CV

MARK DOOLEY Ph.D. (1970-)

EDUCATION:

1991: BA, University College Dublin (History and Philosophy)

1993: MA, University College Dublin (Philosophy – Major Thesis: ‘Selfhood in G.W.F Hegel & Søren Kierkegaard’)

1997: PhD, University College Dublin (Philosophy). Title: ‘Søren Kierkegaard’s Ethics of Responsibility’

CAREER HISTORY:

1993-1994: Junior Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, University College Dublin

1994-1999: Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, University College Dublin

1998-1999: Visiting Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, NUI Maynooth

1999-2002: John Henry Newman Scholar in Theology, University College Dublin

2002-2003: Visiting Fellow, University College Dublin

2004-2006: Political Columnist: Sunday Independent

2006-2011: Lecturer: Department of Philosophy, NUI Maynooth

2006-: Columnist: Irish Daily Mail

HONOURS & AWARDS:

1994-1996: Faculty of Arts Fellowship: University College Dublin

1995: Hong Kierkegaard Fellowship: St. Olaf College, Minnesota, USA

1999-2002: John Henry Newman Scholar in Theology: National University of Ireland

AREAS OF SPECIALISATION:

Nineteenth Century Philosophy (Hegel & Kierkegaard); Philosophy of Religion; Conservatism; Roger Scruton; Contemporary European Thought; Ethical & Political Philosophy;

AREAS OF COMPETENCE:

History of Philosophy; Classical Philosophy; Philosophy of Language

COURSES DELIVERED:

UNDERGRADUATE COURSES:

Introduction to Philosophy
Introduction to Classical Philosophy
Philosophy of Religion
Political Philosophy
Philosophical Aesthetics
Philosophy of Self-Identity
Ethics
Aesthetics
Nineteenth Century Philosophy
Introduction to Theological Thought
Hegel
Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit
Kierkegaard
Kierkegaard & Hegel
Kierkegaard, Nietzsche & Marx
Kierkegaard & Nietzsche
Existentialism
Hermeneutics & Self-Identity
Phenomenology to Hermeneutics
Hermeneutics to Deconstruction
Foundational & Post-Foundational Philosophy
Realism, Antirealism & Relativism

GRADUATE SEMINARS:

Kierkegaard
Contemporary Ethical Thought
Derrida
The Philosophy of Self-Identity
Realism & Antirealism: Theology, Ethics, Politics
Hermeneutics
The Philosophy of Freedom: Liberalism, Communitarianism, Conservatism
Contemporary Debates in the Philosophy of Religion
Roger Scruton

BOOKS:

1. Questioning Ethics: Contemporary Debates in Philosophy

(Ed. with R. Kearney) London & New York: Routledge, 1999, 302 pp. (Translation: Italian).  A major contribution to contemporary ethical thought.  Includes original essays by Paul Ricoeur, Alasdair MacIntyre, Jürgen Habermas, Jacques Derrida & Karl-Otto Apel

2. The Politics of Exodus: Kierkegaard’s Ethics of Responsibility

New York: Fordham University Press, 2001, 277 pp.

‘Dooley’s writing is a pleasure to read – vigorous, clear, concise, full of light and shade, and with many a well-turned phrase. Based on sound leaning and long reflection, this is a passionate and personal book – as writing on Kierkegaard should be.’ (Professor George Pattison, Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity, Oxford University)

‘Mark Dooley is a pioneering figure in contemporary philosophy of religion.  His ability to combine critical continental insights with a sound grasp of the modern history of ideas makes this a rare book indeed’ (Professor Richard Kearney, Charles Seelig Professor of Philosophy, Boston College)

3. Questioning God

(Ed. with J.D. Caputo & M. J. Scanlon) Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001, 379 pp.

A book of fifteen essays based on a conference directed by the editors at Villanova University in 1999.  It explores contemporary thinking about God with special attention to the phenomenon of forgiveness.  Contributors include John Milbank, Richard Kearney, Jean Greisch, Francis Schüssler Fiorenza, Kevin Hart and Jacques Derrida.

Translation J. Derrida, On Cosmopolitanism and Forgiveness, London & New York: Routledge, 2001. (with M. Hughes)

4. A Passion for The Impossible: John D. Caputo in Focus

(Ed.) New York: State University of New York Press, 2003, 323 pp.

Contributions from Jacques Derrida, W. Norris Clarke, William J. Richardson, Merold Westphal, Thomas R. Flynn, Richard Kearney & Edith Wyschogrod.  Includes Derrida’s definitive statement on religion: ‘The Becoming Possible of the Impossible’

‘Sparkles with wit and intelligence and is of tremendous value… for those who are looking for an outstanding introduction to the key issues concerning contemporary philosophy and religion’ (Henry Isaac Venema)

5. The Philosophy of Derrida

(with L. Kavanagh) London: Acumen Press, 2006.

