Therese Scarpelli Cory

Dr. Therese Scarpelli Cory is the John and Jean Oesterle Associate Professor of Thomistic Studies at the University of Notre Dame. She serves as director of the Jacques Maritain Center and its associated History of Philosophy Forum, focusing on medieval theories of mind, cognition, and personhood with an emphasis on Thomas Aquinas and his interlocutors. Her work bridges Latin Scholasticism with Islamic philosophy, particularly the influence of al-Farabi, Averroes, and Avicenna on Christian medieval thought.

Her research explores themes like consciousness, subjectivity, personal identity, and the metaphysical model of mind, examining how Aquinas reconciles Aristotelian hylomorphism with cognitive phenomena such as intentionality, self-awareness, and the relationship between imagination and intellect. She is a member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas and co-leads the "Aquinas and the Arabs Project" to foster cross-cultural philosophical dialogue.

• Current research includes two books: Knowing is Being: Aquinas’s Metaphysical Model of Mind and Mind in World: A Medieval Metaphysical Approach, alongside translations of medieval texts on self-knowledge with Susan Brower-Toland.
• She investigates medieval theories of light, intentional being, and the "identity thesis" in Greek philosophy, collaborating with Katja Krause on Averroes’s Long Commentary on De anima.
• Her scientific awards include the 2015 JHP Article Prize for "Rethinking Abstractionism" and the 2011 Founder’s Prize for "Diachronically Unified Consciousness" (2012 publish date).