JOhn Douglas Macready, Ph.D.

Professor of Philosophy

I am a Professor of Philosophy at Collin College in Plano, Texas, where I teach introductory courses in philosophy, ethics, logic, philosophy of religion, and social and political philosophy. I am the author of two books, Hannah Arendt and the Fragility of Human Dignity (Lexington, 2018), and A Continental Guide to Philosophy (Edinburgh University Press, 2021).

Although my primary interests revolve around ethics and social and political philosophy, and the political theory of Hannah Arendt, I have researched and written about a broad range of topics at the intersection of philosophy, the humanities, culture, and the social sciences. I have written about film, literature, education, human dignity, mass incarceration, and far-right extremism.

I understand myself primarily as an educator who is committed to the emancipatory power of a rigorous liberal arts education. The goal of my research, writing, and teaching is to open up spaces for independent thinking and courageous dialogue in order to foster individual and social transformation.