Thomas D. Carroll
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thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
Thomas D. Carroll
@thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
360 followers 250 following 260 posts
Teaching Associate Professor in Philosophy & Religious Studies at CUHK-Shenzhen

I write on Wittgenstein, philosophy of religion, and comparative ethics. Sometimes, I post here about these things and music I like.
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thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
Today I made it to the Cao'an Temple, a old Manichean site just outside of Quanzhou. It's a really fascinating example of the depths and complexities of Chinese history and the capaciousness of categories like "Buddhism" or "Manichaeism"
View of the Cao'an Temple from below Historical background on this site Entrance to the Cao'an temple. If you zoom in, the altar cloth has the characters "佛光尼摩", which represents Mani as the Buddha of Light Photo taken of the Mani statue from outside the temple
November 23, 2025 at 3:49 PM
thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
Also paid my respects to Confucius and Laozi...
Shrine of Confucius at the Quanzhou Confucian Temple Courtyard with pond at the Confucian Temple Confucius and Laozi having a chat, Qingyuan Mountain in Quanzhou Monumental rock sculpture of a deified Laozi (Laojun), at Qingyuan Mountain
November 22, 2025 at 3:00 PM
thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
I'm visiting Quanzhou this weekend, and I've gotten to see quite a few temples. Highlights were the Tian Hou Temple, the Tonghuai Guanyue Temple (impressive how popular Guanyu and Yue Fei are), and the Qingjing Mosque.
Eastern Pagoda of the Kaiyuan Buddhist Temple in Quanzhou, China Tianhou Temple in Quanzhou Much activity at the Tonghuai Guanyue Temple in Quanzhou Detail from the Qingjing Mosque, just down the street in Quanzhou
November 22, 2025 at 3:00 PM
thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
I'm at the Chinese Wittgenstein Society's conference in Hangzhou.

Heard many great papers today & got to meet scholars whose work I know. Was great to meet up with my former dissertation director, Juliet Floyd. Even got to road-test a new project I'm working on. Looking forward to tomorrow!
Sign at Zhejiang University for the School of Philosophy (and History and Literature) Wittgenstein conference signs Official photo for the conference Photo of Wittgenstein scholars
November 8, 2025 at 2:24 PM
thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
Looking forward to the Seventh International Wittgenstein Symposium at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou this weekend.

I'll be giving a short paper: "AI, Ethics, and Forms of Life."
Cover for conference program for the Wittgenstein symposium in Hangzhou.
November 5, 2025 at 9:38 AM
thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
And here's a short clip of Ken Vandermark Edition Redux --
October 26, 2025 at 6:08 AM
thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
Here's a short clip of Satoko Fujii and Joe Fonda
October 26, 2025 at 6:08 AM
thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
I went to the Jazz Festival at OCT-Loft in Shenzhen yesterday. Got to see two amazing groups: Joe Fonda and Satoko Fujii & Ken Vandermark Edition Redux
After a showing of the Ken Vandermark documentary "Musician" (2007 -- by Daniel Kraus), Vandermark came forward for some Q&A. B10 concert space at OCT Loft Joe Fonda and Satoko Fugii performing at the OCT-Loft Jazz fest The Ken Vandermark Edition Redux performing at the OCT-Loft Jazz fest
October 26, 2025 at 6:08 AM
thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
Typhoon Ragasa is bringing some intense rain and wind to Shenzhen. Not clear when the rain will end, if ever...
September 24, 2025 at 8:38 AM
thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
Here's a view of the CUHK-Shenzhen campus right after sunset (and after several days of intense rain brought by a tropical storm)
View of the lower campus of CUHK-Shenzhen just after sunset another view of the campus of CUHK-Shenzhen just after sunset
September 11, 2025 at 10:51 AM
thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
The NMAAHC is an incredible museum. Here are a few photos from a visit to the museum a couple of years ago.

And here's a link to the change.org petition to defend it:
chng.it/ypcqxPNdjq
View of the National Museum of African American History and Culture Quote by James Baldwin on an interior wall of the museum: "The Great Force of History comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it...History is literally present in all that we do." Display case on Black Liberation Theology Display case on the history of hip-hop
August 20, 2025 at 2:21 AM
thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
Here are a couple of photos of the old display (from when I visited in 2023). Even then, it felt like this documentation of history was fragile.
Photo of Smithsonian display on Impeachment (2023) Close up of exhibit on Impeachment at the Smithsonian (2023)
August 1, 2025 at 4:49 AM
thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
My book, Rethinking Philosophy of Religion with Wittgenstein, arrived today.
I'm grateful to Bloomsbury (‪@bloomsburyacad.bsky.social‬) for publishing it & to J. Aaron Simmons and Kevin Schilbrack for including it in the Expanding Philosophy of Religion series.