North American Edition: Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2007, 164 pp.

‘Splendidly clear, lucid and well-argued’ (Professor Christina Howells, Oxford University)

‘One of the most reliable and readable presentations of Derrida available’ (Professor John D. Caputo, Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion, Syracuse University)

6. Roger Scruton: The Philosopher on Dover Beach

London & New York: Continuum International, 2009, 204 pp.

(General Trade List)

‘Sets out eloquently Roger [Scruton’s] positions on politics and art – and explains why there was no one I ever commissioned to write whose articles provoked more rage’ (Sir Peter Stothard, Editor, Times Literary Supplement)

‘Dooley’s book aims to show that Scruton’s ideas are proving more and more true to our current times. This is an important and challenging re-appraisal of an important philosopher’ (Stav Sherez, Catholic Herald)

‘Beautifully written, clear, restrained, Roger Scruton: The Philosopher on Dover Beach is a masterpiece of concise exposition, a model of clarification and, above all, a pleasure to read. For anyone who wants a comprehensive overview of Scruton’s work, Dooley’s book is indispensable. There is no other work of this kind on the market. Short of reading all of Scruton’s writings yourself, there can be no better way to gain a clear understanding of this most significant of contemporary philosophers’ (Yearbook of the Irish Philosophical Society)

7. The Roger Scruton Reader

(Ed.) London & New York: Continuum International, 2009, 220 pp.

(General Trade List)

‘An excellent introduction to Scruton’s range of interests’ (Professor Kenneth Minogue, Emeritus Professor of Political Science, London School of Economics, Times Literary Supplement)

8. Why Be a Catholic?

London & New York: Continuum International, 2011, 126pp.

(General Trade List)

‘A beautifully written book… In the times in which we live, to write as Dooley has done takes courage. As you read this book you may be edified, you may be enraged; one thing you won’t be is bored’   (Professor Gerard Casey, University College Dublin, Irish Mail on Sunday)

‘Why Be a Catholic courageously confronts what must be done if Catholicism is to survive as a religion of redemption’ (Sunday Independent)

‘This is a timely book that seeks to revitalize a faith that it all too apt to flag in this time of crisis. Dooley faces up to the clerical sex-abuse scandals, but shows us a church that still keeps the flame of faith alive… [his] heartfelt plea deserves to be heard’ (The Tablet)

‘Mark Dooley is well-qualified to get to the heart of the matters that trouble so many today: why bother with being a Catholic?’ (The Irish Catholic)

9. Moral Matters: A Philosophy of Homecoming

London & New York: Bloomsbury, 2015, 232pp.

‘Moral Matters is a wonderful compendium of common sense from a highly sophisticated and decidedly modern writer. Mark Dooley writes with passion, conviction and admirable clarity of the dilemmas and temptations that face us, in a world of instant communication and material abundance – the world he calls Cyberia. The result links past and future together in a way that casts a dazzling light on the present.” (Roger Scruton)

‘You don’t have to agree with everything that Mark Dooley says to be instructed by him. Moral Matters is a provocative critique of contemporary life and a bracing warning about what can go wrong in the postmodern world.’ (John D. Caputo)

10. Conversations with Roger Scruton

London & New York: Bloomsbury, 2016, 213 pp.

In these conversations, I coax Roger Scruton to speak candidly about his vision of the world, about his early philosophical influences and about those who have shaped him personally and intellectually. This book reveals what life was like growing up in High Wycombe, how he survived Cambridge and how he came to hold his conservative outlook. It tells of Scruton’s rise to prominence while writing for The Times and sheds light on his campaign on behalf of underground dissidents in Eastern Europe. Ranging across topics as diverse as the current state of British philosophy, music, religion, and illuminating what lay behind Scruton’s abandonment of academia for his new life on a Wiltshire farm,Conversations with Roger Scruton is an intimate portrait of a writer who has felt philosophy as a vocation and whose defence of unfashionable causes has brought him a wide readership in Britain and around the world.

