Peter A. Redpath (August 16, 1945—April 13, 2025) was a distinguished philosopher specializing in Thomistic philosophy, leadership, and organizational studies, with a prolific publication record and a significant influence in both academic and applied philosophical circles. he passed away on Palm Sunday, April 13, 2025, at 10:00 pm. He was long-time supporter of the work of this publication, and we are greatly honored to bring as a humble tribute a series of reflections from his friends and students.
Professor Redpath retired as full professor of philosophy from St. John’s University in New York, where he taught from 1979 to 2010. He was an internationally recognized scholar and author of 22 philosophical books, including monographs and edited volumes, as well as numerous articles and book reviews. His work spans Thomistic metaphysics, organizational psychology, leadership, and Christian wisdom, integrating classical philosophical insights with contemporary organizational theory. Professor Redpath delivered over 200 invited lectures at prestigious institutions such as Princeton, Georgetown, Notre Dame, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland, and the Vatican. He was the founder and CEO of the Aquinas School of Leadership, Management, and Organizational Development and established the graduate concentration in Thomistic Studies/Christian Wisdom at Holy Apostles College and Seminary.
Beyond academia, Professor Redpath’s background included a unique personal history growing up in Brooklyn, where he developed what he called “Brooklyn Existentialism,” blending practical common sense with philosophical reflection. He was also co-founder of the Gilson Society (USA) and the Adler-Aquinas Institute.
For all of us at this magazine, Peter’s endless positive energy, no matter how tough things got, will always remain a shining example. He truly embodied the spirit of his great mentor, Saint Thomas Aquinas: “For even as it is better to enlighten than merely to shine, so is it better to give to others the fruits of one’s contemplation than merely to contemplate” (Summa theologiae, IIa-IIae, q.188, a.6, co).
Father at Large
Peter Anthony Redpath, beloved husband, father, grandfather, philosopher, and professor, passed away on Palm Sunday, April 13, 2025 surrounded by loved ones. He was 79.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, and son of Joseph and Alice Redpath, he was a lifelong seeker of truth and wisdom.
He spent his childhood in Brooklyn, New York and his summers in Mount Arlington, New Jersey with his siblings, James and Kathleen (who preceded him in death) and his brother, Robert (still living).
As a child, Peter enjoyed playing baseball, running track, and karate, where he studied five different martial arts and achieved the rank of black belt. He was an avid Brooklyn Dodgers fan. He routinely swam the length of Bertrand Island on Lake Hopatcong.
Peter was a graduate of Xaverian High School class of 1963, where he received the Inaugural-year Distinguished Alumnus Award. He graduated with a B.A. in Philosophy from Iona College in 1967, where he attended on a track and field scholarship and received the Academic Award for Philosophy. While pursuing his Ph.D in Philosophy at SUNY Buffalo on a full scholarship, Peter opened a Taekwondo studio and received his doctorate in 1970. He wrote his thesis on the moral wisdom of St. Thomas Aquinas, a subject he continued to write about until his death.
Peter began his teaching career at Lock Haven College (now Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania) and pivoted in 1979 to teach as Full Professor of Philosophy at St. John’s University until 2010, where he received the Outstanding Achievement Award. He simultaneously taught inmates at Rikers Island and the Arthur Kill Correctional Facility, who he praised as some of his best students. Peter was co-Founder and Founding Chairman (in conjunction with Mortimer J. Adler, Max Weismann, Patrick S. J. Carmack, and Steve Bertucci) of the Angelicum Academy homeschool program (of which he was Chairman of the Board) and Member of the Board of the Great Books Academy homeschool program.
Peter retired to Cave Creek, AZ after retiring from St. John’s in 2010. However, that retirement didn’t last very long, as he went on to be a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of The Great Ideas in Chicago, Rector of the Adler-Aquinas Institute, Chair of the St. John Paul II Thomistic Studies Graduate Philosophy Concentration in Christian Wisdom for Holy Apostles College and Seminary, CEO of the Aquinas School of Leadership and a contributing scholar in the Thomistic Studies graduate program at the University Abat Oliba, Barcelona, Spain.
