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WHAT IS A GENUINE APOLOGY? WHAT COUNTS AS TRUE FORGIVENESS?

I am currently working on a popular book on apology titled A Brief History of Apology. There I trace how the concept of 'apology' moved from meaning a 'defense' to the current meaning of 'remorse'. I contend that our current conception of apology is an amalgam of these two meanings, which is why so many apologies seem not quite 'apologetic'.

I intend to follow that with a university press book on forgiveness (tentatively titled Keeping Score: Forgiveness and Recompense). My focus in these books is influenced by Christianity, but the focus is particularly on victims and their relations to perpetrators.

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WHAT KINDS OF VIRTUES DO YOU NEED TO IMPROVISE?

I have coined the term 'improvisational virtue' as way of connecting artistic improvisation with virtue ethics and virtue epistemology. The Improvisation of Musical Dialogue was my first exploration in this area.

My most recent work (forthcoming in 2021) includes “Taking Responsibility for Letting Go: The Improvisation of Responding to the Call" in Improvisation: On the Competence of Not Being in Control (Routledge)
and “Improvisational Phronesis: The Interplay of Aesthetics and Ethics” in The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Improvisation in the Arts. My goal is to develop a dialogue between artists, sociologists, and virtue theorists.

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WHAT IS LITURGY AND HOW DOES IT RELATE TO RELIGION?

In my book Liturgy as a Way of Life, I argue that Christianity is primarily a way of life rather than a set of beliefs. “The Primacy of Liturgy in Christianity” (Religious Studies, 2020) takes that argument further.

My work on liturgy has led me to see the category 'religion' as fundamentally framed by Christianity, leading me to ask: what is ‘religion’? I address that question in “Where is the Philosophical/ Theological Rubicon? Toward a Radical Rethinking of 'Religion’” in Transforming the Theological Turn in Phenomenology (2020) and “Is There Such a Thing as Religious Experience? Eine Rückfrage nach dem Ursprung der Spiritualität,” (Open Theology, 2020).

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An Introduction

I currently teach Philosophy of Religions and Continental Philosophy at the University of Nottingham, as well as being Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the University of Vienna, as part of the project 'Revenge of the Sacred: Phenomenology and the Ends of Christianity in Europe', funded by FWF (Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung).

Prior to that, I was Senior Research Fellow at the University of St Andrews, funded by the Templeton Religion Trust. Over the years, I have taught and engaged in research at Loyola Marymount University (also with Templeton funding), Wheaton College (IL), the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, and Union Theological Seminary (NYC).

So far, I have written five books, co-edited eight books, and authored over 100 book chapters, articles, and reviews.

I serve as the Executive Director of the Society for Continental Philosophy and Theology, Philosophy of Religion editor for Syndicate Journal, editorial board member for Faith and Philosophy and the Journal of Continental Philosophy and Theology, and co-editor for the Eerdmans series 'Prophetic Christianity'.

An Introduction

Welcome

Current Research Areas

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