David Holiday

My scholarly work focuses primarily on moral psychology and the ethics of harm, repair, and community, with particular attention to transitional justice. However, I am also interested in sports ethics, leadership ethics (in particular mentorship), and, mostly recently, non-Western ethical traditions from the periphery or "Global South" (especially Africa). My work is informed by the history of moral philosophy, and is mostly in the analytic style which I was educated in, but I engage with current events, literature and the dramatic arts (especially Shakespeare!), and Japanese popular culture (in manga/anime and films).

He holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Chicago, an M.Sc. in Philosophy from the University of Edinburgh, and a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy from Oxford University.

I teach a range of classes in ethics (theoretical and applied), moral philosophy, and leadership. Some fun courses I've taught at DePauw are "Forgiveness and Revenge" and "Human Rights and Global Justice", as well as a few Prindle Reading courses on Southern African Ethics (Ubuntu and Communitarianism).

• “Win to play, don’t play to win! A Kantian take on the ethics of sporting competition.” Sport, Ethics and Phil. 1–15.
• “Forgiveness, Revenge, and the Remaking of Moral Community”, Holocaust Studies. Vol 32 (2), 2026: 231-253.
• “Folly’s Interpersonal Dimension”, The Journal of Ethics, Vol 26, 2022: 295–317.
• “Moral Incapacities of Vice”, Res Philosophica, Vol. 98, Issue 3, 2021: 403-427.
• “On the irreducibility of moral incapacity”, Southern Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 58, 2020: 401-430.
• “When Doing the Right Thing is Impossible” (Review), Journal of Moral Philosophy, Vol. 17.1, 2020: 99-109.
• “Cordelia's Moral Incapacity in King Lear”, Chapter in Philosophers in Depth: Cavell on Aesthetic Understanding (Ed. Garry L. Hagberg), Palgrave, 2018: 75-108.

I previously directed the Center for Ethical Leadership at Washington & Jefferson College and the Jackson Family Center for Ethics and Values at Coastal Carolina University.

• APPE member
• APA member
• Member of Concerned Philosophers for Peace, and organiser for its 2026 conference.

• “King Lear, and Cavell and Wittgenstein’s philosophical method” Invited lecture: Kwansei Gakuin University, Nishinomiya, Japan, June, 2026.
• “Humanizing Indignity and the Morality of Fellowship” American Simone Weil Society, April 2026.
• “King David Syndrome” Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, March 2026.
• “A Plea for Revenge” Indiana Philosophical Society Conference, October 2025.
• “Win to play, don’t play to win!” Midwest Ethics Symposium, DePauw University, Apr. ‘25.
• “Forgiveness and Revenge” Invited lecture, Coastal Carolina University, March 2025.
• “Assessing Ethics Education” Association for Practical & Professional Ethics conference, Feb., ‘25.
• “Taking Moral Action” Author Meets Critics panel, Assoc. for Practical & Prof Ethics, Feb., ‘25.
• “Humanizing Indignity & the Morality of Fellowship” – Concerned Philosophers for Peace, Oct.‘24.
• “Ethical Reasoning Pedagogy” faculty development workshop, W&J College, October, 2024.
• “Four Ethical Perspectives on Deception” CPE training, Pittsburgh School of Social Work, Oct. ‘23.
• “Aristotle on Friendship and Ethical Mentoring” CPE training (accountants), Pittsburgh, Nov. ‘22.
• “My approach to moral philosophy and research work” Invited lecture: Kwansei Gakuin University, Nishinomiya, Japan, June, 2023.
• “Humanizing indignity and the morality of fellowship.” Center for Ethics, University of Pardubice, Czech Republic, October 2020.
• “Humanizing indignity and the morality of fellowship.” Converse College, March 2020.
• “Folly as a Vice” Presidential Address, South Carolina Society for Philosophy, March 2018.
• “Forgiveness, Revenge and the Limits of Community” South Carolina Soc. for Phil., Feb 2017.
• “Torture: Contemporary Issues” Public lecture, Coastal Carolina University, February 2015.