David L . McPherson, PhD

Department

Philosophy

Position

Associate Professor

Books

• Oxford University Press
  The Virtues of Limits 2022
• Cambridge University Press
  Virtue and Meaning: A Neo-Aristotelian Perspective 2020
• Cambridge University Press
  Spirituality and the Good Life: Philosophical Approaches, ed. David McPherson 2017

Publications

• Oxford University Press
  'Love in the Christian Tradition', in Love: The History of a Concept, ed. Ryan Patrick Hanley 2022
• Res Philosophica
  'Precis for Virtue and Meaning' and 'Replies to Ivanhoe and Miller' 2021
• American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly
  'Precis for Virtue and Meaning' and 'Replies to Kim, Toner, and Beabout'
  95:2 2021
• Routledge
  'Moral Absolutes and Neo-Aristotelian Ethical Naturalism', in The Philosophy of Reenchantment, ed. Michiel Meijer and Herbert De Vriese, p. 239-59 2020
• Philosophia
  'The Virtue of Piety in Medical Practice' 2020
• Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association
  "Humane Philosophy as Public Philosophy: A Path for Religious Engagement in Public Life" 2020
• Oxford University Press
  'Consent Is Not Enough', in College Ethics: A Reader on Moral Issues That Affect You, ed. Bob Fischer, 2nd ed., p. 211-24 2020
• Religious Studies: An International Journal for the Philosophy of Religion
  "Deep Desires"
  55:3, p. 389-403 2019
• Philosophy
  "Existential Conservatism"
  94:3, p. 383-407 2019
• Journal of Religion and Society
  "Three Rival Versions of the Relationship of Religion to Modernity"
  Supplement 18, p. 11-31 2018
• Routledge
  "Vocational Virtue Ethics: Prospects for a Virtue Ethic Approach to Business" (reprint), in Virtue Ethics, ed. Tom Angier, 4 Vols., p. Ch. 68 2018
• Oxford University Press
  "Transfiguring Love", in New Models of Religious Understanding, ed. Fiona Ellis, p. 79-96 2018
• Routledge
  "Manners and the Moral Life", in The Theory and Practice of Virtue Education, ed. Tom Harrison and David Walker, p. 140-52 2018
• Cambridge University Press
  "Homo Religiosus: Does Spirituality Have a Place in Neo-Aristotelian Virtue Ethics?", in Spirituality and the Good Life: Philosophical Approaches, ed. David McPherson, p. 63-83 2017
• Cambridge University Press
  "Introduction", in Spirituality and the Good Life: Philosophical Approaches, ed. David McPherson, p. 1-10 2017
• Analyse & Kritik: Journal of Philosophy and Social Theory
  "Traditional Morality and Sacred Values"
  39:1, p. 41-62 2017
• Reason Papers
  "Self-Formation and Other-Regarding Concern: Commentary on Douglas J. Den Uyl and Douglas B. Rasmussen’s The Perfectionist Turn"
  39:1, p. 35-43 2017
• Etica & Politica: Rivista di Filosofia
  "The Aim of Philosophy: Satisfying Curiosity or Attaining Salvation?"
  XIX:2, p. 291-310 2016
• The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy
  "Seeking Re-Enchantment", in Seekers and Dwellers: Plurality and Wholeness in a Time of Secularity, ed. Philip J. Rossi, S.J., p. 17-46 2016
• Philosophy
  "Nietzsche, Cosmodicy, and the Saintly Ideal"
  91:1, p. 39-67 2016
• Journal of Religion & Society
  "The Claims of Religious Identity in Secular Societies"
  Supplement 13, p. 216-42 2016
• Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics
  "Public Debate", p. 1-11 2015
• Religious Studies: An International Journal for the Philosophy of Religion
  "Homo Religiosus: Does Spirituality Have a Place in Neo-Aristotelian Virtue Ethics?"
  51:3, p. 335-46 2015
• International Philosophical Quarterly
  "Cosmic Outlooks and Neo-Aristotelian Virtue Ethics"
  55:2, p. 197-215 2015
• Cambridge Scholars Publishing
  "A Virtue Ethic Approach to Bearing and Rearing Children", in An Ethics of/for the Future?, ed. Mary Shanahan, p. 89-115 2014
• Journal of Business Ethics
  "Vocational Virtue Ethics: Prospects for a Virtue Ethic Approach to Business"
  116:2, p. 283-96 2013
• American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly
  "To What Extent Must We Go Beyond Neo-Aristotelian Ethical Naturalism?"
  86:4, p. 627-54 2012
• Philosophy and Theology
  "Re-Enchanting the World: An Interview with Charles Taylor"
  24:2, p. 275-94 2012
• Philosophy and Theology
  "Philosophy, Spirituality, and the Good Life: An Interview with John Cottingham"
  24:1, p. 85-111 2012

Editing and Reviews

• Religious Studies: An International Journal for the Philosophy of Religion
  'Mark R. Wynn, Spiritual Traditions and the Virtues: Living Between Heaven and Earth' 2020
• Review of Metaphysics
  'Michiel Meijer, Charles Taylor's Doctrine of Strong Evaluation: Ethics and Ontology in a Scientific Age'
  73:3 , p. 618-19 2020
• The Philosophical Quarterly
  'Simon May, Love: A New Understanding of an Ancient Emotion' 2020
• The Philosophical Quarterly
  "Review of Alasdair MacIntyre, Ethics in the Conflicts of Modernity: An Essay on Desire, Practical Reasoning, and Narrative"
  68:271, p. 426-9 2018
• The Philosophical Quarterly
  "Review Charles Taylor, The Language Animal: The Full Shape of the Human Linguistic Capacity"
  67:268, p. 636-41 2017
• Religious Studies: An International Journal for the Philosophy of Religion
  "Review of Roger Scruton, The Soul of the World"
  52:4, p. 577-80 2016
• Religious Studies: An International Journal for the Philosophy of Religion
  "Review of Fiona Ellis, God, Value, and Nature"
  52:1, p. 139-43 2016
• Religious Studies: An International Journal for the Philosophy of Religion
  "Review of John Cottingham, Philosophy of Religion: Towards a More Humane Approach"
  51:1, p. 135-9 2015
• The Review of Metaphysics
  "Review of Michah Gottlieb, Faith and Freedom: Moses Mendelssohn’s Theological- Political Thought"
  65:2, p. 421-3 2011

