Dr. Christopher S. Morrissey
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Redeemer Pacific College
Recent Papers and Presentations

Chris and Angela Morrissey giving a chant workshop at St. George's School to the Junior Classical League on April 9, 2011

"The Importance of Aquinas for Philosophy",
2012 Fideles Ecumenical Conference (with Archbishop Michael Miller on "The Importance of Aquinas for Theology"),
Northwest Auditorium, Trinity Western University, March 15, 2012, 7pm.

"Is There a Universal, Objective Morality?"
Public Debate at Trinity Western University vs. Dr. Grant Havers,
Northwest Auditorium, March 7, 2012, 7pm.

"Peter Kreeft? He Needs No Introduction",
Introduction to talks by Peter Kreeft,
Westminster Abbey, Mission, BC, January 28, 2012.

"Talking with Teachers: Prof-etic Theology",
Panel discussion with Morrissey, Spencer, Townsend, and Zimmermann on the place of Theology in the University,
West Coast Collegium, January 26, 2012, 7pm.

"The Historical Adam: A Philosophical Approach to Original Sin",
TWU Faculty Science and Christianity Study Group,
Neufeld 37, Trinity Western University, January 9, 2012, 1pm.

"Journey of the Mind towards God: Testimony from Two Philosophers (Dr. C.S. Morrissey and Dr. Phillip Wiebe)",
TWU Philosophy Department Public Lecture on Thomas Aquinas's Five Ways,
Northwest Auditorium, Trinity Western University, November 4, 2011, 7pm.

"Does Free Trade Undermine Food and Water as Human Rights?
Distinguishing Ontological Aspects of the Problem with Contributions from Jacques Maritain and Thomas Aquinas",
Canadian Jacques Maritain Association 2011 Conference, Religion, Philosophy and Economics,
Dominican University College, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, October 29, 2010.

"Solesmes Old and New: Modeling Systems Theory and Gregorian Semiology",
Chant: Old and New, Sixth Annual Colloquium of the Gregorian Institute of Canada,
Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, August 5, 2011.

"A Brief History of Thomism",
Catholic After Hours Church History Seminar Series,
The Irish Heather Pub, Whiskey House, Gastown, Vancouver, BC, June 19, 2011.

"Thomas Aquinas and Adolf Reinach on States of Affairs",
2011 Annual Conference on Christian Philosophy, The Early Phenomenology: Munich and Göttingen,
Franciscan University of Steubenville, Steubenville, Ohio, April 30, 2011.

"Chants of a Lifetime: Singing Gregorian Chant—A Basic Tutorial", Junior Classical League,
St. George's School, Vancouver, BC, April 9, 2011.

"Pope Benedict XVI on Natural Law" and "Thomas Aquinas on Natural Law and Human Rights",
Recollection Half-Day for Lent, Our Lady of the Assumption Parish,
Port Coquitlam, BC, April 2, 2011.

"The Discovery of the Being of Metaphysics: Is Metaphysics Parasitic on Physics?" [paper offered in absentia],
31st Annual Conference of the Center for Medieval Studies, The Metaphysics of Aquinas and its Modern Interpreters,
Fordham University, Lincoln Center, New York City, March 26, 2011.

"Thomas Aquinas on Law and Providence",
Catholic Studies Conference, In Search of the Good in the World: Scholarly Perspectives in Conversation,
St. Thomas More College, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, March 12, 2011, 2:45pm.

"Whither the Free Market? Food and Water as Universal Rights",
TWU Biology Club, Faith and Science Week,
Robert N. Thompson Building, RNT 215, Trinity Western University, February 3, 2011, 7pm.

"The History of Human Desire",
SFU Seniors Program and The SFU Seniors Lifelong Learners Society, Saturday Seniors Forums ,
Simon Fraser University Harbour Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada, December 4, 2010.

"Thomas Aquinas on Natural Law and the Decalogue",
Guest Seminar for Christine Jones' RELS 160 RP "Introduction to Theology", on Catechism of the Catholic Church 2052-2195,
Redeemer Pacific College, Langley, BC, November 29, 2010.

"Metaphysics as an Intercultural Philosophy: New Proofs for the Existence of God?",
Canadian Jacques Maritain Association 2010 Conference, Intercultural Philosophy and the Christian Tradition,
Saint Paul University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, October 22, 2010.

"Aquinas on Truth: Individuation, Relations, and States of Affairs ",
American Maritain Association 2010 Conference, Scholasticism and Politics,
Walsh University, Canton, Ohio, October 15, 2010.

"Stephen Hawking and Thomas Aquinas on Creation as Origin",
School of the Arts, Media and Culture 2010 Conference, Arts and Genesis,
Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, October 1, 2010.

"Hylemorphism and Individuation: Edith Stein's Protosemiotic Revision of Thomism?",
2010 Annual Conference on Christian Philosophy, Edith Stein's Finite and Eternal Being,
Franciscan University of Steubenville, Steubenville, Ohio, April 24, 2010.