Peter lectured at the Sorbonne and was a regular lecturer at the Catholic University of Lublin in Poland. He is also the only scholar, or cultural leader, ever to be honored by metaphysicians from “The Lublin School of Thomism” with the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin’s Laudatio Award for “Achievement in Intellectual and Organizational Wisdom.” He loved his Polish colleagues and students and couldn’t wait to go back each year to visit.
Over the course of his distinguished career, Peter authored or edited well over 20 philosophical books; and published dozens of articles and reviews that influenced students, scholars, and colleagues around the world.
Peter ran for Comptroller of New York under the Right to Life party in 1989 and was Editor-in-Chief of the Staten Island Eagle, where he also wrote a monthly column called the “Gadfly.”
Peter met his wife Lorraine in a Bay Ridge, Brooklyn park while running track as Lorraine was playing racketball and confidently approached and asked for her phone number. Lorraine didn’t give out her number to random boys, but Dad could be persuasive. He didn’t have pen or paper, but that didn’t matter. He had a good memory and a greater eye for talent. He never forgot that number. And Lorraine never forgot to honor her marriage vows and took care of her beloved Peter in the aftermath of a massive heart attack, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, stomach cancer, followed by a broken hip which was then followed by the lung cancer that took her husband from her. She doted and served him and lovingly nurtured him through each battle and was ever by his side. Lorraine was a pillar of strength, caring for him with grace and resilience, in his final years.
Peter & Lorraine lived most of their lives together in Staten Island, NY where they raised their family. Peter is survived by his wife of 54 years, their three children, Peter (Jamie), Paul (Angela) & Korri (Paul), and thirteen grandchildren. Nothing made his twin sons prouder than sitting on Daddy’s shoulders while he walked and they fought intensely over the honor, but Dad understood Aquinas’s definition of justice as the virtue that directs a person’s will to render to God and neighbor their due and fairly rotated that privilege. Additionally, Coach Peter also managed his sons’ baseball teams for several years, and managed the St. Theresa Red Sox baseball team to a World Series Championship. Peter’s daughter Korri was particularly fond of the voices he made for her stuffed animals, but was especially impressed by his impersonation of Miss Piggy, which everyone agrees was spot-on.
Peter’s thirteen grandchildren affectionately referred to him as “Poga,” because one of his older grandchildren couldn’t pronounce “grandpa” and it was fitting that such a unique man have a one-of-a-kind term of affection as all thirteen grandchildren loved and adored their Poga. Before his passing, one grandchild was asked what she loved most about Poga, and her eyes widened as she responded enthusiastically, “Everything!”
Peter was a man of great warmth, humor, and faith. He found joy in his Catholic faith, which he transmitted to his children, and in simple pleasures—none greater than summer swims in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey, a place he cherished for its peace, beauty, ice cream, childhood memories, and cherished friends.
To those who knew him, Peter was not only a philosopher of the mind, but also of the heart. He believed in truth, pursued it relentlessly, and shared it generously—with students, with friends, even strangers, but most especially with his family.
Every night, Peter dutifully reminded his family to say their prayers. With this in mind, when remembering Peter, who will be deeply missed, please remember him in your prayers, as he would have wanted.
St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, “a child is by nature part of its father.” We couldn’t be prouder to be the children of Peter Anthony Redpath, Father At Large.
We love you Daddy,
Peter, Paul & Korri Redpath
A Foremost Thomist
Professor Peter Redpath was for many years the nation’s foremost interpreter of the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Thomas, of course, has had more beneficial influence on the teachings of Holy Mother Church than anyone, outside of Our Lord. True to Thomistic form, Peter rejected celebrity and insisted he was just restating what the Angelic Doctor wrote. In fact, Peter was rediscovering and refining it, and putting it to practical use. Academia will miss Peter, but the saints will welcome him in Heaven. Rest in everlasting bliss, my dear friend.
