Education
PhD., Philosophy, Baylor University (2020)
Dissertation: The Conscious Mind Unified
Co-Directors: Timothy O’Connor & Alexander Pruss
Committee: C. Stephen Evans, Todd Buras, and Charles Weaver (neuroscientist)
*Awarded Outstanding Dissertation of the Year
MA, Philosophy, Baylor University (2018)
MA, Philosophy of Religion and Ethics, Biola University (2013)
BA, Philosophy, University of California, Irvine (2010)
AOS
AOC
Philosophy of Mind, Metaphysics, Epistemology
Philosophy of Technology and AI, Philosophy of Religion
Possitions
Associate Professor of Philosophy, Palm Beach Atlantic University (2024-present)
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Palm Beach Atlantic University (2021-2024)
Research Scholar of Philosophy of Technology and Culture, Palm Beach Atlantic University (2021-present)
Franz Brentano Fellow, The Martin Institute for Faith and Culture, (2019-present)
Research Fellow, EIDOS Christian Center (2020-present)
Possitions Held
Research Fellow, Accountability as a Relational Virtue Project, Baylor University (2020-present)
Graduate Fellow, SCP Science Cross-Training (neuroscience) John Templeton Foundation (2018-2019)
Grants
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Presidential Research Grant ($200,000), Palm Beach Atlantic University (2021-2024)
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Research/Writing Grant ($26,000), EIDOS Christian Center (2022-2023)
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Cultura Project ($12,500), Martin Institute & John Templeton Foundation (2021-2022)
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Cultura Project ($40,000), Martin Institute & John Templeton Foundation (2019-2021)
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SCP Science Cross-Training - Neuroscience ($36,000), John Templeton Foundation (2018-2019)
Publications
Books
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The Substance of Consciousness: A Comprehensive Defense of Contemporary Substance Dualism, with J. P. Moreland. Wiley-Blackwell, 2023.
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What is Consciousness? An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind, Body, and Soul. IVP Academic, Under Contract.
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The Conscious Person Unified: A Critique of Materialism and the Bodily Soul. Bloomsbury. Under Contract.
Peer-Reviewed Articles
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“Normative Reasons, Epistemic Autonomy, and Accountability to God.” Religions 14 (2) (2023), 662.
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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): 17-26.
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“Living Accountably: Accountability as a Virtue.” With C. Stephen Evans. International Philosophical Quarterly, 62 (1) (245) (2022): 41-64.
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“Alister McGrath’s Anti-Mind-Body Dualism: Neuroscientific and Philosophical Quandaries for Christian Physicalism.”Trinity Journal 40 (2019): 215-240.
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“The Primacy of the Mental: From Russellian Monism to Substance Dualism.” Philosophia Christi 20 (1) (2018): 31-41.
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“Intentionality Contra Physicalism: On the Mind’s Independence from the Body.” With Dallas Willard. Philosophia Christi 20 (2) (2018): 497-515.
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“The Sanctifying Work of the Holy Spirit: Revisiting Alston’s Interpersonal Model.” With Steve Porter. The Journal of Analytic Theology (6) (2018): 112-130.
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“Responding to N. T. Wright’s Rejection of the Soul.” Heythrop Journal 59 (2018): 201-220.
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“The Argument from Reason, and Mental Causal Drainage: A Reply to van Inwagen.” With Todd Buras. Philosophia Christi19 (2) (2017): 381-399.
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“Natural Theology, Evidence, and Epistemic Humility.” With Trent Dougherty. European Journal for Philosophy of Religion 9 (2) (2017): 1-24.
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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 82 (3) (2016): 337–348.
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“What Does it Mean to Be a Bodily Soul?” With C. Stephen Evans. Philosophia Christi 17 (2) (2015).
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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 6 (2) (2013): 204-228.
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Book Chapters
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“Minding the Spirit: An Ontology of Intentionality for the Spiritual Disciplines of Hearing God.” In C. Woznicki and J. Leidenhag (eds.), Analytic and Charismatic Theology (Wipf & Stock, forthcoming).
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“Virtue Formation and The Sanctifying Work of the Holy Spirit.” With Steven L. Porter. In Faith and Virtue Formation, Adam C. Pelser and W. Scott Cleveland (Eds.), Oxford University Press, 2020.
