I am an addict. I am a hoarder. I cannot give up books.
John J. Conley, S.J.
John J. Conley, S.J., is a Jesuit of the Maryland Province and a regular columnist for America. He is the current Francis J. Knott Chair of Philosophy and Theology at Loyola University, Maryland, with a particular interest in modern French philosophy. Fr. Conley earned a B.A. (Honors) degree in English from the University of Pennsylvania before he entered the Society of Jesus in 1973. His formation as a Jesuit saw him gain an M.A. degree in philosophy from Fordham University, before taking up a post as an instructor in philosophy in Wheeling College, West Virginia. From there, Fr. Conley took advanced French studies in the University of Bordeaux, graduate studies in theology at Centre Sèvres (Paris) and in Weston (Cambridge) and completed his doctoral studies in philosophy in the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium.
Since completing his studies, Fr. Conley has taught philosophy in Fordham University (1995-2004), with a period as visiting professor of philosophy in St. Joseph’s University (2000-2001) and Professor of Philosophy in Fordham (2004-2007), again acting as visiting professor in Loyola College (2005-2007). Fr. Conley took up his current Chair in Loyola University in 2007.
Fr. Conley’s work has been recognized with elections to Phi Beta Kappa and Friars Society (1973), Phi Kappa Phi (1996), Alpha Sigma Nu (1997) and the Dramatists Guild of America (2008).
Politeness, the forgotten virtue
In its mature form politeness is a species of charity.
Game Show Philosophy: ‘Jeopardy!’ is a show for our time; ‘Wheel of Fortune’ is from another
Rather than being a recent outcropping of American pop culture at its most vulgar, “Wheel of Fortune” is arguably our clearest survival of classical civilization.
Is the right to abort a child with disabilities becoming a duty?
Erasing good news about people with disabilities can only encourage the choice to abort people with Down syndrome in the first place.
A new standard for teachers: Are they respectful, tolerant and open to diversity?
Courage can erupt in the most unexpected corners.
Undercover Grief
At a distance “Under-cover Boss” would seem to be yet another of the “gotcha” surveillance series in which employers and detectives root out dishonest or incompetent employees.
Reno’s latest work “a riveting plea for the revival of a Christendom that has recently collapsed on American soil.” Conley reviews.
Reno’s portrait of contemporary American society is bold and grim.
Tracking the theologies coming out of Russian émigrés in mid-century Paris
Bitter, brilliant controversy wracked each stage of the evolution of The Way and its allied academic institutions.
Contemporary philosophy has a problem: theology
Some Catholics have abandoned philosophy as a central component of the church’s discourse.
What does the American Solidarity Party offer?
Appalled by both Hillary and the Donald?
