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Craig A. Boyd, Ph.D.

Professor, General Studies

Education

Ph.D. in Philosophy, Saint Louis University, 1996
M.A. in Humanities, Western Kentucky University, 1990
B.A in Philosophy & Religion, Greenville College, 1985

Practice Areas

Moral philosophy, medieval philosophy, history of philosophy, science and religion

Research Interests

Virtue ethics, natural law ethics, science and religion, Tolkien Studies

Publications and Media Placements

BOOKS:

  • The Virtues: A Very Short Introduction, co-authored with Kevin Timpe (Oxford University Press, 2021).
  • Christian Ethics and Moral Philosophy: An Introduction to Issues and Applications, co-authored with Don Thorsen (Baker Academic, 2018).
  • Virtues and their Vices, co-edited with Kevin Timpe. (Oxford Univ. Press, 2014).
  • Faith & Reason: Three Views, co-authored with Alan Padgett & Carl Raschke, ed. Steve Wilkens. (Intervarsity, 2014).
  • Visions of Agape': Problems and Possibilities in Divine and Human Love. (Ashgate, 2008).
  • A Shared Morality: A Narrative Defense of Natural Law Ethics. (Brazos, 2007).

RECENT BOOK CHAPTERS:

  • “Tolkien’s Panopticon and Foucault’s Towers: A Study on the Architecture of Power,” with Joanna Boyd-Wilhite. Towers and Strongholds in Middle-earth, ed. Cami Agan. Mythopoeic Press. (in press, publication 2023).
  • “Prudence and Human Providence: Love and Wisdom,” in Divine and Human Providence: Philosophical, Psychological and Theological Approaches, eds. Ignacio Silva and Simon Kopf. Routledge, 2020.
  • "Making America Humble Again: Humility and Magnanimity as Greatness in a Post-Veridical World," in Navigating Post-Truth and Alternative Facts: Religion and Science as Political Theology, ed. Jennifer Baldwin. (Lexington Books, 2018).
  • "Habit, Science, and the Virtue of Humility," in Habits and Virtues, eds. James van Slyke and Gregory Peterson. (Routledge, 2017).
  • "Aquinas on Sanctifying the Affections" in The Spirit, Affectivity, and the Christian Tradition, eds. Amos Long and Dale Coulter. (Univ. of Notre Dame Press, 2016).
  • "Pride and Humility: Tempering the Desire for Excellence," in Virtues & their Vices, eds. Kevin Timpe and Craig A. Boyd. (Oxford Univ. Press, 2014).
  • "Neuroscience, the Trolley Problem, and Moral Virtue," in Theology and the Science of Action: Virtue Ethics, Exemplarity, and Cognitive Neuroscience. (Routledge, 2012).

SELECT ARTICLES:

  • “The Unbearable Sadness of Being Gollum: Envy as Insatiable Desire,” Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, Vol 26, No. 1 (Winter 2023): 85-104.
  • “Augustine, Aquinas, and Tolkien: Three Catholic Views on Curiositas,” Heythrop Journal. Vol. 62, No. 2, (2020): 222-33.
  • “Tolkien’s Libertarian Impulse: Domination and the Lust for Power as the Summum Malum,” Tolkien 2019 Proceedings. (In press)
  • “Nolo Heroizari: Tolkien and Aquinas on the Humble Journey of Master Samwise,” Christianity and Literature. Vol. 68, No. 4(2019): 605-22.
  • "The Thomistic Virtue of Hope in Tolkien's Leaf by Niggle,"  in Christian Scholar's Review, Vol. 48, No. 2, (2019).
  • "Humility, Virtue Epistemology, and the New Atheism," in Theology & Science. Vol. 15, No.2 (2017).
  • "The Causality Distinction, Kenosis, and a Middle Way: Aquinas and Polkinghorne on Divine Action," (with Aaron D. Cobb) in Theology & Science. Vol. 7, No.4 (2009).
  • "Participation Metaphysics in Aquinas' Natural Law Morality," in the American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly, Vol 79, No.3 (2005).

Honors and Awards

2014: SPS Faculty Excellence
July 2003 - 2005: John Templeton Oxford Seminars on Science and Christianity
2004: Institute for Research on Unlimited Love, award for interdisciplinary course on “Love and Christian Ethics”
2004: John Templeton Foundation, Research Grant
1999 - 2000: Templeton Foundation Science- Religion Course Award Winner

Professional Organizations and Associations

Society of Christian Philosophers
Philosophers in Jesuit Higher Education
Wesleyan Philosophical Society