Memory, Intellect, and Will: The 13th Century Reception of Augustine – Dr. Albert von Thurn und Taxis

The Thomistic Institute

Dr. Albert von Thurn und Taxis explores the 13th-century reception of Augustine’s account of memory, intellect, and will, analyzing how medieval philosophers navigated the tension between Augustinian and Aristotelian models of the rational soul.

This lecture was given on June 15th, 2025, at Schloss St. Emmeram.

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About the Speakers:

Dr. Albert von Thurn und Taxis is the twelfth Prince of Thurn und Taxis and the current head of the Princely House. Born in Regensburg in 1983, his academic career reflects a diverse range of studies across economics, theology, and philosophy.

Prince Albert completed his early education in Regensburg and at the German School in Rome. He went on to study economics and theology at the University of Edinburgh, graduating with a Master of Arts in 2008. He further honed his financial expertise by training as a chartered financial analyst in Zurich from 2008 to 2010. He later returned to Rome to pursue philosophy, earning a doctorate in 2022 from the Pontificia Universitas Studiorum a Sancto Thoma Aquinate in Urbe (Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas). His research interests touch on morality and agency, evident in his publication, "John Stuart Mill and the Criterion of Morality: The Good, the Self and the Other" (2011), and his Licentiate Thesis, "Triumph of the Will? Rationality and Freedom in Aquinas' Theory of Agency" (2014).

He is also a member of several other noble and religious orders, including the Royal Order of Saint George for the Defence of the Immaculate Conception (2005) and an honorary knight of the Sovereign Order of Malta (2010).

Keywords:

Albert The Great, Aristotelian Anthropology, Augustinian Triad, Faculty Psychology, Human Rationality, Imago Dei, Medieval Controversies, Memory Intellect And Will, Philosophical Anthropology, Trinitarian Psychology