About this episode

Fr. Chris Gault, O.P. discusses Aquinas's epistemology and its implications for understanding knowledge and skepticism.

Fr. Chris Gault, O.P. lays out Aquinas's epistemology of moderate realism, in which all knowledge begins with the senses and the agent intellect abstracts universal forms from phantasms, and defends it against skepticism, ancient and modern, including the claim that artificial intelligence cannot truly know. This lecture was given on July 18th, 2026, at Glencomeragh House. Support the Thomistic Institute Campus Chapter Program here: truth.thomisticinstitute.org/pod About the Speaker: Fr. Chris Vincent Gault, OP, was born and raised in Belfast in the north of Ireland, where he studied medicine at Queen's University Belfast. Qualifying as a doctor in 2013, he began to train as an emergency physician, before leaving medicine after 3 years to enter the Irish Province of the Order of Preachers. Ordained as a Dominican priest in July 2024, and after having completed his studies at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome, he was assigned to the convent of St. Mary of the Isles in Cork, where he now resides and ministers, particularly to the youth and young adults of that city. Keywords: Agent Intellect, Aquinas, Blindsight, Chinese Room Argument…

People in this episode

Guest: Fr. Chris Gault, O.P.

Topics covered

• Aquinas' epistemology
• moderate realism
• skepticism
• artificial intelligence
• agent intellect
• sensory experience

Keywords

• Agent Intellect
• Aquinas
• Epistemology
• Moderate Realism
• Sensory Experience
• Universals

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Thomistic Institute, Queen's University Belfast, Order of Preachers

Books & works: Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum)

Places: Belfast, Glencomeragh House, Cork

More episodes of The Thomistic Institute

• Iconoclastic and Incarnational Church Architecture - Fr. Irenaeus Dunlevy, O.P. · September 11, 2026 · 1h 5m
• Aquinas on Conscience as the Application of Knowledge to Practice - Fr. David Goodill, O.P. · September 10, 2026 · 43 min
• Aquinas on Conscience and the Inner Act of the Will - Fr. David Goodill, O.P. · September 9, 2026 · 48 min
• Conscience First, and to the Pope Afterwards - Prof. Lewis Ayres · September 8, 2026 · 32 min
• Newman Against Hitler: Reflections on Ratzinger - Prof. Lewis Ayres · September 7, 2026 · 35 min
• Imagination and Conscience - Prof. Medi Volpe · September 4, 2026 · 31 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Thomistic Institute podcast page.