Below are links to and brief descriptions of the books in which I define and develop the idea of a rational moral freedom. In this conception, the freedom of each individual is conditional upon and co-existent with the freedom of all individuals, holding that such a freedom attains its completion only in public community. I develop the idea through the works of Plato, Aristotle, St Thomas Aquinas, Dante, Spinoza, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Marx, and Habermas.
Rational Freedom. 2024. 111,541
Rational Freedom is a collection of essays, written at various times, in which I define, explore, and apply the idea of ‘rational freedom’ as found in a wide range of philosophers – Plato, Aristotle, St.Thomas Aquinas, Dante Alighieri, Spinoza, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Marx, and Habermas.
Spinoza and the Rule of Reason: An Introduction to Spinoza’s Philosophy of Freedom. 2007 40,026 words
Drawn from my doctoral notes, this book highlights the ‘radical’ aspects of Spinoza’s rationalist philosophy, finding inspiration in his God-Nature relation, his democratic politics, and his commitment to free rational thinking as subversive of all forms of coercive or state-sanctioned religious doctrine.
Immanence, Transcendence, and Essence. 2013, 123,427
Immanence, Transcendence, and Essence is a collection of philosophical essays which make the case for an essentialist metaphysics whilst underscoring the unity of immanence and transcendence. Transcendence is examined in both its theistic and non-theistic forms, with Aristotelian or essentialist potentiality considered to be a form of self-transcendence in the creative unfolding of the universe. Comparison is made with biological principles of emergence and self-organisation. The book ends with an examination of essentialism in the thought of Hegel and Marx, both of whom see transcendence as a realisation within the world conceived as a field of creative materialist immanence. The argument is presented within the overarching theme of the dialectics of progress, seeing a self-creating humanity as walking the tightrope of hope and disaster. The book thus ponders whether a self-contained ethics of immanence may well require the divine transcendent in order to support its normative and emancipatory/redemptive claims and commitments.
Philosophising through the Eye of the Mind. 2010. 173, 872 words
Philosophising Through the Eye of the Mind is composed of philosophical essays written-up from talks delivered in 2010. The early essays serve as an introduction to philosophy, before specialising more deeply. Conceiving philosophy in terms of an active process of philosophizing, the intention of the argument developed throughout these essays is to restore philosophy to its origins as an ethos, a practice, a way of living that is appropriate for rational beings. Philosophy is therefore presented as a practice and an activity in addition to being a disciplined intellectual exercise. The text therefore descends from ‘the clouds’ to discuss issues in the field of practical reason at length.
Essays on Faith, Reason, and Reality. 2024. 169,152
Essays on Faith, Reason, and Reality is a collection of philosophical reflections on the relation between reason and reality, and how we are able to stay real in light of the extent and limitations of the former. The case is made for the natural moral law, as nature seen through the eyes of a reason with its moral component firmly in place. Emphasising the need to restore the unity of Logos and Mythos, the essays cover a broad range of connected themes: metaphysics; the reality of God and Nature in partnership and participation; co-creation in a ceaselessly creative universe; Spinoza; Wittgenstein on religion; Leonard Cohen on the key questions faith puts to reason and reason puts to faith. How real do people want it?
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