A Neurologist's Reflections on Human Dignity and Suffering | Dr. Paul LaPenna

The Thomistic Institute

Christianity, Society & Culture, Catholic Intellectual Tradition, Catholic, Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality, Thomism, Catholicism

4.8 • 729 Ratings

🗓️ 7 April 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Dr. Paul LaPenna reflects on the integration of ancient virtues, Christian ethics, and self-sacrificial love in medical practice, emphasizing human dignity and compassionate care.

This lecture was given on February 4th, 2025, at University of South Carolina.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Paul LaPenna is a neurologist in Greenville, SC and is a Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Carolinas Campus. Dr. LaPenna completed his neurology residency at Indiana University School of Medicine. His skill set is focused on treatment of neurological emergencies and performing and interpreting electrophysiological studies of the brain and peripheral nervous system. He is currently the Director of Stroke at Bon Secours Mercy Health in Greenville, SC.

As an Associate Professor of Neurology, Dr. LaPenna has won numerous teaching awards, including Clinical Medicine Professor of the Neuroscience Curriculum from 2019-2022. For the 2020-2021 academic year, Dr. LaPenna was awarded Preceptor of the Year. For his care towards patients, he was elected to the Arnold P. Gold Humanism Honor Society in 2016.

Dr. LaPenna has an interest in the relationship between science and faith—in particular, the relationship between neuroscience and the soul, neuroscience and free will, and the overreaching claims of science. In addition, Dr. LaPenna speaks on the problem of suffering and the dignity of the human person. Saint Thomas Aquinas has been a major influence in Dr. LaPenna’s intellectual and faith journey.

This project/publication was made possible through the support of Grant 63391 from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

Keywords: Ancient Virtues, Aristotle, Christian Ethics, Compassionate Care, Human Dignity in Medicine, Plato, Saint Basil the Great, Saint Francis of Assisi, Self-Sacrificial Love, The Good Samaritan

Transcript

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0:43.8	Welcome to the Tomistic Institute podcast. Our mission is to promote the Catholic intellectual
0:49.1	tradition in the university, the church, and the wider public square. The lectures on this
0:53.9	podcast are organized by
0:55.4	university students at Thomistic Institute chapters around the world. To learn more and to attend these events,
1:01.7	visit us at Thomisticinstitute.org. So I just want to start broadly and talking about some of the virtues
1:10.6	that were in the ancient world.
1:13.6	So if you read Plato and Aristotle, you'll see evidence of what we call the four cardinal virtues.
1:19.6	So prudence, which is practical wisdom.
1:22.6	This is a very important virtue for physicians.
1:26.6	So making the right choice at the right time for the
1:29.8	right reasons. So when I'm encountering patients, they're coming with various diseases, and I need
1:36.7	to choose the right medicine for the right reasons at the right time, the right dose. So doctors need to be prudent. We need to make good practical
1:47.0	decisions. We need to be wise. And if we're not, that can result in people dying. So if you're
1:54.0	not prudent, you ought not to be a physician. So that's really important. And I'm trying to teach this.
	...

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