Lack of community is a big difficulty faced by the autodidact in the digital age. Learn how the Lyceum Institute is overcoming this problem: tinyurl.com/cmty2025

A fundamental inquiry: what kind of thing technology is, and therefore what kind of problem—or difficulty—does it present for human life? Not merely a terminological reframing but rather a reordering of the field of inquiry—and the conditions for sufficient response. lyceum.institute/hum...

Too often, “technology” is treated in terms of “problems”—which is to conceive of technology from within a technological frame of thinking. We must re-think the nature of technology if ever we want to escape the inhuman spiral of technopoly. lyceum.institute/hum...

A Philosophical Happy Hour on... anything pertaining to learning (disciplina)! What thoughts do you have about education in 2026?

An education is not attained by proceeding through a system, but through personal relations with those who lead us out of ignorance. We have some great intellectual leaders. Read more about our Faculty Fellows: tinyurl.com/lyc-fac2025

Drawing on phenomenology, media theory, and more, this paper proposes that communication must be understood as a relational, formal activity: rather than merely circulating signals, constituting an environment—an understanding essential for surviving the digital age. lyceum.institute/hum...

The deepest dangers of technology may not lie in its external effects, but in what it does to the psyche. This white paper argues that technology is not merely a neutral tool we may use as we will, but something that alters the formative cognitive and cathectic habits through which we choose. 1/2

The habits of intellectual development are always best nourished in communities of living conversation. We cultivate such a community in many ways—including our weekly Philosophical Happy Hour, open to the public. Come see how we're building a habit of thinking:

If you wish to become a serious thinker—not a hobbyist or a casual enjoyer of the liberal arts, but a true respondent to the intellectual vocation—our program is intended for you. Learn more: tinyurl.com/lyc-stt2025

What differentiates the Latin scholastic esse intentionale from the German phenomenological Intentionalität? The latter, bastardized from the former, builds a bridge from one side—and widens the gap with every step. The former brings us into the true light of relation. Our seminar continues.

“For truth does not oppose truth”, writes Averroës in his Decisive Treatise—and indeed, this is true. But how do we know that truth, and how do we communicate it to others? The truth is dangerous, and if misunderstood, he argues, leads one astray. How, then, to teach it? Our seminar continues.

Drawing on McLuhan and Thomistic accounts of inner sense, this paper distinguishes sensation from perception, and argues for recovering proportional integration as a condition for truth. lyceum.institute/hum...

Examining habits as ways the human being holds toward objects. Against reductionist accounts, we view technology as an extension of our natural faculties, and propose that technological environments shape moral and intellectual self-determination. lyceum.institute/hum...

Logic can be conceived as the study of how we obtain λόγος, logos: the intelligibility of the real: not as it resides in the intellect, but as transcending both the intellect by which it is grasped and the things from which it is grasped—irreducible to either. Learn more:

The Humanitas Technica project is addressing the most pressing questions of our technological developments and their impact upon humanity. Learn more: lyceum.institute/hum...

You’re never truly alone when you’ve the gift of a philosophical habit.

Are we losing our humanity to technology? Such is a real and legitimate fear. We seem to have fewer and fewer capacities we exercise independently of the technological—and in that increasing dependence, lose what is makes us human. The Lyceum Institute is rectifying this.

A fundamental inquiry: what kind of thing technology is, and therefore what kind of problem—or difficulty—does it present for human life? Not merely a terminological reframing but rather a reordering of the field of inquiry—and the conditions for sufficient response. lyceum.institute/hum...

Tomorrow (4/1/26) we are having our Philosophical Happy Hour, open to the public. It is a unique event on the internet: many people, talking with one another, seriously and about serious topics, but with civility, without anger, and with genuinely beneficial results. You should join us. 1/2

Where do you exist? In the body? In the flesh?

Too often, “technology” is treated in terms of “problems”—which is to conceive of technology from within a technological frame of thinking. We must re-think the nature of technology if ever we want to escape the inhuman spiral of technopoly. lyceum.institute/hum...

Drawing on phenomenology, media theory, and more, this paper proposes that communication must be understood as a relational, formal activity: rather than merely circulating signals, constituting an environment—an understanding essential for surviving the digital age. lyceum.institute/hum...

A Philosophical Happy Hour reflecting on the pressure to exhibit personal authenticity in an age of hypocrisy.

The Lyceum Institute’s Operational Fund is used to provide stipends for our Faculty Fellows, cover our technology costs, expand our programs, and hold in-person events. Learn more and donate today at the link below! 1/2

Drawing on McLuhan and Thomistic accounts of inner sense, this paper distinguishes sensation from perception, and argues for recovering proportional integration as a condition for truth. lyceum.institute/hum...