Judge Andrew P. Napolitano
Public commentator and lecturer
New York Times bestselling author
Host of Judging Freedom
A Tribute from Poland
I find it hard to believe that Peter Redpath is not physically among us. For a quarter of a century we met either in the States or in Poland. These meetings were pleasant, but also very useful. For we gathered a group of people who had similar views on philosophy and culture, education and pedagogy, East and West. These meetings resulted in organizing congresses, contributing to the print, radio and TV media, publishing journals, and endless discussions. They were real feasts, whether in the car, on the train or in a restaurant. Behind each of us was a story of experiences, thoughts, projects.
And it’s not easy today to meet philosophers with a real life, meaning well educated and with a realist orientation. Peter was one of the few, one of the real leaders, and he was followed by previously known professors, or young PhDs, whose ambition was to be like Peter: open to the world, to people, to new ideas, and very upright and honest in moral conduct and sincerely religious, or more precisely, to be a righteous Catholic.
For Peter and his friends such as Curtis Hancock, Tom Michaud, John Deely, coming to Poland was of great importance, because despite the many devastations caused by war and communism, one could feel a culture of more than a thousand years, in a country where churches are open all day and Mass is celebrated in every church on Sunday. This is the country of Pope St. John Paul II, a saint but also a profound philosopher.
We came to the conclusion early on that the base for our meetings could be not only the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (KUL), where I am a professor, but also the Redemptorist-owned Higher School of Social and Media Culture (renamed the Academy of Social and Media Culture), headed by Father Director Tadeusz Rydzyk. Annual congresses or conferences were held. Peter Redpath was able to invent interesting speakers and conversational companions, thanks to which the meetings were very fruitful, as over time they filled the content of periodicals such as Man in Culture, or Studia Gilsoniana, the last was created precisely because of Peter’s inspiration.
For him, doing philosophy was as social and even friendly as possible; he was a true disciple of Socrates, Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas. At various meetings, he would look around to see if there was anyone interesting who could be encouraged to do some kind of collaboration. In this way, the circle of philosopher-realists grew, and philosophy could continue and develop despite the crisis. It could and can, because of the ideas that Peter planted, true humanism and healthy view of the world are still alive, still attracting new lovers of true wisdom.
How did I get to know Peter? Fr Mieczyslaw Krąpiec, an excellent Thomist, rector of KUL (1970-1983) had a student Fr Andrew Woznicki, who went to the States to be at the University of California. His student was Hugh McDonald, who was a sailor, originally from Niagara. Fr Woznicki, seeing his intellectual philosophical abilities, advised him to do his master’s degree at the Catholic University of Lublin. And he did. He stayed with us for three years, and I was already working there as an assistant. Hugh wrote his master’s degree in Latin. That’s when the idea of translating the works of the Polish community known as the Lublin School of Philosophy (Fr Krąpiec as a leader) into English came up. Hugh mastered Polish so well that he became a translator for many years.
Once, when I was in Chicago (2000), I thought of participating in an American congress near by. Hugh hinted to me that Prof. Redpath would be a good contact, because there would be a congress at the University of Notre Dame. I called, and Peter started talking to me as if we had known each other for many years and cheerfully confirmed the invitation. Come, he encouraged me, and some room will be found. Well, and there were, and I was moved by such an interesting university and the opportunity to meet so many wonderful professors, who were eager to talk. Peter and I decided to organize a congress in Poland at the Catholic University of Lublin in cooperation with Radio Maryja. As a result, our deliberations had a nationwide extension. And so it goes every year, despite the various difficulties, which, however, can be overcome with technology. This project functions thanks to the commitment of Prof. Imelda Chlodna-Błach, Rev. Dr. Pawel Tarasiewicz, Dr. Joanna Kieres and many others.
I was happy, and we were quite proud in Poland, that we could offer something to our colleagues and friends from the States, and they were able to sincerely appreciate it.
Now that Peter is no longer among us, we will make a resolution to organize lectures in the name of Professor Peter Redpath, philosopher and friend. May we and future generations be reminded of the treasures of wisdom that await sincere philosophers, treasures so necessary today and ever available to people like Peter was.