SELECTED ARTICLES, BOOK CHAPTERS & ENCYCLOPEDIA ENTRIES:

  1. “Kierkegaard on the Margins of Philosophy” Philosophy and Social Criticism, Vol. 21 no 2 (London: SAGE, March, 1995) pp. 85-107.
  1. “Murder on Moriah: A Paradoxical Representation” Philosophy Today 39 (Spring, 1995) pp. 67-83.
  1. “Playing on the Pyramid: Resituating the ‘Self’ in Kierkegaard and Derrida” Imprimatur, Vol 1, Nos.2/3 (Spring, 1996) pp. 151-162.
  1. “Risking Responsibility: A Politics of the émigré” in George Pattison and Steven Shakespeare Eds. Kierkegaard: The Self and Society (London: Macmillan, 1998) pp. 139-155.
  1. “The Politics of Exodus: Hospitality in Derrida, Kierkegaard, and Levinas” in Robert L. Perkins Ed. The International Kierkegaard Commentary: Works of Love (Macon: Mercer University Press, 1999) pp. 167-192.
  1. “Private Irony vs. Social Hope: Derrida, Rorty, and the Political” Cultural Values Volume 3, Number 3 (Oxford: Blackwell, July 1999) pp. 263-290.
  1. “The Politics of Statehood vs. A Politics of Exodus: Heidegger, Kierkegaard, and Levinas” in Gordon Marino Ed. Søren Kierkegaard Newsletter, No. 40 (August 2000) pp. 11-17.
  1. “Hermeneutics” in Neil J. Smelser and Paul B. Baltes Eds. The International Encyclopaedia of the Social and Behavioural Sciences (Oxford: Pergamon, 2001) pp. 6665-6672.
  1. “A Civic Religion of Social Hope: A Reply to Simon Critchley” in Philosophy and Social Criticism Vol. 27 no 5 (London: SAGE, 2001) pp. 35-58.
  1. “The Catastrophe of Memory: Derrida, Milbank, and the (Im)possibility of Forgiveness” in Questioning God (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001) pp. 129-149.
  1. “A Post-Christian Ireland?” in Enda McDonagh Ed. The Irish Review (June, 2001).
  1. “Crossing the Class Lines” in INTAMS Review Vol. 7/2 (Brussels, 2001) pp. 145-156.
  1. “Saints and Postmodernism” in A Passion for The Impossible (State University of New York Press, 2003) pp. xi-xxiii.
  1. “On Circumventing the Quasi-Transcendental” in A Passion for the Impossible (State University of New York Press, 2003) pp. 201-228.
  1. “Making the Impossible Possible: An Interview with Jacques Derrida” in A Passion for The Impossible (State University of New York Press, 2003) pp. 21-33.
  1. “Continental Thought in Ireland” in Brian Lalor Ed. The Encyclopedia of Ireland (Dublin: Gill & MacMillan, 2003) pp. 233-34.
  1. “Richard Kearney” in Brian Lalor Ed. The Encyclopaedia of Ireland (Dublin: Gill & MacMillan, 2003) p. 578.
  1. “A Master of the Middle Way” in Religion and the Arts Vol. 7-3 (Boston: Brill & Leiden, 2003) pp. 329-339.
  1. “Nihilism or Salvation? The Challenges of Global Technology for the Humanities” in Michael Breen, Eamonn Conway, and Barry McMillan Eds. Technology and Transcendence (Dublin: The Columba Press, 2003) pp. 103-113.
  1. “Kierkegaard: Between Totality and Infinity” in Elsebet Jegstrup Ed. The New Kierkegaard (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2004) pp. 199-213.
  1. “Paul Ricoeur” in John R. Shook Ed. Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers (Bristol: Thoemmes Press, 2005).
  1. “J. D. Caputo” in John Protevi Ed. Encyclopaedia of Contemporary Continental Philosophy (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2005) pp. 82-83.
  1. “Jean-Luc Marion’s Ambition of Transcendence” in Eoin Cassidy and Ian Leask Eds. Givenness and God (New York: Fordham University Press, 2005) pp. 190-200.
  1. “Truth, Ethics, and Narrative Imagination” in Peter Gratton and John Manoussakis Eds. Traversing the Imaginary (Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 2007) pp. 165-179.
  1. “From Radical Hermeneutics to the Weakness of God: John D. Caputo in Debate with Mark Dooley” in Marko Zlomislić and Neal DeRoo Eds. Cross and Khôra: Deconstruction and Christianity in the Work of John D. Caputo (Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Publications, 2010), pp. 327-347.  Article originally published under the same title in Philosophy Today July, 2007.
  1. “Kierkegaard: Re-Enchanting the Lebenswelt” in Jeffrey Hanson Ed. Kierkegaard as Phenomenologist (Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 2010), pp. 169-187.
  1. “The Plagues of Desecration: Roger Scruton and Richard Rorty on Religion” in Fran O’Rourke Ed. Human Destinies: Essays in Honour of Gerald Hanratty (South Bend: University of Notre Dame Press, 2013), pp. 312-336.
  1. “Reclaiming the Irish Church” in Bertrand Cardin and Alexandra Slaby Eds., Etudes Irlandaises 40.1, ‘Contemporary Issues in Irish Studies’, Spring/Summer 2015, pp. 199-206.
  1. “Penser avec Kierkegaard aujourd’hui” Catholica, Summer 2015, pp. 73-83.
  1. ‘Saving the Sacred’, Introduction to James Bryson Ed., The Religious Philosophy of Roger Scruton (London & New York: Bloomsbury, 2016), pp. 3-16.
  1. ‘Conserving the Sacred in a Virtual Kingdom’ in Eric Coombes & Anthony Daniels Eds. What is Wrong with Us?: Essays in Cultural Pathology (London: Imprint Academic, 2016), pp. 208-223.
  1. Guest Editor, with Richard Kearney, Études Irlandaises on the theme of ‘Philosophy in Ireland Today’, 2019.

