A Taste of Existence with W. Norris Clarke

A Taste of Existence:
 An Interview with W. Norris Clarke, S.J.
 on the Metaphysics of St. Thomas Aquinas.

What does metaphysics have to do with everyday life? What happens when a New York cab driver fantasizes about winning the lottery? What special feeling transpires when a dying unwed mother gives birth? And what does a teenager stuck high on a cliff discover about "a taste of existence"?
 Fr. Clarke speaks clearly about the metaphysics of St. Thomas, but instead of this subject being bookish and boring, the viewer will become engrossed in facing the deep questions of what is real, what is meaningful, and what is true that lie in the depths of each of us. His personal enthusiasm is evident as he takes us through his own stages of discovery and love of St. Thomas' metaphysics, and he gives excellent suggestions of how we, too, can begin our own journey into metaphysics.
 Fr. Clarke has been the president of the American Catholic Philosophical Association and the winner of its Aquinas medal, the cofounder and editor of the International Philosophical Quarterly, has taught for many years at Fordham University, and has lectured around the country. He tackles questions like what is metaphysics, the real life experiences that are its foundation, the discovery of an existential Thomism in the 20th century, the relationship between essence and existence, the nature of matter, and more.