Piotr Jaroszynski
Chair of the Philosophy of Culture and Rhetoric
John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin
Academy of Social and Media Culture
Toruń, Poland
A Great Catholic Philosopher enters the Presence of God
This past month the intellectual world lost one of its most eminent and original philosophers, with the passing of Peter A. Redpath (16 August 1945—April 13, 2025). Dr. Redpath was a leading example of a Catholic scholar who excelled in the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, but who also understood in depth the positions of all the leading thinkers representing the major traditions in the history of Western philosophy, including contemporary ones.
His academic contributions and activities are literally beyond impressive. Dr. Redpath was a retired Full Professor of Philosophy at St. John’s University, New York. He was the author, editor, co-editor of 29 books and many dozens of articles and book reviews. An internationally recognized scholar, since 1980 he had given over 200 invited guest lectures nationally and internationally.
Among his many accomplishments, Dr. Redpath was CEO of the Aquinas School of Leadership, LLC; former Founder and Chair of the Thomistic Studies Graduate Concentration in Christian Wisdom for Holy Apostles College and Seminary (USA); and an Affiliate Scholar with the University Abat Oliba Graduate program (Barcelona, Spain). He was also co-founder of the Gilson Society (USA) and the International Etienne Gilson Society, the Adler-Aquinas Institute, and the Angelicum Academy and Great Books Academy homeschool programs (both founded with the help of Mortimer J. Adler). Dr. Redpath was also a former executive editor of the Value Inquiry Book Series (VIBS) for the Dutch publisher Editions Rodopi, B.V., and special series editor for Rodopi and Brill/Rodopi.
At the time of his passing, Dr. Redpath was a member of the editorial board of Brill Publishing’s Philosophy and Religion (PAR) series, a member of the Advisory Board of the Lyceum Institute, and Officer in Charge of Medieval Christian Philosophy and Academic Liaison to the Holy See for Global Scholarly Publications.
Dr. Redpath was the author of many scholarly books covering a wide range of philosophical topics. A few salient examples would include: Simplified Introduction to the Wisdom of St. Thomas, The Moral Wisdom of St. Thomas, Masquerade of the Dream Walkers: Prophetic Theology from the Cartesians to Hegel, A Not-So-Elementary Christian Metaphysics, Cartesian Nightmare: An Introduction to Transcendental Sophistry, and his most recent work: Meditations on My Life as a Brooklyn Existentialist, Philosophical Paladin, and Samurai Thomist.
This last work of meditations on his life constituted what was to be the first volume of his Autobiography—a major work intended to have later volumes, but whose ultimate fruition was prevented by his entrance into the presence of God.
This final work deserves more detailed commentary, since it represents some of Dr. Redpath’s greatest cumulative insights concerning what it is to be a genuine philosopher.
Cleverly presented for widespread readership as a short series of wise and witty musings about the nature of philosophy by a street-smart cultural critic like Eric Hoffer, Dr. Redpath’s Autobiography is much more than this. Calling upon his early childhood Brooklyn upbringing surrounded by organized crime bosses and their children (who were personal friends of his and his family) from whom he acquired many philosophical truths in the form of practical and productive common sense, Dr. Redpath extends his reflections to subsequent, philosophical truths he learned from lifelong experience working with students and colleagues ranging from sociopaths to saints.
Doing this causes him completely to reinterpret the nature and history of philosophy and every species of higher learning whenever and wherever it exists. By nature, wherever and whenever they live, Dr. Redpath argues all somewhat psychologically healthy human beings are convinced that: (1) their lives are providentially guided by a prudent, commonsense, natural inclination to live a life of perfect virtue—a life of uncommon common sense; (2) all species of higher learning and cultural and civilizational development essentially grow out of this natural desire; (3) if this natural desire disappears from an individual, culture, or civilization, that individual, culture, or civilization becomes sociopathic, and commits suicide.
Dr. Peter Redpath’s Meditations are written in the form of a literary thriller that could easily become a best seller and produce an Oscar-winning movie. The truths they contain constitute a primer about how to survive and thrive in a contemporary world that is increasingly losing its common sense and going mad.