"Mad Men and the Eternal Husband: From Dostoevsky to Don Draper",
Gender Studies Institute Gender Café,
Graduate Collegium, Fosmark Building, Trinity Western University, March 24, 2010.

"A Twitch Upon the Thread: Aquinas on Elicited Natural Desire for God",
Fideles 2010 4th Annual Symposium, Longing for God: The Secret of the Human Heart,
Northwest Auditorium, Trinity Western University, February 5, 2010.

"Thomas Aquinas on the Development of Doctrine",
Guest Seminar for RELS 671 "Development of Christian Doctrine", RNT 126,
Trinity Western University, February 1, 2010.

"'Hold the Apocalypse': René Girard on Violent Truths in Greek Tragedy and Shakespeare",
The Verge Arts Series 2009 Conference, Arts and Knowing,
Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, October 29, 2009.

"The Origins of Evil: René Girard's Mimetic Theory and a Thomistic Doctrine of Relations",
American Maritain Association 2009 Conference, God and the Permission of Evil,
University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas, October 23, 2009.

"Did the Latin Age Really Begin with Augustine?",
Semiotic Society of America 2009 Conference, The Semiotics of Time,
University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, October 15, 2009.

"Generative Anthropology: The Nominalist Hypothesis" [paper read in absentia],
Panel 9 (1:30-3:00), Language, Rhetoric and Representation, Generative Anthropology Summer Conference,
University of Ottawa, June 20, 2009.

"Did Aristotle Argue for "An Inherent Devaluation of Woman in Relation to Man"?",
Dodson Room, 2:00-4:00 Panel on "Modeling Antiquity", Classical Association of Canada,
University of British Columbia, May 14, 2009.

"The Agent Intellect and the Interior Word: Augustine, Aquinas, Neoplatonism",
2009 Annual Conference on Christian Philosophy, Neo-Platonism and Its Legacy,
Franciscan University of Steubenville, April 25, 2009.

"The Luminosity of Existence",
Fideles 2009 3rd Annual Symposium, The Roots of Western Culture,
Alumni Hall, Trinity Western University, March 14, 2009.

"Thomas Aquinas, Human Science, and Sacred Science",
Guest lecture for RELS 476, RNT,
Trinity Western University, February 17, 2009.

"The Catholic Social Vision and Barack Obama",
Colloquium with Response to Deacon Keith Fournier and Grant Havers,
Block Hall, Trinity Western University, January 16, 2009.

"'On the mount Yahweh was seen': Greek and Latin Hermeneutics of Genesis 22",
Septuagint Institute Conference, Septuagint Translation(s): Retrospect and Prospect,
Northwest Auditorium, Trinity Western University, September 19, 2008.

"Christopher Dawson, Leo Strauss, and Rémi Brague on The Making of Europe",
Guest lecture RELS 476, RNT,
Trinity Western University, September 17, 2008.

"Athens, Jerusalem, Rome: The Making of Europe",
The 2008 - 2009 ISI Honors Program, Civilization and Civilizations: The West in Context Summer Conference,
Hôtel Château Laurier, Québec City, June 27, 2008.

"Aquinas on Astrology",
Address to the Knights of Columbus, Redeemer Pacific College,
Trinity Western University, Langley, British Columbia, March 8, 2008.

"Physical or Metaphysical? The 'Teleological' Proof for the Existence of God in Aristotle",
American Maritain Association, University of Notre Dame, October 25-28, 2007.

"Generative Anthropology and Heidegger’s Event: Vom Ereignis",
Generative Anthropology Thinking Event 2007
First Annual Generative Anthropology Conference,
Vancouver School of Theology, University of British Columbia, July 27, 2007.

"The Metaphysics of Causality",
Institute for the Study of Nature 2007 Conference,
The Nature of Nature,
University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, June 16, 2007.

"The Semiotics of Catharsis",
Through a Glass Darkly Conference on Christianity and Literature,
Trinity Western University, May 10, 2007.

"Karl Barth's Last Stand: A Refutation of Revelational Positivism's Revolt against Reason",
Analogy of Being Ecumenical Dialogue Forum, response to Dr. Archie Spencer,
Block Hall, Neufeld Science Centre, Trinity Western University, March 15, 2007.

"Leo Strauss, Socrates, and the Philosophy of Nature",
Nature, Science and Wisdom: The Role of the Philosophy of Nature
2006 conference of the American Maritain Association,
Aquinas College, Nashville, Tennessee, USA, November 4, 2006.

"Dialectic and Demonstration in the Philosophy of Nature",
Maritain and the Philosophy of Nature
2006 conference of the Canadian Jacques Maritain Association,
Saint Paul University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, October 20, 2006.

"The Semiotics of Rene Girard’s Mimetic Theory and Eric Gans’ Generative Anthropology",
Semiotic Society of America 2006 conference at Purdue University, September 28, 2006.

