Here is a selection of my popular writings, published in Commonweal magazine and elsewhere.
"Inconvenient", Commonweal, June 14, 2019 -- a review of Simon Blackburn's On Truth
"Unflinching", Commonweal (online), March 18, 2019 -- on G.E.M. Anscombe at a hundred
"Remembering Gary Gutting", Commonweal (online), January 20, 2019 -- a note on the death of the philosopher Gary Gutting
"Lo, I Am With You Always", First Things (online), August 21, 2018 -- on the crisis of leadership in the Catholic church in the US
"Should you shield yourself from others' abhorrent beliefs?", Aeon, July 2, 2018 -- asks the question its title (which I hated), and answers a qualified 'yes'
"A Purpose-Driven Life", Commonweal, May 15, 2018 -- a review of Daniel Dennett's From Bacteria to Bach and Back
"An Ordinary Sunday", Commonweal, September 12, 2017 -- my contribution to a collection of essays on Sunday mass at parishes in the US
"A Life of Being-in-the-World", First Things (online), May 1, 2017 -- a remembrance of Hubert Dreyfus
"Calling Torture by its Name", First Things (online), January 31, 2017 -- on whether, and how, torture works, and why it's important to call it by its name
"A 'Tragic Question' of Academic Life", Daily Nous, March 16, 2016 -- on why being a good professional philosopher needn't require compromising one's personal and family life
"The Mount at a Crossroads", Commonweal (online), March 2, 2016 -- on the controversy at Mount St. Mary's University, and what is to be done going forward
"What (Who?) Is a University?", First Things (online), February 12, 2016 -- on the controversy at the Mount, and how it relates to the very idea of a university
"The Future of Online Conferences in Philosophy" (with Cameron Buckner and Nick Byrd), Daily Nous, October 15, 2015 -- on organizing the first Minds Online conference, and where to go from there
"A Tale of Two Churches", Commonweal (online), June 18, 2015 -- on the massacre in an historically black church in South Carolina, and my own experience as a white parishioner at a similar church in Tallahassee
"Finding a New Self", Commonweal, February 19, 2015 -- a review of Laurie Paul's Transformative Experience
"More History, Less Science", Commonweal, September 1, 2014 -- a review of Bernard Williams's Essays and Reviews: 1959-2002
"Peter Geach, R.I.P.", Commonweal (online), December 24, 2013 -- a note on the death of the philosopher Peter Geach
"Natural Enemies?", Commonweal, February 25, 2013 -- a review of Alvin Plantinga's Where the Conflict Really Lies
"Michael Dummett, 1925-2011", Commonweal (online), December 31, 2011 -- a note on the death of the philosopher Michael Dummett
"An Economy of Care" (with David Cloutier), Commonweal, October 24, 2011 -- on the economics of caritas, as illustrated by the buying and selling of food
"The Thinking Animal", Commonweal, February 8, 2010 -- a review of John McDowell's The Engaged Intellect and Having the World in View
"After Enlightenment", Commonweal, January 26, 2009 -- a review of Louis Dupré's Religion and the Rise of Modern Culture
"Moving the Soil", Commonweal, April 21, 2008 -- a review of Leszek Kolakowski's Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?
"Inconvenient", Commonweal, June 14, 2019 -- a review of Simon Blackburn's On Truth
"Unflinching", Commonweal (online), March 18, 2019 -- on G.E.M. Anscombe at a hundred
"Remembering Gary Gutting", Commonweal (online), January 20, 2019 -- a note on the death of the philosopher Gary Gutting
"Lo, I Am With You Always", First Things (online), August 21, 2018 -- on the crisis of leadership in the Catholic church in the US
"Should you shield yourself from others' abhorrent beliefs?", Aeon, July 2, 2018 -- asks the question its title (which I hated), and answers a qualified 'yes'
"A Purpose-Driven Life", Commonweal, May 15, 2018 -- a review of Daniel Dennett's From Bacteria to Bach and Back
"An Ordinary Sunday", Commonweal, September 12, 2017 -- my contribution to a collection of essays on Sunday mass at parishes in the US
"A Life of Being-in-the-World", First Things (online), May 1, 2017 -- a remembrance of Hubert Dreyfus
"Calling Torture by its Name", First Things (online), January 31, 2017 -- on whether, and how, torture works, and why it's important to call it by its name
"A 'Tragic Question' of Academic Life", Daily Nous, March 16, 2016 -- on why being a good professional philosopher needn't require compromising one's personal and family life
"The Mount at a Crossroads", Commonweal (online), March 2, 2016 -- on the controversy at Mount St. Mary's University, and what is to be done going forward
"What (Who?) Is a University?", First Things (online), February 12, 2016 -- on the controversy at the Mount, and how it relates to the very idea of a university
"The Future of Online Conferences in Philosophy" (with Cameron Buckner and Nick Byrd), Daily Nous, October 15, 2015 -- on organizing the first Minds Online conference, and where to go from there
"A Tale of Two Churches", Commonweal (online), June 18, 2015 -- on the massacre in an historically black church in South Carolina, and my own experience as a white parishioner at a similar church in Tallahassee
"Finding a New Self", Commonweal, February 19, 2015 -- a review of Laurie Paul's Transformative Experience
"More History, Less Science", Commonweal, September 1, 2014 -- a review of Bernard Williams's Essays and Reviews: 1959-2002
"Peter Geach, R.I.P.", Commonweal (online), December 24, 2013 -- a note on the death of the philosopher Peter Geach
"Natural Enemies?", Commonweal, February 25, 2013 -- a review of Alvin Plantinga's Where the Conflict Really Lies
"Michael Dummett, 1925-2011", Commonweal (online), December 31, 2011 -- a note on the death of the philosopher Michael Dummett
"An Economy of Care" (with David Cloutier), Commonweal, October 24, 2011 -- on the economics of caritas, as illustrated by the buying and selling of food
"The Thinking Animal", Commonweal, February 8, 2010 -- a review of John McDowell's The Engaged Intellect and Having the World in View
"After Enlightenment", Commonweal, January 26, 2009 -- a review of Louis Dupré's Religion and the Rise of Modern Culture
"Moving the Soil", Commonweal, April 21, 2008 -- a review of Leszek Kolakowski's Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?