In a very real sense, this final work in Dr. Redpath’s unbelievably productive academic and scholarly life is an excellent summation of his most important discernments about the true nature of the philosophical enterprise and the proper lifestyle of the accomplished philosopher.
Dr. Redpath also edited many books and published many scholarly articles. Among the books he edited was my own Origin of the Human Species—third edition (2014). Needless to say, I am personally indebted to him both for publishing (Editions Rodopi) and editing my own book.
Finally, according to another reliable source, which offers even far more details about his amazing intellectual life and academic contributions, “Dr. Redpath is also the only scholar, or cultural leader, ever to be honored by metaphysicians from ‘The Lublin School of Thomism’ with the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin’s Laudatio Award for ‘Achievement in Intellectual and Organizational Wisdom.’”
Such was the life of this dedicated Catholic philosopher, who never ceased to make significant contributions to Catholic and Thomistic philosophy his entire life. In so doing, Peter Anthony Achilles Redpath continuously shared his “uncommon common sense,” which he viewed as the true essence of authentic philosophy, with the rest his fellow human beings—as a lasting gift to their intellectual understanding of all the things that really matter.
Dennis Bonnette
Retired Professor of Philosophy,
Niagara University in Lewiston, New York.
He is the author of several books.
“Chairman of the Board”
Peter A. Redpath entered eternal life on Palm Sunday, April 13, 2025. In Heaven, Dr. Redpath will pursue a friendship with Saint Thomas Aquinas since he dedicated decades of his life to working in Saint Thomas’ philosophical vineyard. Peter believed that Saint Thomas’ philosophy was no museum piece but a living philosophy that contained the principles to remedy many of the world’s ills. Peter believed that the best way to study philosophy was in the laboratory of history. In that laboratory, Peter became convinced that Western philosophy divides between the centuries that antedate Saint Thomas, who died in 1274, and the centuries that come afterward. Dr. Redpath devoted 50 years of his life to understanding what philosophy looked like before Saint Thomas and what it has looked like since. Peter’s own work has rendered a verdict that the Western world has drifted into crisis from neglect of the wisdom of Saint Thomas. The rationale for this verdict is elaborated in his magisterial trilogy, Cartesian Nightmare (1997), Wisdom’s Odyssey (1997), and Masquerade of the Dream Walkers (1998). These books are nothing short of a definitive interpretive history of philosophy, from ancient times to the present.
While the power of his intellect shone brightly, Peter was not loved just for his academic acumen and achievement. Those who knew him well were struck by his humanity. He was a man in full, one measure of which was pride in his family. He loved Lorraine deeply and was devoted to his marriage of 54 years and to his children, Peter, Paul, and Korri, and in turn to his grandchildren. The Redpath family will have lives permanently warmed by memories of Peter. His charisma as pater familias also touched other people’s lives. People were attracted to him because his heart was available as a potential friend. He was generous with his time. He personally took me on a tour of New York, a fascinating excursion as Peter was a walking encyclopedia of New York legend and lore. He regarded his friends as part of the Redpath extended family. He formed innumerable friendships and motivated his friends to organize in solidarity to bring to fruition Redpathian projects. Those close to Peter knew that he got up each day contemplating how to inspire his friends to pursue common goals. Peter had a remarkable gift for forming a community. He knew how to persuade people to become team players. For this reason, Peter’s good friend Tom Michaud called him “Chairman of the Board.”
Peter traveled extensively and along the way formed friendships. Peter described himself as a philosophical Paladin, one who travels to motivate others to advance wisdom. His work as a Paladin took him to Poland, where he made many friends and became immersed in the philosophical personalism of Saint John Paul the Great. Saint John Paul teaches that Christianity is about appreciating the immeasurable dignity of the human person. Peter’s Christian faith was deepened by the personalism of John Paul. Of course, his affection for John Paul was fortified by the many friendships he formed in Poland, which he visited innumerable times and where he found a spiritual home in its Catholic culture.
