unfortunately, construction limits what we can see there currently), the National Gallery, the Canada War Museum, Aviation and Space Museum, and Museum of Nature.  Shopping is available at the Rideau Centre and Byward Market.  Visit ottawatourism.ca to learn more about Ottawa.  For me personally (Cory), I have only been to Ottawa in June for this conference, but I have found it to be a beautiful city and I look forward to the visit each year.

For more information see the Summer Conference page or contact Cory Wilson.