Contact info:
sfp [at] sydneypenner.ca
203 Hutchins Dr.
Wilmore, KY 40390
Given my preferences -- which include a very strong desire not to waste my time on AI-generated messages that may or may not accurately reflect the sender's mind, a desire not to spend too much time responding to communication that would never have been initiated if modern communication still required a reasonable degree of investment, and a preference for communication to which I can give attention as my schedule allows -- I plan, all else being equal, to give priority in the following order:
• in-person conversation
• handwritten letters/notes
• emails that appear meaningful
• audio/video calls
I am an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Asbury University. My research focuses on a philosopher of the Spanish Golden Age, Francisco Suárez (1548-1617). Though he was long highly-regarded and was one of the primary conduits between medieval scholasticism and early modern philosophy, Suárez has been rather neglected in recent scholarship. I started out looking at his views in ethics, but I am also interested in his metaphysics.
In addition to Suárez, I am interested more generally in the history of ethics, especially the medieval and early modern periods. I am also interested in philosophy of religion, metaphysics, and epistemology, again especially as discussed in the medieval and early modern periods.
You can find a bit more about me here and a good deal more about my research here.
Updates
August 14, 2023
Did a major update of the bibliography, adding many dozens of new entries. Despite my efforts, I have no doubt that I have still missed numerous items, so, as always, I will be grateful to anyone who brings missed items to my attention.
December 29, 2020
Added dozens of new entries to the bibliography.
November 20, 2019
Added dozens of new entries to the bibliography.
April 9, 2019
Uploaded a translation of DM 13.9, in which Suárez asks what the causality of matter is and includes some interesting remarks on the mode of union between matter and form.
June 18, 2018
Uploaded a translation of DBM 6.4, in which Suárez asks whether the goodness an interior act of the will receives from its end is something real added to the act or is an extrinsic denomination.
June 8, 2018
Added many new entries to the bibliography.
December 12, 2017
Added many new entries to the bibliography.
December 29, 2016
Uploaded a translation of Pedro Hurtado de Mendoza's discussion of whether effects need to be individuated by the First Cause, i.e., God. Suárez says they do and uses this claim in a brief argument for concurrentism. Hurtado offers a longer discussion.
December 29, 2016
Added dozens of new entries to the bibliography.
July 21, 2016
Added a sizeable number of entries to the bibliography.
March 17, 2016
Uploaded a translation of the Disputatio metaphysica 10.1, which is the first section from Suárez's discussion of transcendental goodness.
December 30, 2015
