Dr. Jean Rioux

Jean Rioux

Position: Professor

Department: Philosophy

Office: Ferrell Academic Center 309

Phone: 913.360.7567

Contact Dr. Jean Rioux

Dr. Rioux is a professor and chair of the philosophy department at Benedictine College. A graduate of Thomas Aquinas College, he earned his Master’s and Ph.D. in philosophy from the Center for Thomistic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in Houston.
Specializing in the thought of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas, Dr. Rioux has written textbooks in logic and natural philosophy, as well as articles in the philosophy of mathematics. His most recent publication is Thomas Aquinas’ Mathematical Realism (291 pp., Palgrave Macmillan).
He and Dr. Richard White (a member of Benedictine’s theology department) regularly offer great books classes in philosophy and theology. Dr. Rioux and his wife, Maria, raise their children in a renovated farmhouse in rural Kansas. They have been designing their own curricula and educating their children at home for many years.

Teaching Specialties

Ancient and Medieval Philosophy

Thomistic Philosophy

Natural Philosophy

Philosophy of Mathematics

Great Books

Logic

Teaching Competencies

History of Philosophy

Philosophical Psychology

Ethics

Metaphysics

Natural Theology

Research Specialties and Interests

Philosophy of Mathematics

Natural Theology

Ethics

Dr. Rioux’s most recent research project centers upon difficulties inherent in recent and contemporary accounts in the philosophy of mathematics and the solution of these in light of principles set out by traditional philosophers.

Education

Ph.D. in Philosophy

Center for Thomistic Studies, University of St. Thomas, Houston, TX

“Aristotle, Aquinas, and the Foundations of Arithmetic”

M.A. in Philosophy

Center for Thomistic Studies, Houston

“Philosophy of Nature and the Educated Man”

B.A. in Liberal Arts

Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula, CA

“The Principle of Individuation”

Publications

Anthologies

Ethics: Collected Readings, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2005, 121 pages

Nature, the Soul, and God: An Introduction to Natural Philosophy, Cascade Books, 2004, 298 pages

Natural Theology: Collected Readings, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2004, 136 pages

Articles and Reviews

“Aristotle’s Mathematical Realism”, (under review)

“A Response to James Kidd’s article on Aquinas’ Five Ways” (co-authored with Dr. Jim Madden, under review)

Review of Philosophical Deliberations, by Nicholas Rescher.  The Review of Metaphysics 67.3(2014), 666-8.

“What Counts as a Number”, International Philosophical Quarterly vol. 53, No. 3, Issue 211 (September 2013) pp. 229­49

“Aporia,” entry in the New Catholic Encyclopedia Supplement 2012-13: Ethics and Philosophy. Ed. Robert L. Fastiggi. 4 vols. Detroit: Gale (July 2013) 

“Numerical Foundations: Arithmetic as Episteme”, The Review of Metaphysics 66 (September 2012): 3-29

“Ethics Of Tax Law Compliance: An Interdisciplinary Perspective” (along with Cummings, Richard G and Longo, Peter J), American Journal Of Business Education (5:1, January/February 2012). 

“Mathematical Intuitionism and the Law of Excluded Middle”, Aquinas Review (8:1, 2001).

“Cantor’s Transfinite Numbers and Traditional Objections to Actual Infinity”, Thomist (January 2000)

Textbooks

Four Questions, East Rockaway, NY: Cummings and Hathaway, 1996; 301 pp.

Miscellaneous Publications

“Term Logic”, a drill-and-practice application for Macintosh, iPhone and iPad, Android, and PC

 “Nature, the Soul, and God: An Introduction to Natural Philosophy” 254 pages, iBooks Store

“Readings in Natural Theology”, 135 pages, iBooks Store

“Readings in Epistemology”, 491 pages, iBooks Store

“Readings in Philosophical Psychology”, 198 pages, iBooks Store

“Readings in Ethics”, 39 pages, iBooks Store

Talks and Papers

“The Discussion Method”, Mother of Divine Grace Conference, (Benedictine College, 2003)

“Fides et ratio”, Faith and Reason Retreat (St. Benedict’s Abbey, 2002)

 “Infinity”, Faculty Colloquium Series (Benedictine College, 1997)

“Aquinas’ Virtual Existence and the Objects of Mathematics”, International Congress of Medieval Studies (Kalamazoo, 1995)

“Aristotle, Aquinas, and the Foundations of Arithmetic”, (Thomas Aquinas College, 1990)

Reading Language Competencies

French, Latin, and Greek