A tribute to Peter Redpath would not be complete without addressing another distinctive feature of his character. In addition to being an admirable intellect, organizational genius, and loyal friend, Peter was endowed with extraordinary willpower. He applied his powerful will to every undertaking. His daily rule of life is expressed in a short poem attributed to Goethe:
To this I hold with firm persistence,
The last report of wisdom says it’s true,
He only earns his freedom and existence
Who every day conquers them anew.
Peter engaged every day as something new to conquer. He filled “the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run.” He loved life intensely and fought mightily to foster and protect the things and the people he loved.
He conspicuously fought for his health. He developed his own naturopathic regimen, supported by the advice of his daughter, Korri. During a given week he might report that he is keeping his body alkaline, managing lymphatic drainage, scheduling red-light therapy, and undergoing some kind of ionization treatment. Through years of effort, he became a self-taught naturopathic expert. Some people were bemused by his health program, dismissing it as eccentric. He was indifferent to their judgment. “If you have the determination to learn, why not become your own doctor. And when the day arrives that you need professional doctors, they should appreciate your experience and invite your voice encouraged his observations and recommendations about his own healthcare. I dare say that his regular personal health measures and autonomous treatments extended his life by a decade.
Because of his strength of will, Peter was exceedingly patient, and as a rule, tolerant of people who were annoying. But on occasion, his patience could be tested. I was witness, up close and personal, to one such episode. Peter and I arranged a session at a meeting of the National Association of Scholars in New Orleans. I was the chair and moderator of the session. Peter was on the program as principal speaker. There was also a professor (unnamed here) seated next to me, assigned the task of reacting to and commenting on Peter’s presentation. Even before Peter spoke, this professor conveyed hostility, which he compounded after Peter’s talk. Many issues were discussed in the session, but the subject of Descartes generated a heated exchange. Peter demonstrated, using clear and distinct ideas, that the contentious professor’s understanding of Descartes was wrong. The professor became unhinged, and in a fit of emotion overturned the table at which he and I sat, scattering books, papers, and briefcases. Peter stood by remaining calm in the storm. No doubt, his Bouncer’s Persona came in handy. Once the commotion settled so that he could be heard, he concisely refuted both the professor and Descartes. I called the session to a close. Later, reflecting on the day’s episode, I asked whether we should have any regrets concerning how we handled the event. We agreed that we had no regrets. We put the episode behind us, recalling Henry Kissinger’s quip that academics can be violent because the stakes are so small.
Peter Redpath left an impression in this world, a legacy of Christian love, wisdom, and team building. We will always remember how he made us feel by loving us.
Curtis L. Hancock
Professor Emeritus of Philosophy
Rockhurst University
Kansas City, Missouri
“Knight without Armor in a Savage Land”
It is with much sadness that I offer this recollection of Peter A. Redpath. Peter was a longtime friend, whom I admired greatly, and a trusted mentor, who profoundly influenced my philosophical growth.
My friendship with Peter began at a conference in Tempe, Arizona in 1996. I came to know him through Curtis Hancock who was often a third traveling partner. Over the years, while attending conferences, lectures, and various other occasions, we developed our friendship through fourteen states and three foreign countries (Spain, Canada, and very many trips to Poland). Peter consistently impressed me as a faithful Roman Catholic, an entirely devoted family man, and a genuine contemporary spoudaios, a morally mature person, citizen and patriot, whose conservative politics were securely rooted in his philosophy.
There are at least two traits of Peter that are not commonly known. Firstly, he was a practiced DIY handyman. His work with his Staten Island, NYC home was a testimony to his accomplished skills. And, secondly, Peter loved to laugh, which made him a most congenial travel partner. I always felt quite pleased when I would tell a story or snap a relevant quip that would make him laugh heartily.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The only way to have a friend is to be one.” Peter knew how to be a friend. His loyalty, generosity, and focus on higher things brought a nobility to our friendship. I pray that I was being a friend to him as much as he was an exemplary friend to me.
