I enjoy writing generally, even when I am not doing academic work. Below are some links to some of my non-academic writings over the last few years. Much of it addresses controversial political issues. Above is a picture I took in a market in Morocco in 2007, while studying abroad at al-Akhawayn University.
Personal Essays
Goodbye, Cowboy Hat a fond remembrance of philosopher Bill McCurdy for Idaho State Journal. (New!)
Bearing Witness: My Journey out of Mormonism for Quillette.
Confessions of a Prayer-struck Atheist for The Humanist.
Should We Remember 9/11? for Arc Digital.
Escape from Wuhan for National Review.
1,000 Word Philosophy
Take My Word for It: On Testimony
Because God Says So: On Divine Command Theory
Plato's Crito: When Should We Break the Law?
Is it Wrong to Believe Without Sufficient Evidence? W.K. Clifford’s “The Ethics of Belief”
Why be moral? Plato's 'Ring of Gyges' Thought Experiment
Ursula Le Guin's "The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas"
Book Reviews
Review of The Ethics of Microaggressions by Regina Rini in Journal of Moral Philosophy (2022).
Review of The Nature of Desert Claims: Rethinking What it Means to get One's Due by Kevin Kinghorn (for Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews).
Dissident Philosophers—A Review (a review of Dissident Philosophers: Voices Against the Political Current of the Academy edited by T. Allan Hillman and Tully Borland for Quillette)
The Anatomy of Melancholy (a review of A Cure for Darkness by Alex Riley for Washington Examiner)
Toxic Femininity (a review of Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women by Kate Manne for Claremont Review of Books)
The Costs of Virtue Signaling (a review of Grandstanding: The Use and Abuse of Moral Talk by Justin Tosi and Brandon Warmke for National Review).
Review of Morality and Epistemic Judgment: The Argument from Analogy by Christopher Cowie for Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (with Terence Cuneo).
A World Without Animal Farming (a review of The End of Animal Farming by Jacy Reese for Quillette).
Review of Gratitude Toward Veterans: Why Americans Should Not be Very Grateful to Veterans by Stephen Kershnar (in Journal of Military Ethics (2015) 14(2): 197-199).
Review of Terence Cuneo's Speech and Morality: On the Metaethical Implications of Speaking (in Tradition and Discovery: The Polanyi Society Periodical (2015) 42(1): 59-62).
Hitchens: A Look at the Skeptic (a review of The Faith of Christopher Hitchens by Larry Taunton for the University Bookman).
The Multifaceted Kirk (a review of Russell Kirk: American Conservative by Bradley Birzer for the University Bookman).
The Real Gender Trouble (a review of When Harry Became Sally by Ryan Anderson for Quillette).
Capitalist Utopia (a review of Why Not Capitalism? by Jason Brennan for National Review Online).
Polemics and Philosophy from a British Contrarian (a review of Notes from Underground and The Soul of the World by Roger Scruton).
Selected Political Essays
Coming attraction: "Death by Autonomy, or: A Libertarian Dystopia."
Is Moral Expertise Possible?--A Roundtable with Bo Weingard, Oliver Traldi, and Geoffrey Miller Quillette. New!
The Journal of Controversial Ideas is Here Quillette.
You have the right to Remain Politically Silent Arc Digital.
Against Political Totalism for Daily Nous philosophy blog.
The Starting Line for Discourse.
The Abusive-Boyfriend Left National Review.
Senator Booker is Right About Factory Farming National Review.
What Kind of Political Correctness Do We Want? Arc Digital.
Beyond the Hypatia Affair: Philosophers Blocking the Way of Inquiry Quillette.
Moral Zealotry and the Seductive Nature of Evil Quillette
The Boy Who Inflated the Concept of 'Wolf' Quillette. This article was the subject of a discussion on the philosophy blog Daily Nous here. Justin Weinberg criticizes it and I respond in the comments section below. I also discussed the article on a segment for the Brigham Young University-based live radio show and podcast Constant Wonder on March 8, 2019. You can listen to the interview here. My segment begins 32 minutes into the program.
"Thoughts and Prayers": A Defense Arc Digital
Do the Oppressed Really Know Best? Arc Digital
The Rage Against Selective Outrage Quillette
Is it Wrong to Blame Islam? Quillette
What Philosophers Must Learn from the Transracialism Meltdown Quillette
Is Service Learning a Disservice to Philosophy? Quillette
Inverted Nationalism and Orwellian Patriotism Quillette
The High Hidden Costs of Terrorism National Review Online
Unthinking the Thinkable: Iran and the Bomb National Review Online
When Philosophers Fail to do Their Job National Review Online
Islamist Terror and Collective Guilt National Review Online
Political Bias in Philosophy and Why it Matters National Association of Scholars website
Ally Interpreters and Syrian Refugees: Obama's Double Standard for National Review Online
Needed: Visas for our Afghan Interpreters National Review Online
How Obama Sided with the Muslim Brotherhood National Review Online
Mail Voting and Civil Ritual National Review Online
Bipartisan Effort to Hasten Election in Egypt is Bad Policy The College Fix
Culture and the Arts
'Good War' Nostalgia for National Review.
When Denver Really Swung (formerly posted on the Boulder Swing Dance website).
Remembering Glenn Miller National Review Online.
Miles Davis, Someday and Always National Review. (New!)
Interviews
APA Member Interview: Spencer Case the Blog of the American Philosophical Association.
Interview with Clifford Sosis What is it like to be a philosopher?
Sarah Haider on Normalizing Dissent: A Conversation Quillette.
College Fix Q&A: Roger Scruton on the Decline of the University The College Fix.
