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Brian Killackey

Visiting Assistant Professor,

Philosophy

Meet Brian Killackey

OF NOTE:
Philosophy begins with wonder, so it is a serious and playful thing. Friends, books, and sunsets all offer us ample occasions to pursue wisdom, if we are willing to listen.

KNOWN FOR:
I am known for my poor stick-figure drawings in the classroom and my desire to learn from my students every day that I teach. I view teaching as a vocation.

POPULAR QUOTE:
“. . . wisdom is the object of philosophy, but as lovingly sought, and never fully possessed” (Josef Pieper, The Philosophical Act).

WHEN NOT IN THE CLASSROOM, CAN OFTEN BE FOUND:
I love playing the Irish fiddle, birdwatching, and rock-climbing. I also love reading literature (especially Dostoevsky and Undset) and poetry (especially Hopkins and Eliot).

Classes

Examples of classes taught by Brian Killackey:

Introduction to Philosophy
Ethics
The Classical Mind
The Modern Mind

Education

Ph.D. (cand.), Catholic University of America, 2024 (expected), Philosophy
MA, Catholic University of America, 2020, Philosophy
BA, Christendom College, 2012, Philosophy and Classics

Representative Publications and Presentations

“Knowing God Through His Effects: The Role of Nominal Definition in Quia Demonstration,” 59th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University (May 2024)
“Aristotle on Knowing That We Know,” 5th Canadian Colloquium for Ancient Philosophy, Toronto Metropolitan University (April 2024)
“Failing to Know Ourselves: Aristotle on Doxa and Self-Deception,” Self-deception in Ancient Philosophy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (June 2023)
“A Neglected Feature of Aristotle’s Definition of ἐπιστήμη in Posterior Analytics A.2,” Fall 2022 Annual Meeting, Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy (October 2022)