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“Against Emergent Dualism.” In Loose, Menuge, and Moreland (Eds.), The Blackwell Companion to Substance Dualism. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell, 2018.
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“Dismantling Bodily Resurrection Arguments Against Mind-Body Dualism.” In Loftin and Farris (Eds.), 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 Loftin and Farris (Eds.). Christian Physicalism? Lexington Books, 2018.
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“Teleology;” “Gilbert Ryle;” and “Rene Descartes.” In Copan, Reese, Strauss, and Longman III (Eds.). Dictionary of Christianity & Science. Zondervan, 2017.
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In Progress
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Measuring Spiritual Formation: A Willardian Approach.
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“ChatGPT as Spiritual Guide?”
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(Book) The Mystery of Designing Minds: AI, Consciousness, and the Reality of God.
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(Book) The Soul of Technology: Spiritual of Digital Formation?
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(Book) The Discipline of Attention: On the First Act of Love
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“Consciousness and Fundamental Fine-Tuning.” Revise and Resubmit.
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“Gaze Dualism.” Co-authored with Alexander Pruss. Under Review.
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“AI and the End of the Argument from Reason to God.”
Selected Invited Lectures
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“Mechanizing Ourselves to Death: The Soul of Cultural Disillusionment.” Martin Institute for Faith and Culture, Dallas Willard Center, Westmont College. 1/30/2023.
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“The Prior Order of Consciousness and Fundamental Fine-Tuning,” Third World Congress on Logic and Religion, Varanasi, India. 11/7/2022.
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“Knowing Jesus in a Culture of Disillusionment,” Faith & Society Annual Lecture, Ashland University, 10/18/2022.
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“The Hard Meta-Problem of Consciousness.” Center for Philosophy of Science at the Sharif University of Technology, Tehran. 8/24/2022.
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“Designing Minds: Cosmic Fine-Tuning,” Biola University, La Mirada, CA. 5/6/2022.
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“Why Having a Mind Is a Weird Thing.” Cuyahoga College, Cleveland, OH. 4/25/2022.
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“Mental Illness and Virtue Formation: A Phenomenological Approach.” Palm Beach Atlantic University Chapel. 4/14-18/2022.
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“Why Does God Seem Hidden?” EPS National Apologetics Conference. San Diego, CA. Nov. 23, 2019
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“Neuro-Sanctification Problems for Christian Physicalism” Society of Christian Philosophers Mountain-Pacific Conference, Las Vegas, NV. April 5-6, 2019.
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“Why Does God Seem Hidden?” EPS National Apologetics Conference. Denver CO. Nov. 16, 2018
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“The Primacy of the Mental: An Analytic Phenomenological Defense” Evangelical Philosophical Society, Providence, RI. Nov. 15-17, 2017
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“Personal Ontology & Theology” Book Panel: Christian Physicalism? Society of Christian Philosophers Midwest Meeting, Houston, TX. October 13-14, 2017
Selected International Talks
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“Emergent Mind or Emergent Brain? A New Problem for Composite Subjectivity” Dualism in the 21st Century Workshop, Budapest, Hungary. 2018.
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“An Enduring Problem for Complex Animalism” Moscow Center for Consciousness Studies Summer Seminar, St. Julian’s, Malta. 2018.
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“A Combination Problem for Emergent Dualism” 2017 Dominican Colloquium in Berkeley: Person, Soul, and Consciousness. 2017.
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“Who You Could Have Known: Divine Hiddenness, Epistemic Counterfactuals, and Natural Theology” British Society for the Philosophy of Religion, Oxford. 2015.
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“iAnimal? Self-Reference and an Enduring Problem for Animalism” Perspectives on the First-Person Pronoun “I,” Durham University, UK. 2014.
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“Cognitive Science and the Soul” International Conference on the Soul, Oxford University, UK. 2013.
