"The Spiritual Dimension of Moral Injury & PTSD" in Great Power Competition Vol. 4: Lessons Learning From Afghanistan
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This chapter aims to carefully distinguish Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from Moral Injury (MI) and review the role of the spiritual dimension in the causation, healing, and prevention of both syndromes. We argue that by giving due consideration to this spiritual dimension, the U.S. military can better prepare soldiers to encounter potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs) in deployment and combat.
"A MacIntyrean Account of Chronic Moral Injury: Assessing the Implications of Bad Management & Marginalized Practices at Work" in Frontiers in Sociology
| a_macintyrean_account_of_chronic_moral_injury.pdf |
In this article, we engage with a theory of management advanced by MacIntyrean scholars of business ethics and organization studies to develop an account of “chronic moral injury” in the workplace. In contrast to what we call “acute moral injury,” which focuses on grave, traumatic events, chronic moral injury results from poor institutional form—when an individual desiring excellence must function within a vicious institution that impedes the acquisition of virtues and marginalizes practices. In other words, chronic moral injury occurs when practitioners who pursue excellence in their practice work within corrupt or malformed organizations. To demonstrate this point, we recount the events associated with the rise and fall of the biotech company, Theranos. This case study advances an empirical contribution to MacIntyrean studies by demonstrating how chronic moral injury can happen under such conditions and what the negative consequences may entail for workers.
"The Therapy of Desire in Times of Crisis: Lessons Learned from Buddhism & Stoicism" in Religions
| the_therapy_of_desire_in_times_of_crisi...ons_learned_from_buddhism_and_stoicism.pdf |
Philosophical practice is an emerging trend that uses philosophical theories and methods as a guide to living a eu‐ daimonic life. In this paper, we define desire philosophically and compare different theories of desire in specific Eastern and Western traditions. Based on the Lacanian conceptual–terminological triad of “Need‐Demand‐Desire”, the research of desire is further divided into three dimensions, namely, the subject of desire, the object of desire, and the desire itself. The concept of desire is then an‐ alyzed from this triad and these three dimensions through different philosophical theories. This paper selects Buddhism as the representative of Eastern tradition, and Stoicism as the representative of the West, paying special attention to Stoicism’s “spiritual exercises” following Pierre Hadot. By exploring and comparing the Buddhist paths to liberation from suffering (i.e., the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path) and the two theoretical pillars in Stoicism (i.e., the notions of “living according to nature” and “the dichotomy of control”), practical guidance is then provided for un‐ derstanding and regulating desire in times of crisis. This understanding and regulation of desire constitutes a philosophical therapy for today’s troubles, particularly those caused by excessive or irrational desires.
Review of Shadow Sophia: The Evolution of Wisdom by Cecila Dean-Drummond in Reading Religion
You can access the review here.
forthcoming
- "Moral Injury in Refugee Communities: The Connection Displacement & Disorientation," in Great Power Competition V: Russia's Invasion of Ukraine
- “Moderating Fear After Trauma: A Neo-Aristotelian Perspective,” in The Moral Psychology of Fear. Rowman & Littlefield (accepted for publication)
- “Challenging Aristotle’s Privilege of Virtue Thesis” in Exemplars, Imitation, and Spiritual Formation: An Interdisciplinary Inquiry (accepted for publication)
- “The Way of Medicine and Chronic Moral Injury in the Medical Profession” ISME Conference Proceedings (accepted for publication)
- Review of Friendship for Virtue by Kristján Kristjánsson in Journal of Moral Philosophy
under review
- Abelard Is Not a Proto-Kantian, Journal of Religious Ethics
