Thomas D. Carroll

The Great Capitulation I have been trying to digest a recent Associated Press-NORC poll about Americans’ perceptions of racial discrimination.

www.anativeson.org/p/the-great-...

Photo of Smithsonian display on Impeachment (2023)

Close up of exhibit on Impeachment at the Smithsonian (2023)

Here are a couple of photos of the old display (from when I visited in 2023). Even then, it felt like this documentation of history was fragile.

YouTube video by # Джаз Э-эф # Abbey Lincoln - Africa (John W. Coltrane)

Abbey Lincoln, "Africa" (1973)

I recently came across Lincoln while exploring Max Roach. Wow, she's amazing.

youtu.be/g3cReo2Dc9s?...

In our latest episode, we examine Buddhism's adoption by China's people and the state. Shaolin Temples have been built overseas to promote Buddhism, authorised by its leader Shi Yong Xin. Yet Shi has caught global media attention this week with news he is under investigation for corruption. (1/2)

Opening a box with my new book inside

author copies of the book

Title page

Table of Contents

My book, Rethinking Philosophy of Religion with Wittgenstein, arrived today.
I'm grateful to Bloomsbury (‪@bloomsburyacad.bsky.social‬) for publishing it & to J. Aaron Simmons and Kevin Schilbrack for including it in the Expanding Philosophy of Religion series.

www.bloomsbury.com/us/rethinkin...

Thanks, Rob. Nice to see it in print! Looking forward to my own copies showing up in the mail soon. 📦

I just wrote a blog post on my new book, Rethinking Philosophy of Religion with Wittgenstein, and the two themes that drive the book: Chinese religious diversities & the intertwining of religion and racism in the United States.

thomasdcarroll.blogspot.com/2025/07/reth...

Listen to Michael Luo talk about his book "Strangers in the Land" on the new episode of the China Books Podcast: chinabooksreview.com/2025/07/01/e...

The Choice: Begin Again I find myself returning to James Baldwin’s writings repeatedly these days.

www.anativeson.org/p/the-choice...

Wittgenstein, On Certainty and Religion Wittgenstein, On Certainty and Religion  Although Wittgenstein did not write extensively about religion, his scattered comments and lecture notes have had a lasting impact on the philosophy of re...

I’m co-hosting an online conference: Wittgenstein, On Certainty and Religion, July 28th and 29th.

For more info, including schedule & book of abstracts: philevents.org/event/show/1...

(to join, email me, d.ellis@leedstrinity.ac.uk for a link)
#conference #philosophy #religion #Wittgenstein

Weekly Wrap Up - July 18, 2025 Watch now | In this Weekly Wrap Up, Eddie discusses pressing issues including the situation in Gaza and Israel, the political dynamics surrounding the MAGA movement and the Epstein files, the implicat...

nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...

Congratulations!

YouTube video by Duke Ellington - Topic Fleurette Africaine (African Flower) (Remastered)

"Fleurette Africaine" Duke Ellington, Max Roach, and Charles Mingus (1962)

Apparently, it was a very difficult recording session, but you wouldn't know it from this quiet and pensive song.

youtu.be/6HFQy9_rY58?...

Philosophy Professor Reportedly Assaulted & Abducted During ICE Raid on Farm - Daily Nous Jonathan Caravello, a lecturer in philosophy at California State University Channel Islands, was reportedly "piled on by multiple agents all at once" as "he tried to help a man in a wheelchair" who wa...

"Jonathan Caravello...was reportedly “piled on by multiple agents all at once” as “he tried to help a man in a wheelchair” who was having difficulty moving after...[ICE] agents threw canisters of tear gas"

our colleague is still missing as of the last info I got

dailynous.com/2025/07/12/p...

Status, culture, cost: more Chinese students choosing Singapore as US declines Universities in Singapore are beginning to offer programmes taught entirely in Mandarin and live support via WeChat for Chinese applicants.

"Singapore may see an uptick in applications from Chinese students in the short term amid growing uncertainty and instability in the US."

Not surprising at all, but many of my former students are headed to Canadian universities in the fall. None are headed to the US.

sc.mp/ab6i8?utm_so...

James Baldwin in the back seat of a car.

Bette Davis and Oliva de Havilland in "In This Our Life."

Jason Miller and Max von Sydow as priests in "The Exorcist."

Rod Steiger and Sidney Poitier as law enforcement officers in "In the Heat of the Night."

“The Devil Finds Work: James Baldwin’s Cinema of the Mind” 📽️ Jul. 25–Aug. 15

This series presents films analyzed by Baldwin in his 1976 book “The Devil Finds Work,” a blend of memoir and film criticism, with live readings by @roxanegay.bsky.social and other special guests!