www.bloomsbury.com/us/rethinkin...
Opening a box with my new book inside author copies of the book Title page Table of Contents
July 30, 2025 at 11:05 PM
thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
Here's the abstract --
Article abstract: Over the last couple of decades, philosophers have been drawing on ideas from Wittgenstein’s late work On Certainty in developing an approach to epistemology known as “hinge epistemology.” Hinge epistemology has been of particular interest to philosophers of religion because it considers the role that deep commitments to particular propositions may have within epistemic life, arguably mirroring what is seen in some religious traditions. The issue that motivates the present article is whether or to what extent it is helpful to think of forms of atheism as being grounded in hinge commitments. After considering various forms of atheism, this article advances the view that there are some forms of atheism that do exhibit core grounding commitments that may be helpfully interpreted as hinges. In developing this argument, the article considers two case studies of apparent atheistic hinges: the “secular faith” of Martin Hägglund and expressions of atheism one may find in contemporary Chinese society. While many atheistic beliefs are contingent upon still more fundamental epistemic commitments, some forms of atheism may be held strongly or with such a sense of import that interpretation by means of the notion of hinge commitment will be illuminating.
July 4, 2025 at 5:59 PM
thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
...eating this particular forbidden fruit closes their minds to the possibility of knowledge (an inversion of the Eden trope).
a photo of an apple on a plate
May 23, 2025 at 4:49 AM
thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
Reading papers on the Bible (among other texts), it occurred to me that when students are tempted to use AI to write a paper, it's a little like Adam and Eve in Genesis 2-3 being tempted to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but instead of having their eyes opened...
stained glass window from the Washington National Cathedral (from a few years ago)
May 23, 2025 at 4:49 AM
thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
The Daily Nous has a post on this.

dailynous.com/2025/04/22/n...

Here's the key part re the phil major:
Text reads: "I am told that it is SB1’s clause about graduation rates, and not those about DEI, that triggered the decision to end the philosophy major. It’s worth noting then, that the clause about graduation rates includes the following: The chancellor may grant a waiver to a state institution for a program to which this division applies. State institutions shall appeal for a waiver in a form and manner determined by the chancellor. If the chancellor grants a waiver to a state institution, the chancellor shall establish terms under which the state institution may conditionally continue the program, including whether the program is eligible to be supported by state share of instruction funds. So there may be a way to save the philosophy major at the University of Toledo, and the department is looking into possible avenues for that."
April 23, 2025 at 7:22 PM
thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
I've been reading and rereading James Baldwin's "A Talk to Teachers" in recent times. Published a little over 60 years ago, it echoes many of the themes of The Fire Next Time, but with a focus on education.

I wish it weren't so relevant to the times we are living through, but it is.
"The purpose of education, finally, is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself, to make his own decisions, to say to himself this is black or this is white, to decide for himself whether there is a God in heaven or not. To ask questions of the universe, and then learn to live with those questions, is the way he achieves his own identity. But no society is really anxious to have that kind of person around. What societies really, ideally, want is a citizenry which will simply obey the rules of society." -James Baldwin, "A Talk to Teachers"
March 21, 2025 at 7:45 AM
thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
I've got an article coming out in Agatheos:
“Wittgenstein, Religious Diversity, and Communicative Reticence”

Not sure when it will appear, but here's the abstract --
This is the abstract for my forthcoming article in the journal Agatheos: “Wittgenstein, Religious Diversity, and Communicative Reticence” Attempts to communicate across boundaries involving religions or cultures may fail before anything is asserted. While it is common in comparative philosophy of religion to focus on the compatibility or conflict between what is said by different interlocutors about metaphysical commitments or ethical values, this article instead examines reticence. Reticence has many forms in connection with religious and philosophical traditions. These include eloquent silences, speech acts counseling care in language use, circumspection about sharing ideas, declarations of inexpressibility, and political reticence. Drawing on Ludwig Wittgenstein’s “Lectures on Religious Belief” and On Certainty as well as work by Alessandra Tanesini on silence and speech acts, this article considers communicative and epistemic aspects of diverse religious encounters that may give rise to varied reticent moments. The aim is to enhance thinking about inter-religious and cross-cultural discourses by exploring the ways in which reticent moments are salient, if frequently overlooked, aspects of complex communicative situations.
March 12, 2025 at 5:25 AM
thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
Very sad but not surprising given that it is linked to Florida State University. The Ringling was a great museum, but one can imagine what will become of it now.

Here are a few memorable works I saw there a few years ago...
William Edmondson's "Crucifixion" (c1930-39) From an exhibition on "Scholars' Stones" from China Trevor Paglen's "'Weil' (Even the Dead are Not Safe) Eigenface" (2017) Seated Buddha (from India 10th Century) and Maitreya (from Gandhara, Pakistan, c3rd-4th Century)
March 1, 2025 at 12:34 AM
thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
Ross Douthat has a book coming out on religion...The epistemic framing of "the religious quest" as he puts it in his NYT piece suggests a belief-oriented conception of religiosity. Not a surprise, but already a loaded framing of religion privileging some forms of religiosity over others
1/4
Title for Ross Douthat's column promoting his new book on religion
February 2, 2025 at 8:19 AM
thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
Happy Year of the Snake! 🐍
Image of a low relief sculpture of a snake from a temple in Beijing
January 29, 2025 at 3:42 AM
thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
Lunar New Year decorations on the CUHK-Shenzhen campus
Photo of red lanterns on the campus of CUHK-Shenzhen during Chinese New Year
January 26, 2025 at 5:46 AM
thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
Choose 20 albums that have stayed with you or influenced you. One album per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.

20/20
Cover for Rafael Anton Irisarri's album "Solastalgia"
January 23, 2025 at 2:05 AM
thomasdcarroll.bsky.social
Choose 20 albums that have stayed with you or influenced you. One album per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.

19/20
Cover for William Basinski's "The Disintegration Loops"
January 22, 2025 at 4:19 AM