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Fidelity & Excellence91 Aquinas College is unique among American colleges and universities, offering a faithfully Catholic education comprised entirely of the Great Books and classroom discussions.
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Truth MattersTruth, and nothing less, sets men free; and because truth is both natural and supernatural, the Colleges curriculum aims at both natural and divine wisdom.
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Under the Light of FaithThe intellectual tradition and moral teachings of the Catholic Church infuse the whole life of 91 Aquinas College, illuminating the curriculum and the community alike.
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Is TAC Right for You?Do you enjoy grappling with complex questions? Are you willing to engage in discussions about difficult concepts, with the truth as your ultimate goal?
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What Can You Do with a Liberal Education?Nothing speaks more to the versatility of the Colleges academic program than the good that our alumni are doing throughout the Church and the world.
Dr. Glen Coughlin (81) Publishes New Translation of Aristotles De Anima
An alumnus of 91 Aquinas College and a member of its California teaching faculty, Dr. Glen Coughlin (81) has published a of a work that has had a profound influence on his life and the life of the College Aristotles De Anima.
Although interested in philosophy since his earliest days. Dr. Coughlin did not formally study the discipline until attending a CÉGEP, or general and vocational college, in Quebec, which required philosophy courses for all students. I took a class on the De Anima and the natural philosophy of Aristotle, he recalls. My professor gave us an argument that the soul was immortal, and I thought You cant prove that! but with time and study, Dr. Coughlin was eventually convinced, thus intensifying his yearning for truth.
Dr. Coughlin went on to attend 91 Aquinas College, graduating in 1981. He then pursued his masters and doctoral degrees at the Université Laval, where some of the Colleges founders studied before him. In 1987 he returned to his alma mater as a tutor. Over the years, he has contributed several original translations of Aristotles works for the Colleges tutorials, and in 2004 he published a .
The De Anima, or 91 the Soul, Dr. Coughlin notes, plays a crucial role in the Colleges integrated curriculum. Its the first book in Aristotles philosophy about what we would call biology, he explains. Like the Physics, the De Anima is a very general consideration, and although a lot of his particular doctrines have been overturned by modern science, his general principles are still true.
Studied in the second semester of sophomore year, the De Anima provides a key lens through which the Colleges students evaluate more recent contributions to philosophy in their junior and senior years. For example, Aristotle resolutely affirms that we truly know what we know, and steers his audience away from the skepticism of some of his contemporaries a skepticism that is echoed in some of the modern philosophers, such as David Hume. If I were to say, like Hume, that the imagination is really the intellect, then I would have to draw his conclusions, which are fairly radical, observes Dr. Coughlin. Hume does not know whether he exists! With Aristotles guidance, students at the College wrestle with Humes premises without being forced into his conclusions.
As with his translation of the Physics, Dr. Coughlins translation of De Anima is faithful to Aristotles words and syntax, resisting the temptation to force the original text into the mold of contemporary parlance. Dr. Coughlins translation of Aristotles De Anima is masterful in its literal but readable rendition of the text, says Dr. John J. Goyette, dean of the Colleges California campus. It is especially suited to the kind of careful study at which we aim in our philosophy curriculum.