Research and Teaching
I’m interested in how we find and make meaning in our lives, and especially in those moments where our self-image gets punctured in revealing ways. That’s led me to think about existential anxiety, human animality, and play, among other things. I draw inspiration from a wide range of philosophers, and I have a particular interest in Wittgenstein and Heidegger.
David's CV
The Pursuit of an Authentic Philosophy: Wittgenstein, Heidegger, and the Everyday (Oxford University Press, 2019) (book abstract) (book introduction) (Review in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews)
Wittgenstein and Heidegger, co-edited with Stephen Reynolds and Aaron James Wendland (Routledge 2013)
Articles
Neoteny, Play, and the Anthropological Difference. In Deonna, Tappolet, and Teroni (eds.), A Tribute to Ronald de Sousa. (2022)
Rule Following, Anxiety, and Authenticity. Mind 130:518, 567–93 (2021)
Wittgenstein’s Confessions: Reading Philosophical Investigations with St. Augustine. The Heythrop Journal 62, 25–38 (2021)
Rehabilitating Austin, Reassessing Grice: The Case of Cancellability. Archiv für die Geschichte der Philosophie 100:4, 469–90 (2018)
Literature and Thought Experiments. Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 74:2, 139–50 (2016)
The Authenticity of the Ordinary. In Egan, Reynolds, and Wendland (eds.), Wittgenstein and Heidegger, 66–81 (2013)
Playing Well: Wittgenstein’s Language-Games and the Ethics of Discourse. In Ryall, Russell, and MacLean (eds.), The Philosophy of Play, 54-63 (2013)
Das Man and Distantiality in Being and Time. Inquiry 55:3, 289–306 (2012)
Pictures in Wittgenstein’s Later Philosophy. Philosophical Investigations 34:1, 55–76 (2011)
University Teaching
Koç University (2024–): Game On: Why We Play and Why It Matters • Modern Philosophy • Aesthetics
Deep Springs College (2023): Humans and Other Animals • Orality and Literacy
Outer Coast (2020–21): Games, Play, and Philosophy • Philosophy as a Way of Life • Humans and Other Animals
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (2021, 2024): Critical Thinking • General Introduction to Philosophy
Hunter College (CUNY) (2017–19): Introduction to Philosophy • Existentialism • Aesthetics • Games, Play, and Philosophy • Philosophy, Literature, and Life • 20th Century Philosophy • Wittgenstein • Heidegger • Humans and Other Animals
University of Chicago (2013–17): Human Being and Citizen • The Philosophy of Games and Play
Oxford University (2007–11 and 2012–13): General Philosophy • Early Modern Philosophy • Post-Kantian Philosophy • Later Wittgenstein • Aesthetics • Frege, Russell, Early Wittgenstein • Wittgenstein and Heidegger
McMaster University (2012): Technology & Society II