William C. MichaelWilliam C. Michael

Mr. William C. Michael, O.P., is the founder and headmaster of the Classical Liberal Arts Academy and a Lay Dominican in the Catholic Church. Mr. Michael received an honors degree in Classics and Ancient History from Rutgers University and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He led the CLAA to accreditation with Cognia in 2024. He has been studying and teaching the classical liberal arts for over 30 years.

Science, Models, and the Light of Faith: A Catholic Reflection on Scientific Methods and Theories

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Introduction: True Knowledge Begins in Wonder The Catholic tradition has long held that faith and reason are not adversaries but allies. In fact, St. Thomas Aquinas taught that all truth is from God, and therefore no true discovery in the natural world can ever contradict divine revelation. When we investigate nature through scientific methods, we are not merely solving puzzles—we are uncovering the marvelous order of creation. This article explores a foundational lesson in physics focused on scientific methods, models, and the distinction between hypotheses, theories, and laws. Drawing from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Summa Theologica, and … Continue

Examination of Memoria Press’s “Three Pillars”

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Introduction In the renewed interest in classical education, Memoria Press has emerged as one of the most influential curricula in the Anglophone world. Founded by Cheryl Lowe and rooted in the American Protestant tradition, it has provided many families with a structured, language-centered educational alternative to modern pedagogies. In their 2024 article, Three Pillars Upon Which Memoria Press is Built, the institution articulates its foundation: a curriculum that is “Christian, Classical, and Traditional.” The appeal of such a model is understandable. Yet for Catholics—and especially those seeking a revival of classical Catholic education as it was historically developed—the question must … Continue

Understanding Even-Times-Even Numbers

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A Catholic Reflection on Nicomachus’ Arithmetic, Book I, Chapter 8 In the eighth chapter of Arithmetic, Nicomachus brings our attention to one of the most orderly and structured types of numbers: what he calls the even-times-even. He doesn’t simply list them or explain how to calculate them. Instead, he reflects on how their structure reveals a kind of mathematical harmony—one that mirrors the wisdom and order God placed into creation itself. For us, as Catholic readers, this is not just a study of arithmetic—it is a chance to contemplate the mind of God, who, as Sacred Scripture tells us, “has … Continue

The Harmony of Even and Odd

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A Catholic Reflection on Nicomachus’ Arithmetic, Book I, Chapter 7 What can the even and the odd teach us about truth? To modern minds, such a question may seem trivial—fit for grade school, not for theology. But to Nicomachus of Gerasa, and to the philosophical tradition he represents, even and odd are not mere labels. They are principles of being, woven into the very structure of creation. And as he unfolds their definitions in Chapter 7 of Arithmetic, he reveals a spiritual harmony that lies beneath the most basic of mathematical concepts. As Catholics, we are called to contemplate creation—not … Continue

The Divine Pattern: Number and Harmony in Creation

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A Catholic Reflection on Nicomachus’ Arithmetic, Book I, Chapter 6 From the stars above to the rhythms of time, from the patterns of leaves to the proportions of the human body—there is a deep and undeniable order woven into all creation. In Chapter 6 of his Arithmetic, Nicomachus of Gerasa contemplates this order and declares its source: number, not merely as a human invention, but as a divine idea—immaterial, eternal, and preexistent in the mind of God. To Nicomachus, number is not only a tool for measuring things in the world; it is the pattern by which the world itself … Continue

Arithmetic as the First of Sciences

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A Catholic Reflection on Nicomachus’ Arithmetic, Book I, Chapter 4 Why should arithmetic come first? Among the sciences of number, shape, music, and motion, what gives arithmetic its primacy? In Book I, Chapter 4 of his Arithmetic, Nicomachus of Gerasa offers an answer that is not merely logical—it is theological. He explains that arithmetic is not only first in time and understanding but is also first in the order of being. It stands as a root and mother of the other sciences. More than that, it reflects the mind of God, who used number as a divine exemplar in the … Continue

The Mother of Sciences: Number as the Source of Harmony

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A Catholic Reflection on Nicomachus’ Arithmetic, Book I, Chapter 5 At the heart of creation is not chaos, but order—not randomness, but reason. In the fifth chapter of his Arithmetic, Nicomachus of Gerasa continues his exaltation of number, showing how it lies at the foundation of the sciences and the structure of the universe. For him, number is not merely a tool of measurement—it is the very principle by which the soul rises to contemplate truth. It is, he says, the “mother and nurse” of the other sciences. For Catholic readers, this view resonates deeply. In the Christian tradition, order … Continue

Mathematics as a Path to Wisdom

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In every age, those who seek truth must ask how the mind rises from confused perception to clear understanding. Nicomachus of Gerasa, in Book I, Chapter 3 of his Introduction to Arithmetic, offers a precise and orderly answer. He does not present mathematics as a collection of “useful” skills, but as the necessary path to Wisdom. The study of quantity, rightly understood, leads the mind from sensible things to intelligible principles, and from these to the contemplation of divine wisdom. At the foundation of his teaching is a careful division of the genus Quantity. Nicomachus teaches that Quantity is not … Continue

Logical Fallacies

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Aristotle’s final work in the Organon, called “Sophistical Elenchi,” is one of the most practical books ever written. It’s not about how to construct clever arguments or win debates through trickery. It’s about something far more important: how to recognize when reasoning fails, and more crucially, how to avoid failing in your own thinking. Let me tell you why this matters. Reasoning is supposed to correspond to reality. When we argue, we’re trying to say something true about the world. We’re trying to move from what we know to what we don’t know. We’re trying to arrive at knowledge. But fallacies … Continue