Selected Domestic Talks
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“Divine Silence, Cognitive Science, and the Hidden Self” Evangelical Philosophical Society National Conference, Denver, CO, Nov. 14, 2018
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“The Depth and Dynamics of the Human Soul: Dallas Willard’s Rejection of Soulless Sanctification” Experiencing Life with God Conference, Westmont College, CA. May 15-18, 2018
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“The Openness of Reality: Consciousness-First Objections to Causal Closure” Evangelical Philosophical Society, Providence, RI. March 2-3, 2018
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“Dismantling Resurrection Objections to Mind-Body Dualism” Evangelical Philosophical Society, Providence, RI. Nov. 15-17, 2017
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“Why Physicalism Still Seems False” Society of Christian Philosophers Midwest Meeting, Houston, TX. 2017.
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“Epistemology, Mind, and Hard Choices: Externalism or Dualism, but Not Both” Society of Christian Philosophers Midwest Meeting, Houston, TX. 2017.
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“Cognitive Science, Explanatory Gap Seemings, and the Soul” Society of Christian Philosophers Eastern Meeting, Wilmore, KY. 2017.
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“Assessing Resurrection Objections to Mind-Body Dualism” Society of Christian Philosophers Pacific Meeting, La Mirada, CA. 2017.
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“Naturalism and the Mental Problem of Causal Drainage” Evangelical Philosophical Society National, San Antonio, TX. 2016.
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“Emergence Cannot Save the Soul, but Neo-Aristotelianism Might” Evangelical Philosophical Society, Southwest Meeting, Dallas. 2016.
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“An Enduring Problem for Animalism” Berkeley-Stanford-Davis Graduate Philosophy Conference. 2014.
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“Grounding & Personal Identity” SoCal Philosophy Conference, San Diego State University. 2013.
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“Conscious Beings: Maximality vs. Mereological Simplicity” Mind & Language Conference. Texas Tech University, TX. 2013.
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“Conscious Beings: Maximality vs. Mereological Simplicity” UT Austin Graduate Philosophy Conference. Austin, TX. 2013.
Honors & Awards
IVP Early-Career Philosopher of Religion, Tyndale House, University of Cambridge (2022)
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Outstanding Dissertation of the Year, Baylor University (2020)
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First time awarded to a doctoral candidate in the Department of Philosophy
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Outstanding Dissertation of the Year, Department of Philosophy (2020)
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Harold O. J. Brown Award for Student Scholarship, C. F. H. Henry Center (2019)
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Top 40 Most Impactful Faculty at Baylor (2018-2019)
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First time awarded to a doctoral candidate
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Dallas Willard Center Research Award (2018)
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Fellowship Award, Moscow Center for Consciousness Studies, St. Julian’s, Malta (2018)
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Conyers Graduate Scholarship, Baylor University (2016)
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Academic Excellence Award, Biola University (2013)
Worshops & Seminars
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The Disappearance of Moral Knowledge Symposium, Biola University, May 14-15, 2019
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Invited participant (12 total); fully funded.
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Moscow Center for Consciousness Studies, Summer Seminar on Personal Identity, St. Julian’s, Malta, June 2018
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1 of 10 selected doctoral students; fully funded.
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Baptist Association of Philosophy Teachers Summer Seminar, Uni. of Notre Dame, May 21-June 25, 2018
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Presenter; 1 of 12 selected doctoral students; fully funded.
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Oxford University Neo-Aristotelian Approaches to the Metaphysics of Mind, Naples, Italy, 9/26-10/2, 2017
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1 of 8 doctoral students selected to study with Anna Marmodoro; presented; fully funded.
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Baptist Association of Philosophy Teachers Summer Seminar Notre Dame University, May 30-June 3, 2016
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1 of 12 doctoral students selected to study with Candace Vogler; fully funded.
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Conference in Honor of Dallas Willard Boston University, Nov. 6-7, 2015
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​​1 of 4 doctoral students selected; fully funded.
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References
Alexander Pruss, PhD
Professor of Philosophy
Baylor University
Timothy O’Connor, PhD
Distinguished Professor of Philosophy
Indiana University
Richard Swinburne
Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus
Oxford University
C. Stephen Evans, PhD
University Professor of Philosophy
Baylor University
J. P. Moreland, PhD
Distinguished Professor of Philosophy
Biola University
Todd Buras
Professor of Philosophy
Baylor University