Role at Te Kupenga: Lecturer in Philosophy
I lecture in Philosophy at Te Kupenga – Catholic Theological College. I hold a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Auckland, where my doctoral research explored the relationship between deep friendship, virtue and fulfilment. My philosophical interests centre particularly on Aristotle and Aquinas, virtue ethics, friendship, epistemology, metaphysics and the relationship between philosophy and theology.
My path into philosophy has been somewhat unconventional. I originally trained as a pianist and musicologist, completing a Master of Music with Honours at the University of Auckland, and subsequently worked for many years as a teacher of piano, as a secondary-school teacher of mathematics, as Head of Religious Education at St Mary’s College, and as Head of Music at Massey High School. I also spent four years studying philosophy and theology at the École Saint-Jean in France, with the Community of St. John, where I encountered an approach to realist philosophy and theology strongly influenced by Aristotle and Aquinas and deeply rooted in human experience.
Music and composition have remained an important part of my life. I co-wrote the chamber opera Singerella with Stephen De Pledge, which toured New Zealand schools for several years, and Catherine’s Song, a musical commemorating Catherine McAuley, foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, and Cecilia Maher and the first missionary Mercies who came to New Zealand with Bishop Pompallier. I am currently working on a rap opera with Malachi Tamepo, as well as another musical in collaboration with Chris Walker and Malachi Tamepo.
I have also composed more than 100 hymns and sacred songs for the Catholic liturgy, many of which are recorded on my YouTube channel, Sacred Music Online. Music and resources for their liturgical use are available through sacredmusic.online. With Malachi Tamepo, I also collaborate in producing theological and philosophical raps, including Drive Em Out (an exorcism rap), Phronesis, Hope and Courage, all available on the Manzy YouTube channel and Spotify.
For over thirty years I have given lectures, retreats and formation seminars in philosophy, theology and Scripture. What I most enjoy about teaching philosophy is helping students discover it not simply as an academic discipline, but as a genuine search for truth and wisdom: a search arising from wonder at reality and opening onto the deepest questions of human life, with the potential to be genuinely transformative.