Though I had heard many of the stories he recounts in his autobiography about his colorful youth in Brooklyn, reading them in the context of his intellectual meditations enabled deeper insight into his often-unconventional philosophical themes. I believe Goethe once offered words to this effect: The best compliment a student can give a teacher is to tell him that he has become superfluous. I suppose Goethe was implying that when a student becomes an independent learner based on the knowledge the teacher has imparted, the teacher then becomes unnecessary. Contrary to what Goethe claims, however, as a mentor Peter never became superfluous in any way. Peter was a relentless culture warrior. His unconventionality spurred him on to offer an unceasing trove of fresh insights, which exposed and effectively challenged the cultural deformations of our times.
In his autobiography Peter relates that he first learned the uncommon common sense of Brooklyn Existentialism while growing up amid a “rogues gallery” of Cosa Nostra figures, some lovable and some deadly. This Existentialism matured into his culture warrior philosophy as a Paladin—one who battles for an honorable cause—and as a Samuari Thomist, a member of a professional class of noble fighters after the fashion of St. Thomas Aquinas.
Peter understood how Thomistic thought provided a solid foundation for criticizing current culture. Some of the unconventional Thomistic themes for criticizing culture that I learned from Peter are as follows. These themes are expressed in my own words and are capsulized, and thereby very much truncated.
- History has become the new metaphysics. The practice of genuine metaphysics is almost entirely gone. The study of history is understood as the study of the first principles of what is, of being, of reality. So, if one aims to change the nature of reality itself, simply change history.
- The wreckage wrought by Enlightenment abstract humanism is the missing individual human person in contemporary culture.
- Prudence is the master virtue, and the true scientist is a prudential knower.
There are many more such unconventional themes that I could include, but a final one is a theme that occupied Peter for at least the past decade, namely the paramount importance of the nature of organization in Thomistic thought. Applying Thomistic principles of organization, Peter focused on organizational psychology and leadership aiming to elucidate what is truly good leadership in today’s politicized and “lost” culture.
I believe that Peter’s unconventional focus on organizations is an expected result of his being influenced in his youth by “organized” crime. I can imagine Peter laughing in his robust way at this pun. I hope it did make you laugh, Peter, my friend. It always made me feel good and not sad to make you laugh. We all will miss you: our noble, patriotic and hopeful “knight without armor in a savage land.”
Thomas A. Michaud, Ph.D.
Retired Professor of Philosophy and Dean, School of Professional Studies
West Liberty University, Wheeling, WV
Author of After Justice: Catholic Challenges to Progressive Culture, Politics, Economics and Education
Ragamuffin Thomist
Professor Peter Redpath was a ragamuffin Thomist, a note of praise that I think would have pleased him best.
His 2017 book, The Moral Psychology of St. Thomas Aquinas: An Introduction to Ragamuffin Ethics, gives just some of the great man’s ragamuffin Thomism, but to know the brilliance of this particular philosopher you have to have seen him in action. I was fortunate enough to have had the chance to do that during my time as Professor Redpath’s student at Holy Apostles College and Seminary. It was an online course, so my experience of Professor Redpath was limited to video lectures, Zoom discussions, and phone calls. But even through those media his intelligence, wit, moral fortitude, love of God, and greatness of soul came out in big swelling waves. His eyes twinkled, his face brightened, and then you knew you were about to get a liberal dose of wisdom, honesty, and solid book learning, delivered with the clarity that comes when someone knows and loves the Truth.
Professor Redpath first opened my eyes to the power of wonder, the wonder of organizational principles, the principles of power psychology, and the twisted psychology of the “Cartesian nightmare” when I began taking classes with him at Holy Apostles. He remained a mentor after I graduated. He taught me about philosophy, about history, about politics, and about faith. He taught me, and many others, how to be a human being, how to know who we are and why we were loved into existence. He was filled with hope, brimming with the desire to show others the beautiful and true things that God had first shown him.
Peter A. Redpath, ragamuffin Thomist, eternal optimist, lover of all that is good, may God make His Face to shine upon you and welcome you into everlasting life.
Jason Morgan
Associate Professor,
Reitaku University
Kashiwa, Japan.