Why study grammar? We might think it a basic necessity for educating young students—elementary students, and perhaps into middle school—but of little importance by the time of high school, the competent student having gained the adequacy in... Read more: lyceum.institute/tri...

Today, we consider the late-historical developments and essential principles of semiotics itself (a kind of “semiotica docens”): seeing how it helps us understand language, nature, and experience.

Today, we consider the methodological principles and apophatic theology of Rabbi Moses Maimonides, aiming at a discovery of reason’s limits and the conceptions we produce through our inquiries.

Examining habits as ways the human being holds toward objects. Against reductionist accounts, we view technology as an extension of our natural faculties, and propose that technological environments shape moral and intellectual self-determination. lyceum.institute/hum...

The Humanitas Technica project is addressing the most pressing questions of our technological developments and their impact upon humanity. Learn more: lyceum.institute/hum...

Our Endowment Fund secures the future for a new kind of school—an educational institution not concerned with credentials but wisdom, not “preparing” students for life but building lifelong habits of love for the truth. Learn more and donate at the link below.

Tonight at the Lyceum: What distinguishes lying from concealment? Does another person always have a right to the truth he asks for? Can one mislead without corrupting speech itself? We will explore these questions through St. Thomas Aquinas—though it is less simple than it first appears. 1/2

On Lying, Concealment, and Strategic Deception A Philosophical Happy Hour considering whether every intentional deception is forbidden, or whether some concealment is not only permitted but required. What is a lie?  And do we often call things “lies” that aren’t, or conflate lies with other forms…

Brain “death” is not human death.

Pursue the noble goods.

Linguistic Signification: A Classical and Semiotic Course in Grammar & Composition presents both a deeply-philosophical look at our use of language and a means to gain mastery over its use. Learn more at the link below. 1/2

We learn little by the witness of an individual: the singular mind often is given to bias, prejudice, an idealization unmerited by the facts. But when many persons, diverse in character and background, say the same thing, we pay more attention. Listen to the testimonials of Lyceum members! 1/2

What is semiotics—and how has it been hidden in the history of all genuine philosophical inquiry? Today we take up early investigations that Deely made into these questions, and see how he challenges the common narratives of philosophy’s history.

Today we begin our inquiry with Leo Strauss—who challenges us to rethink the distinction and relation between the traditions of philosophical inquiry and religious belief. Are they truly opposed? Reconcilable? Why/not? How? We seek no mere answers, but the full understanding of the problem.

The Lyceum Institute is restoring our use of technology to the flourishing of humanity rather than to the dehumanization today so prevalent. Learn more about how at the link below. 1/2

The Cursus Theologicus of John Poinsot (Joannes a Sancto Thoma) is a masterwork in theology—structured primarily as a commentary on Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae, it offers not only helpful exposition of St. Thomas, but original insight as well. Learn more at the link below. 1/2

This is your last chance to register for the Semiotics: Deely seminar! A challenging thinker—but investing the time and effort to understand his thought pays high dividends. Register now:

Today is the LAST DAY to register for our Spring Seminars! There are only a few spots left for the Faith and Reason seminar. First come, first serve!

Our Faculty Fellows bring experience, wisdom, and insight to their teaching—learn more about those bringing us into the light of truth:

We speak of “liberalism”, “the West”, “the crisis of democracy”. Pierre Manent drives us asks a prior question: what is the political animal, and under what form does he live? If you want a politics beyond slogans, check out our 2026-27 reading group. lyceum.institute/new...

Does faith perfect reason—or displace it? Since the Enlightenment, religion has often been dismissed as superstition or control. Does this dismissal rests on a caricature? Our seminar confronts the question at its roots—with Maimonides, Averroës, Augustine, Aquinas, and more. 1/2

The Lyceum Institute community demonstrates an approach to education unconstrained by the limits and outmoded approach to learning which has become the norm. We believe ourselves establishing a new paradigm for education, beyond the university. Support our cause: https://bit.ly/4e0270g

Our Foundations of Study courses provide beginning students—those who thirst to drink from the endless spring of lifelong learning—the necessary habits for living an intellectual life. Learn more: tinyurl.com/lycfos2025

Modern political life often feels unstable. Manent argues that this instability follows a long transformation in our understanding of political association itself. Join the Lyceum and examine this transformation with us! Link in the reply. 1/2

Attacks on religion often ignore (or misrepresent) its most rigorous-thinking defenders. Augustine, Averroës, Maimonides, Aquinas deserve to be understood—for each was a powerful thinker. Join us this spring as we examine their thoughts on faith and reason. spring-2026/ 1/2