"Galileo’s intelligent evolution",
Roundtable Forum: God, the Nature of Nature, and Science,
NATS 487 event with Tony Cummins, Myron Penner, Brian Gobbet, and Paul Brown,
Block Hall, Neufeld Science Centre, Trinity Western University, September 26, 2006.

"The Semiotics of Good Mimesis in Greek Tragedy and Shakespeare",
Colloquium on Violence and Religion 2006 conference on Mimesis, Creativity and Reconciliation,
Saint Paul University, Ottawa, Canada, June 3, 2006.

"The Science Before Science: Remembering What Is",
North Shore Catholic Seminar Series, Christ the Redeemer Parish, April 28, 2006.

"Oresteia: the oikos writ large?"
Classical Association of the Canadian West conference on Irrationality in Antiquity,
Saskatoon, SK, February 11, 2006.

"Impacting Culture: Can I Change My World?"
Panel discussion with Peter Kreeft and Robert Stackpole and Hans Boersma
Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, January 8, 2006.

"The Immaterial Intellect on the Originary Scene",
[Prize Winner: Raymund Schwager Memorial Award]
Colloquium on Violence and Religion 2005 conference on Mimetic Theory and the Imitation of the Divine,
Koblenz-Schoenstatt, Germany, July 8, 2005.

"Defending the Greeks",
Vancouver Greek Day: Hellenic Cultural Week,
Hellenic Cultural Centre, Vancouver, BC, June 20, 2005.

"Aristotle on Conspiracy Theories",
Classical Association of the Canadian West conference on Irrationality in Antiquity,
Laurel Point Inn, Victoria, BC, February 18, 2005.

"Aristotle’s Perfect Virtue: A Political Life?"
Western Canadian Philosophical Association, 41st Annual Meeting: Conference on Aristotle and Aristotelian Philosophy,
Laurel Point Inn, Victoria, BC, October 29-31, 2004.

"Aristotle and Girard on Science: Nature, Human Nature, and the Mimetic Theory",
Colloquium on Violence and Religion 2004 conference on Nature, ‘Human Nature’ and the Mimetic Theory,
Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, New Mexico, June 3, 2004.

"The WMD Fama: A "Noble Lie"? The Bush Doctrine and the Plato Doctrine",
Conference on Fame: I’m going to live forever!,
Green College, University of British Columbia, May 6, 2004.

"Oresteia as Agônisma: Aristotle on Tragic Form as Competition Piece",
Classical Association of the Canadian West conference on Competition in the Ancient World:
Contesting, Controlling, Subverting, University of Manitoba, March 20, 2004.

"Shakespeare, Aristotle, and Ben Jonson in Mimetic Rivalry",
Colloquium on Violence and Religion 2003,
Passions in Economy, Politics, and the Media, University of Innsbruck, June 20, 2003.

"Aristotle on Textual and Material History: Mythical Structures of Reality",
Classical Association of the Canadian West conference on
Texts and Material Culture, University of Calgary, March 22, 2003.

"Human Difference and Religion: Girard, Derrida, and Postmodern Anthropology",
Institute for the Humanities: Modernity, Secularity, Faith: Where are we now?
Simon Fraser University, February 27, 2003.

"The Scythian Crux: Reading Scapegoats in Colossians 3:11",
Colloquium on Violence and Religion 2002,
Judaism, Christianity, and the Ancient World: Mimesis, Sacrifice, and Scripture, Purdue University, June 8, 2002.

"Girardian Interpretations of Nietzsche",
Department of Humanities, The Humanities Colloquium, Simon Fraser University, May 16, 2002.

"‘In Our Own Despite’: Robert Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Aeschylus’s Agamemnon",
Classical Association of Canada Annual Meeting, University of British Columbia, May 12, 2002.

"The Girard Polemos", Retrospective Essay on the
Conference on Alternatives to Violence: Joanne Brown Symposium, October 25, 2001.

"Reading Mimesis Against Revenge: Girard and Mimetic Violence", Response to Stephen Levine,
Conference on Alternatives to Violence: Joanne Brown Symposium, Bowen Island, October 12, 2001.

"Deconstructing Demeter",
Conference on Sex and Violence in the Ancient World,
Green College, University of British Columbia, May 5, 2001.

"The Winter of Her Discontent: Persephone in the Underworld",
Classical Association of the Canadian West conference on
The Seasons: Greek and Roman Perspectives, Varscona Hotel, Edmonton, AB, March 3, 2001.

"Dignatio non debitum: St. Augustine and St. Faustina on Mercy and Sacrifice",
The second North American Symposium of the John Paul II Institute of Divine Mercy,
St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Vancouver, BC, on February 3, 2001.

"Eschatology in the Xanthippic Dialogues", Conference on Millennia, Messiahs, and Mayhem,
Green College, University of British Columbia, May 6, 2000.

"Cultural Diversity in the Xanthippic Dialogues", Classical Association of the Canadian West /
Classical Association of the Pacific Northwest conference on Cultural Diversity in the
Ancient World, Laurel Point Inn, Victoria, BC, March 10, 2000.