BOOK REVIEWS:

I have regularly reviewed books for the following Journals & Periodicals:

The Review of Metaphysics
The International Journal of Philosophical Studies
Bulletin of the Hegel Society of Great Britain
Søren Kierkegaard Newsletter
The Furrow
Irish Independent

MANUSCRIPT REVIEWS:

Bloomsbury Publishing

State University of New York Press (SUNY)

Fordham University Press

SELECTED PUBLIC LECTURES, SEMINARS & DEBATES 1994-:

  1. “Kierkegaard on the Margins of Philosophy.” Essex University, July 1994.
  1. “Risking Responsibility: A Politics of the Émigré.” Lancaster University, March 1995.
  1. “Murder on Moriah: A Paradoxical Representation.” University of Luton, July 1995.
  1. “Resituating the Self in Hegel, Kierkegaard and Derrida.” American Philosophical Association, New York, December 1995.
  1. “On Circumventing the Quasi-Transcendental.” Trinity College Dublin, April 1998.
  1. “The Failures of Foucault.” Villanova University, May 1998.
  1. “Paul Ricoeur as Philosopher of Religion.” Trinity College Dublin, June 1998.
  1. “The Politics of Statehood vs. The Politics of Exodus: Kierkegaard, Heidegger & Levinas.” University of Cambridge, March 1999.
  1. “Whither Theology in a Global Age?” Address to Newman Scholars Assembly, Newman House Dublin, June 1999.
  1. “A Passion for the Impossible?” Conversation with Jacques Derrida, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, January 2000.
  1. “Crossing the Class Lines.” Series of Six Seminars, INTAMS Institute Brussels, August 2000.
  1. “Nihilism or Salvation? The Challenges of Global Technology for the Humanities.” University of Limerick, September 2000.
  1. “Kierkegaard: Between Totality and Infinity.” Augusta State University, March, 2001.
  1. “Jean-Luc Marion’s Ambition of Transcendence.” Followed by Debate with Jean-Luc Marion, Mater Dei Institute, Dublin City University, January 2003.
  1. “Can there be a Morality of War?” Followed by Debate with Robert Fisk, Dundalk Institute of Technology, March 2004.
  1. “From Radical Hermeneutics to the Weakness of God.” Debate with John D. Caputo, Mater Dei Institute, Dublin City University, May 2005.
  1. “Saving the Sacred.” Durham University, July 2008.
  1. “Beauty and the Sacred.” 50th International Eucharistic Congress, Dublin, June 2012.
  1. Keynote Lecture: “Reclaiming the Irish Church.” University of Caen Lower Normandy, November 22, 2013.
  1. Plenary Lecture: “Roger Scruton as Philosopher for Religion.” Roger Scruton: Thinking the Sacred International Conference, McGill University, Montreal, April 11-13, 2014.
  1. ‘No Direction Home: Kierkegaard on the Present Age’, University of Caen, December 10, 2014.
  1. ‘The Long Goodbye’, Conference to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the death of Jacques Derrida, Institut Mémoires de l’Edition Contemporaine, Caen, December 11, 2014.
  2. ‘Bringing it all Back Home’.  John Main: A Hunger for Depth and Meaning international conference, Trinity College Dublin, September 16, 2017.
  3. ‘The Death of Democracy?’ Europe and Democracy conference, French Academy of Moral and Political Science, Paris, May 20-21, 2019.

PROFESSIONAL PUBLIC ACTIVITIES:

  • Political and cultural columnist:

Irish Daily Mail 2006-
Sunday Independent 2004-2006

  • Occasional contributor (2002-):               

The Irish Times
Irish Independent
Irish Examiner
Prospect Magazine
The Dubliner Magazine

  • Regular broadcaster and commentator:                                       

RTE Television
BBC Television
TV3 Television
RTE Radio
Newstalk National Radio
Today FM National Radio