I work mainly on late antique philosophy and theology, which for thinkers of that period are often different names for the same thing. I wrote my dissertation on Gregory of Nyssa, an influential 4th-century church father, but am also acquainted with Origen, Pseudo-Dionysius, and Augustine. Because a person can’t understand these thinkers without knowing their philosophical sources, I’ve also studied ancient philosophy, particularly Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, and the Stoic tradition.

Doctoral Work
My dissertation argues that Gregory makes a distinctive contribution to the history of Christian philosophy through his recognition of the positive presence and power of evil in the world and in the struggle for virtue in a human life. Gregory sees evil—whether the vices of individuals or systems of injustice like slavery and oppression of the poor—as a moral analogue to an artifact. Though lacking its own permanent and self-standing being, evil takes a place on the ontological stage through the sustaining power of individual and collective choice. His view emphasizes the creative capacity of “godlike” human freedom, seeing in it a power to generate and sustain individual habits and, collectively with other human beings, whole structures of evil.

I treat Gregory as a Christian philosopher who uses philosophical methods to reflect on and explain theological concepts. For instance, Gregory uses Platonic and Aristotelian vocabulary and lines of argumentation to explain his points and writes work in philosophical genres like dialogues. In his mastery and use of philosophy in service of theology, we might think of Gregory as an analogue of Thomas Aquinas, though Gregory’s thought has not been given the same amount of philosophical engagement.

Subsequent Work
My current research project examines the notion of moral formation in early and medieval Christian philosophy. In particular, I am interested in the virtue of what I call “self-possession,” which Gregory sees as a goal of human moral formation. There is a phrase that circulates within ancient and late antique philosophy, going back to Plato’s Republic, that “virtue is without a master.” Gregory develops this idea as had not been done prior to him. As a first step in this research, my article published in Studia Patristica (2021) explains Gregory’s unique understanding of Christ’s “subjection” to God in 1 Cor 15, leading him to reject an interpretation of Christian subjection to God as a kind of slavish subservience.