Aquinas on Nature and the Natural: Form and the Scale of 'Esse' – Fr. Raymund Snyder, O.P.

The Thomistic Institute

Fr. Raymund Snyder explores Thomas Aquinas’s metaphysics of nature, form, and the scale of being, emphasizing the integration of Aristotelian and Neoplatonic traditions and the unique Christian vision of creation, essence, and intellect.

This lecture was given on May 29th, 2025, at Mount Saint Mary College.

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About the Speakers:

Fr. Raymund Snyder, O.P. is the Director of Campus Programs and Evangelization for the Thomistic Institute. He grew up in Wichita, Kansas and studied philosophy and classics at the University of Notre Dame. He entered the Order of Preachers in 2010 and was ordained a priest in 2016. He recently completed a licentiate in philosophy at the Catholic University of America. His academic interests include Metaphysics, Natural Theology, and Neoplatonism.

Keywords: Aristotelianism, Christian Distinction, Creation, Divine Names, Essence and Esse, Metaphysics, Natural Law, Neoplatonism, On the Nature of Man, Scale of Being