Free: ucla.in/3Ie2tG1

Article abstract: Over the last couple of decades, philosophers have been drawing on ideas from Wittgenstein’s late work On Certainty in developing an approach to epistemology known as “hinge epistemology.” Hinge epistemology has been of particular interest to philosophers of religion because it considers the role that deep commitments to particular propositions may have within epistemic life, arguably mirroring what is seen in some religious traditions. The issue that motivates the present article is whether or to what extent it is helpful to think of forms of atheism as being grounded in hinge commitments. After considering various forms of atheism, this article advances the view that there are some forms of atheism that do exhibit core grounding commitments that may be helpfully interpreted as hinges. In developing this argument, the article considers two case studies of apparent atheistic hinges: the “secular faith” of Martin Hägglund and expressions of atheism one may find in contemporary Chinese society. While many atheistic beliefs are contingent upon still more fundamental epistemic commitments, some forms of atheism may be held strongly or with such a sense of import that interpretation by means of the notion of hinge commitment will be illuminating.

Here's the abstract --

I have a new article--"On Atheistic Hinges"--coming out in the special issue of Religions on New Work on Wittgenstein's Philosophy of Religion.

www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16...

Weekly Wrap Up - July 3, 2025 In this early edition of the Weekly Wrap Up, Eddie reflects on the current political climate in America, particularly focusing on the implications of recent legislation that threatens the welfare of t...

The Weekly Wrap Up a day early, because of the 4th of July. The country is in deep trouble. www.anativeson.org/p/weekly-wra...

I am heartbroken over this. There aren't enough words

YouTube video by Dais Records Rafael Anton Irisarri - "Arduous Clarity" (Official Video)

Soundtrack for editing a paper

(The work is definitely arduous; hopefully, what I'm writing will also be clear.)

youtu.be/gB18StyfKXM?...

A detail of kalavinkas, birdlike creatures with human heads and arms, from a Tang stele topper, probably eighth century.

A hanging curtain decorated with festoons and garlands, carved in stone as part of a late sixth century stele.

View of the edge of a stone stele with a sweetly wonky little camel.

Serenely beautiful Tang bodhisattva, almost certainly Maitreya.

Some beautiful things from the beautifully reinstalled and expanded Beilin Museum - what a collection 🤩

ICE Goes After Church Leaders and Christians Fleeing Persecution - Christianity Today On Tuesday, Iranian asylum-seekers were detained in Los Angeles, adding to the count of church members taken despite lawful status.

On Tuesday, Iranian asylum-seekers who fled persecution for their Christian faith were detained by ICE in Los Angeles.

The arrests add to a growing number of church members taken despite lawful status.

I was at that show too. Really great

The Seventh International Wittgenstein Symposium Wittgenstein: Meaning and Certainty The Seventh International Wittgenstein Symposium Wittgenstein: Meaning and Certainty Hangzhou, November 8-9, 2025 CALL FOR PAPERS Ludwig Wittgenstein—one of the twentieth century&rsquo...

The Chinese Wittgenstein Society will have a conference in Hangzhou next fall. Looks very promising!

philevents.org/event/show/1...

Donate to Support Helen's Children After Her Passing, organized by Marcus Arvan Help provide Helen De Cruz's children with a better start in life after her un… Marcus Arvan needs your support for Support Helen's Children After Her Passing

I am devastated to learn of my dear friend and fellow philosopher Helen De Cruz’s passing.

With Helen's blessing, her husband Johan and I agreed to circulate a GoFundMe on their children’s behalf.

Please feel free to share and circulate widely.

www.gofundme.com/f/support-he...

RIP Helen De Cruz (1978-2025) 💔

Helen De Cruz @helendecruz.net), professor of philosophy at Saint Louis University, has died. dailynous.com/2025/06/20/h...

...and here's their episode on James Baldwin

historyofphilosophy.net/james-baldwin

This is from a short piece by @mrjustinray.bsky.social‬ in the @sfchronicle.com today on "Black thinkers" and the boundaries of philosophy.

Relatedly, Peter Adamson and Chike Jeffers’s HOPWAG podcast series on Africana philosophy is profound and wonderful.

historyofphilosophy.net/series/afric...

Why aren’t great Black thinkers called philosophers? “Philosophy has long positioned itself as the domain of pure reason, supposedly above the fray of politics and identity. But scratch the surface, and the bias becomes clear,” Justin Ray writes.

"[W]e call Baldwin a novelist, an essayist, a social critic. Anything but what he clearly was: a philosopher.
This isn’t a coincidence. It’s intellectual gatekeeping, and it robs all of us of a fuller understanding of wisdom itself."

www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...