Christendom College President George A. Harne, Ph.D., has released a new episode of the Christendom Conversations podcast featuring a thoughtful discussion with professor and St. Thomas Aquinas expert Dr. Steven Baldner. Together, they discuss the enduring relevance of fundamental philosophical questions for contemporary youth and the vital role of educators in guiding students toward truth.
“What will really make you a happy person?” asks Baldner during the conversation. “Young people at age 18 are getting to the point where they see that there are certain problems, maybe with the idea of just pursuing money, or pleasure, or drugs, or whatever it is. They’re beginning to recognize that some of the apparently easy answers are not going to work, and they’re open to a consideration of thinking about the question of: what is happiness?”
During the conversation, Dr. Baldner shares his own academic journey as a philosophy professor, highlighting influences on his understanding of creation and contrasting Aquinas’s hylomorphism with Descartes’ mechanical philosophy.
Dr. Steven Baldner was educated at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies in Toronto, where he specialized in medieval philosophy. After teaching at St. Thomas More College, he joined the faculty at St. Francis Xavier University in 1992, where he continues to teach. His primary academic interests include the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, particularly Aquinas’ natural philosophy and the problem of creation. Baldner has published widely on Aquinas as well as Albert the Great, Bonaventure, and Anselm. He also designed and proposed the Program in Catholic Studies at St. Francis Xavier, coordinated the university’s Humanities Colloquium, and previously served as dean of arts.
This marks the fourteenth episode of Christendom Conversations, following February’s episode with professor and author Dr. Clint Brand, where Harne and Brand delved into the Catholic intellectual tradition, particularly focusing on Anglicanism’s historical context and its ties to Catholicism.
Christendom Conversations is part of Christendom College’s expanding podcast network, which offers listeners and viewers rich engagement with the Catholic intellectual tradition. Through in-depth interviews with Catholic scholars and cultural leaders, the podcast explores timeless questions and enduring truths. New episodes are released monthly.
Watch the latest episode below:
