Books
The Substance of Consciousness: A Comprehensive Defense of Contemporary Substance Dualism offers the most thorough and current defense of substance dualism to date—the view that the human person is a unified, immaterial, and embodied substance.
Spanning philosophy, neuroscience, cognitive science, and the sociology of belief, the book traces 150 years of dualist thought, refines key metaphysical concepts, and develops new arguments for the continued relevance of substance dualism.
Form more about the book, including downloads and reviews, visit the companion website.
Forthcoming 2026
The first book-length defense of the soul grounded in the philosophy and neuroscience of phenomenally unified consciousness. I argue the impasse stems from a false assumption: that the conscious subject is made of parts—neurons, bodies, or computational systems. Drawing from philosophy, neuroscience, and AI research, I argue that the dominant naturalist views—physicalism, panpsychism, and emergentism—cannot explain phenomenally unified consciousness. I propose a hybrid bodily-soul view. A spectrum on which some, but not all, forms of substance dualism, idealism, and hylomorphism.
What is
Consciousness?
Forthcoming 2026
What is Consciousness? offers an introduction to the philosophy of mind from a contemporary analytic philosophy and analytic phenomenological perspectives that takes core Christian ideas and doctrines seriously.
While all leading introductions to the philosophy of mind ignore or fail to take seriously the significant contemporary work defending traditional Christian views (e.g., substance dualism and hylomorphism), this text gives these views their due attention.
Each chapter addresses the most significant primary readings for each subject, including research in neuroscience, psychology, and artificial intelligence.
Research Articles
& Book Chapters
Click on Title to Download
AI &
Technology
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“Where is the Intelligence in an AI?" In Eric LaRock and Mihretu Guta (eds.), Consciousness, Unconsciousness and Artificial Intelligence (Wiley-Blackwell, forthcoming).
Consciousness
& Neuroscience
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“The Primacy of the Mental: From Russellian Monism to Substance Dualism. Philosophia Christi (2018).
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“Intentionality Contra Physicalism: On the Mind’s Independence from the Body. With Dallas Willard. Philosophia Christi (2018).
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“The Argument from Reason, and Mental Causal Drainage: A Reply to van Inwagen.” With Todd Buras. Philosophia Christi (2017).
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“Against Emergent Dualism.” In The Blackwell Companion to Substance Dualism (2018).
The
Human
Soul
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“Alister McGrath’s Anti-Mind-Body Dualism: Neuroscientific and Philosophical Quandaries for Christian Physicalism.” Trinity Journal (2019).
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“Dismantling Bodily Resurrection Arguments Against Mind-Body Dualism.” In Christian Physicalism? Lexington Books, (2018).
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“Neuroscience, Spiritual Formation, and Bodily Souls: A Critique of Christian Physicalism.” With C. Stephen Evans. In Christian Physicalism? Lexington Books (2018).
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“Responding to N. T. Wright’s Rejection of the Soul.” Heythrop Journal (2018).
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“What Does it Mean to Be a Bodily Soul?” With C. Stephen Evans. Philosophia Christi (2015).
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“Against Emergent Dualism.” In The Blackwell Companion to Substance Dualism. Wiley Blackwell, 2018.
The Reality
of God
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“Consciousness and Fundamental Fine-Tuning.” Faith & Philosophy (2025).
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“Normative Reasons, Epistemic Autonomy, and Accountability to God.” Religions (2023).
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“Natural Theology, Evidence, and Epistemic Humility.” With Trent Dougherty. European Journal for Philosophy of Religion (2017).
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“Who You Could Have Known: Divine Hiddenness, Epistemic Counterfactuals, and the Recalcitrant Nature of Natural Theology.” With Derek McAllister. International Journal for Philosophy of Religion (2016).
Virtue
& Spiritual Formation
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“Being-Thrown or Being-Guided into Spiritual Timekeeping: Smith and Willard, Heidegger and Husserl.” Journal of Spiritual Formation & Soul Care (2023).
- “Living Accountably: Accountability as a Virtue.” With C. Stephen Evans. International Philosophical Quarterly (2022).
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“Neuroscience, Spiritual Formation, and Bodily Souls: A Critique of Christian Physicalism.” With C. Stephen Evans. In Christian Physicalism? Lexington Books, 2018.
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“The Sanctifying Work of the Holy Spirit: Revisiting Alston’s Interpersonal Model.” With Steve Porter. The Journal of Analytic Theology (2018).
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“Eternal Life as Knowledge of God: An Epistemology of Knowledge by Acquaintance and Spiritual Formation.” Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care (2013).