A.G. Holdier

I research how new technologies affect what we can and should do with words.

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A man with a beard, wearing a hat, stands casually in front of a brick wall, looking into the camera and smiling
Photo Credit: Ellie Holdier

I’m a philosopher of language and applied ethics, working at the intersection of philosophy and public policy.

Currently, I am ABD in philosophy at the University of Arkansas, where I have also completed all coursework towards a second PhD in public policy. I also hold an M.A. in the philosophy of religion from Denver Seminary. I shall defend my dissertation by May 2025.

In a former life, I taught theology/philosophy of religion at a high school in rural Idaho.

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Selected Publications

Examples of my peer-reviewed research (click entry for more info)
A stack of books atop a small wooden stump. From top to bottom: - Politics, by Aristotle - Elite Capture, by Olufemi Taiwo - The Oxford Handbook of Ethics of AI - Philosophical Papers, by JL Austin

Language and Technology

(2025)
"Slurring Silences"
Philosophy and Phenomenological Research
(2025)
"AI Romance and Misogyny: A Speech Act Analysis"
w/ Kelly Weirich
Oxford Intersections: AI and Society (OUP)
(2022)
"A Grammar in Two Dimensions: The Temporal Mechanics of Arrival and the Semantics/Pragmatics Divide"
Journal of Science Fiction and Philosophy
A colorless image of a cat's head in the heavy foreground with an e-reader covered with notes from a logic class behind her

Philosophy of Religion

(2021)
"'Teach Me to Do What's Right': Faith, Hope, and Love as Post-Religious Virtues"
Journal of Cultural and Religious Theory
(2020)
"Is Heaven a Zoopolis?"
Faith and Philosophy
(2018)
"Divine Energies: The Consuming Fire and the Beatific Vision"
Theologica
(2017)
"The Agony of the Infinite: Heaven as Phenomenological Hell"
In Heaven and Philosophy (Lexington Press)
(2017)
"Pursuing Pankalia: The Aesthetic Theodicy of St. Augustine"
In The Problem of Evil: New Philosophical Directions (Lexington Press)
A small brown and black dog, wearing a red collar, lies atop an open book on a large brown cushion. His eyes are open and a red pen sits in the middle of the book's spine. Barely visible, the top of the book's page reads "The Nicomachean Ethics V.II" with full text, some marked with red underlines, below.

Nonhuman Animal Ethics

(2024)
"Two Distinctions About Eating Animals"
Between the Species
(2016)
"The Pig's Squeak: Towards a Renewed Aesthetic Argument for Veganism"
Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics
(2016)
"Speciesistic Veganism: An Anthropocentric Argument"
In Critical Perspectives on Veganism and Meat Consumption (Palgrave)
Photo of a desktop with the following items visible (in a circle, starting roughly at 12:00): - the bottom edge of a computer monitor - a book (Grice's "Studies in the Way of Words") - a computer mouse - a yellow legal pad w/ a black pen on top - a full coffee mug with a black-and-white image of a man looking sideways with his hand covering his face. Below the image is the text "'COVID-19 Sucks' -H.P. Grice" Several orange sticky notes are visible, but unreadable, in the background. A portion of a window with slats in front of it is visible on the wall in the back.

Narratives and Social Philosophy

(2021)
"Kierkegaard's Three Spheres and Cinematic Fairy Tale Pedagogy"
Journal of Religion and Popular Culture
(2020)
"Dividing Lines: A Brief Taxonomy of Moral Identity"
In The Supervillain Reader (UP of Miss.)
(2018)
"On Superhero Stories: The MCU as Tolkienesque Fantasy"
Mythlore
(2016)
"The Heart of the Matter: Forgiveness as an Aesthetic Process"
In The Philosophy of Forgiveness, Vol. II (Vernon Press)

For a complete list of publications, please see either my CV or my PhilPeople profile.

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Sel. Research Presentations

Examples of conferences and workshops where I've participated

Teaching Experience

Since 2019, I have been the instructor of record for multiple sections of four courses at the University of Arkansas and three courses at Missouri Valley College.

In 2024, I was proud to accept the J. Hillman Yowell Award for Excellence in Teaching from the U. of Arkansas' Fulbright College.

Example syllabi are available here:

Classes I have taught include:

I have also taught college-level ethics courses online since 2014.

A scan of the first page of a syllabus for "Intro to Philosophy." It appears to be laid out like a magazine, with several optical illusions visible (the duck-rabbit, Hill's "My Wife and My Mother-in-Law," and the vase/faces)
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Public Philosophy

Examples of philosophically-informed work geared towards non-academic audiences
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From 2018–2022, I wrote articles on current events as a News Analyst for The Prindle Post
Example piece (on Wordle)
The icon for a podcast named 'Tapestry' from the CBC
In 2021, I was interviewed about fairy stories on theCBC Radio podcast Tapestry
The related article
The cover of a book titled 'Jurassic Park and Philosophy'The cover of a book titled 'The Devil and Philosophy'The cover of a book titled 'More Doctor Who and Philosophy: Regeneration Time'The cover of a book titled 'Jane Austen and Philosophy'The cover of a book titled 'Batman and Superman and Philosophy: Badass or Boy Scout?'The cover of a book titled 'Mr Rogers and Philosophy'The cover of a book titled 'Supernatural and Philosophy'The cover of a book titled 'Star Wars and Philosophy Strikes Back'
The cover of a book titled 'Jurassic Park and Philosophy'The cover of a book titled 'The Devil and Philosophy'The cover of a book titled 'More Doctor Who and Philosophy: Regeneration Time'The cover of a book titled 'Jane Austen and Philosophy'The cover of a book titled 'Batman and Superman and Philosophy: Badass or Boy Scout?'The cover of a book titled 'Mr Rogers and Philosophy'The cover of a book titled 'Supernatural and Philosophy'The cover of a book titled 'Star Wars and Philosophy Strikes Back'
I have chapters in eight “Pop Culture & Philosophy” books

Service

Some examples of my commitment to community-building work
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Last Updated:
February 2025