UATX Speaker Series

Michael Pakaluk: A Plea for a Passionate Moral Psychology

May 12, 2026

The UATX Speaker Series brings leading thinkers into weekly conversation with our community, offering students the opportunity to engage directly with ideas that enrich and extend their academic studies. Each talk is aligned with the themes students are exploring in the classroom, bridging the intellectual foundations of their coursework with real world questions and challenges.

Michael Pakaluk
Michael Pakaluk, an Aristotle scholar and Ordinarius of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas, is Professor of Political Economy in the Busch School of Business at the Catholic University of America.

He lives in Hyattsville, MD with his wife Catherine, also a professor at the Busch School, and their children. In the last year he published three books: a book on Christian friendship, The Company We Keep (Scepter); a collection of essays, entitled The Shock of Holiness (Ignatius), and his third book on a gospel, Be Good Bankers: The Economic Interpretation of Matthew’s Gospel.

He was a contributor to Natural Law: Five Views, published by Zondervan. His book on natural law and civic friendship, Walk in the Good Path, is forthcoming with The Catholic University of America Press. His book on St. Thomas Aquinas's Oratio ante Studium ("prayer before study") is under review.
Guest Arrival & Check In5:00 PM - 5:15 PM
A Plea for a Passionate Moral Psychology, followed by a brief Q&A5:30 PM - 7:00 PM