Presentations

• The Contemplative Life (online), invited (with honorarium), University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 2021
• Keeping Faith in an Age of Secularization, invited, panel discussion on Catholic Higher Education (online), organized by Naomi Fisher (Loyola University Chicago) 2021
• Book Symposium on Virtue and Meaning: A Neo-Aristotelian Perspective (online; organized by Bradford Cokelet; participants: Christian Miller and P. J. Ivanhoe), American Philosophical Association Central Division Meeting 2021
• Spiritual Alienation and the Quest for God (online), invited, New Directions in the Philosophy of Religion Research Seminars, Centre for Philosophy of Religion, University of Roehampton, London 2020
• The Virtues of Limits in Political Life (online), invited, Research Institute for Politics and Government, National University of Public Service, Budapest, Hungary (September 2020) 2020
• Participant in panel on 'The Hippocratic Oath and the Profession of Medicine', sponsored by the Kingfisher Institute, Creighton University, Omaha, NE 2020
• Virtue, Happiness, and Meaning invited, Philosophers in Jesuit Education session on Virtue Ethics and Virtue Epistemology at the 2019 American Catholic Philosophical Association Meeting, Minneapolis, MN 2019
• Spiritual Alienation and the Quest for God, invited (all expenses paid), workshop for Templeton-funded research project on The Quest for God, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 2019
• "Philosophy as a Spiritual Exercise: A Way Forward for Philosophy in Catholic Universities", invited panel presentation for Mellon funded summer workshop on "Philosophy as a Way of Life", University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN 2019
• "The Contemplative Life and Neo-Aristotelian Virtue Ethics", invited presentation for colloquium series for the Department of Philosophy at Saint Louis University (all expenses paid with honorarium), Saint Louis, MO 2019
• "Transfiguring the Unborn", invited presentation for Moral and Political Philosophy Workshop at the University of Michigan (all expenses paid), Ann Arbor, MI 2019
• "Humane Philosophy as Public Philosophy: A Path for Religious Engagement in Public Life", 2018 American Catholic Philosophical Association Meeting on "Philosophy, Catholicism, and Public Life" (main program), San Diego, CA 2018
• "Does Science Lead to Disenchantment?", invited presentation to the Physics Department at Creighton University 2018
• "The Role of Philosophy in Catholic Higher Education" (with M. Ross Romero, S.J.), refereed, 41st Convention of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, Benedictine College, Atchison, KS 2018
• "Does God Matter for Morality? A Philosophical Exploration with Applications to Health Care Ethics", invited (with honorarium) for CSM Philosophy Program's Ethics Lecture Series, College of Saint Mary, Omaha, NE 2018
• "Moral Absolutes and Neo-Aristotelian Ethical Naturalism", invited (with honorarium), Creighton University Business School, Creighton University, Omaha, NE 2017
• "Three Rival Versions of the Relationship of Religion to Modernity", refereed (with honorarium), Religion and Secularism Symposium, Creighton University, Omaha, NE 2017
• "The Role of Philosophy in Catholic Higher Education" (with M. Ross Romero, S.J.), refereed, A Distinctive Vision? Catholic Education 50 Years After Land O'Lakes, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO 2017
• "Deep Desires", invited, Centre for Philosophy of Religion at the University of Leeds, Leeds, UK 2017
• "Deep Desires", invited (with honorarium and travel expenses paid), for Templeton funded research project Religious Experience and Desire, Heythrop College, University of London, London, UK 2017
• Presenter for Panel Discussion on Douglas J. Den Uyl and Douglas B. Rasmussens The Perfectionist Turn: From Metanorms to Metaethics, American Philosophical Association Easter Division Meeting, Baltimore, MD. 2017
• Transfiguring Love, refereed, 17th Annual Fall Conference for the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN. 2016
• Presentation on Pope Franciss Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), invited presentation (with travel and room and board covered) for the Committee for Catholic Social Thought at Loyola University Maryland, Baltimore, MD. 2016
• Humane Philosophy as Public Philosophy, refereed, 2016 Midwest Society of Christian Philosophers Conference, Evangel University, Springfield, MO. 2016
• Transfiguring Love, invited presentation (with honorarium and travel expenses paid), Annual Conference for the Heythrop College Centre for Philosophy of Religion, Heythrop College, University of London, London, UK. 2016
• The Aim of Philosophy: Satisfying Curiosity or Attaining Salvation?, Creighton Philosophy Department End of the Year Banquet for Majors and Minors, Creighton University, Omaha, NE. 2016
• Manners and the Moral Life, refereed (room and board provided), Cultivating Virtues: Interdisciplinary Approaches Conference, Oriel College, Oxford University, Oxford, UK. 2016
• The Aim of Philosophy: Satisfying Curiosity or Attaining Salvation?, invited presentation (with honorarium), Heythrop College, University of London, London, UK. 2016
• Dostoevsky on the Transfiguring Power of Active Love, invited panel discussion on The Philosophy of Love, 40th European Studies Conference, University of Nebraska Omaha, Omaha, NE. 2015
• "The Claims of Religious Identity in Secular Societies." The Kripke Center Symposium on "Religion and Identity." Creighton University, Omaha, NE. 2015
• "Nietzsche on the Saintly Ideal." Refereed. 39th European Studies Conference. University of Nebraska Omaha, Omaha, NE. 2014
• "Homo Religiosus: Does Spirituality Have a Place in Contemporary Virtue Ethics?" Refereed. Religious Studies at 50. University of Leeds, Leeds, UK. 2014
• "Cosmic Outlooks and Neo-Aristotelian Virtue Ethics." Invited presentation (with honorarium). Bethel University, St. Paul, MN. 2014
• "Virtue and Benefit: How Does It Pay to Be Good?" Refereed. Happiness and the Virtues Conference. Viterbo University, La Crosse, WI. 2014
• "Homo Religiosus: Does Spirituality Have a Place in Contemporary Virtue Ethics?" Thursday Forum. Saint Johns University, Collegeville, MN. 2013
• "Taylor and McDowell on Re-Enchantment." Invited presentation (with honorarium) for Dr. Ruth Abbeys graduate seminar on "The Political Philosophy of Charles Taylor." University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN. 2012
• "Transcendence and Its Importance for the Good Life." Refereed. 12th Annual Fall Conference for the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture. University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN. 2011
• "Self-Transcendence and Human Fulfillment." Workshop on the topic of "Self-Realization and Self-Transcendence." University of Jyvskyl, Jyvskyl, Finland. 2011
• "To What Extent Must We Go Beyond Neo-Aristotelian Ethical Naturalism?" Refereed. Fifth Annual Conference for the International Society for MacIntyrean Enquiry. Providence College, Providence, RI. 2011
• "To What Extent Must We Go Beyond Contemporary Neo- Aristotelianism?" Refereed. 37th Conference on Value Inquiry. Creighton University, Omaha, NE. 2011
• "Dostoevsky versus Nietzsche on the Saintly Ideal." Refereed. 11th Annual Fall Conference for the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture. University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN. 2010
• "The Meaning of Self-Sacrifice and Its Motivational Sources." Refereed. 10th Annual Fall Conference for the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture. University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN. 2009
• "MacIntyre and the Need for a Metaphysical Grounding for Ethical Naturalism." Refereed. Third Annual Conference for the International Society for MacIntyrean Enquiry. University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. 2009
• "Vocation and Integrity: Prospects for a Virtue Ethic Approach to Business." Refereed. Annual Meeting for the Society of Business Ethics. Anaheim, CA. 2008
• "MacIntyre and the Role of Authority in Moral Enquiry." Refereed. Second Annual Conference for the International Society for MacIntyrean Enquiry. Saint Meinrad Seminary & School of Theology, Saint Meinrad, IN. 2008
• "Is Democracy a Kind of Practice? MacIntyre, Dewey, and the Possibility of a Democratic Virtue Ethic." Refereed. Loyola University Chicago Graduate Student Conference. Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL. 2006