UNDER CONSTRUCTION

I have recently rebranded. This site was previously known as Philosophy Walkthroughs. But now it is the home of my larger philosophy publication, On Presencing.

On Presencing will have several different sections, newsletters, and areas of interest:

• Towards Tarrying: Phenomenological exercises to teach you a place-based form of philosophical contemplation called tarrying.

• Philosophy Walkthroughs: Philosophy texts explained thought by thought, page by page.

• The Unforgotten Life: Philosophical reflections on my everyday life. Fidelity and remembrance in a forgetful world.

• Luminous Void: Using the phenomenology and practice of presencing to reimagine spirituality and religion in dark times.

• Tools and Ways: The tools, ways, and processes I use to think, research, and write.

I will update this about page soon.

The following is my previous about page for Philosophy Walkthroughs—now just a section of On Presencing.

Philosophy is hard

After years of teaching college and university students, I’ve seen just how challenging philosophical texts can be. Compared to other subjects, philosophy often demands more from readers: more attention, more patience, and more effort to unpack dense or unfamiliar ideas.

When browsing the comments sections of other philosophy spaces online, I noticed a recurring theme: users asking for walkthroughs on philosophical works. That’s exactly what this site aims to offer.

Share

Why this format matters

This online format gives us room to slow down. There are no deadlines, no exams, and no pressure to rush. We can take the time to work through the material with the kind of care and attention it deserves. That’s something even top-tier universities rarely offer.

What makes this site different

Many of the texts we’ll explore here are ones I have taught in college and university classrooms. The walkthroughs aim to clarify the core ideas in a given text for thoughtful readers. You’ll find clear, trustworthy explanations based on well-established understandings of the philosophers we’re studying.

Just as I would in an introductory course, my goal is to give you an accurate, accessible understanding of the thinker in question.

If you’re interested in my own philosophical views, see my other site, On Presencing.

What this site offers you as a reader

This site does not just offer reliable understandings of the texts and thinkers we discuss. It also serves as a kind of mentorship in ‘close reading.’

You will see how I read between the lines of what is written, tracing the deeper motivations and wider systematic viewpoints of the thinkers in question, while remaining faithful to the letter of the text.

Being a good reader means being an active reader. It requires questioning what each phrase, word, sentence, and paragraph means within the context of the whole. But it also means knowing enough to not get lost in the details.

As we move through the texts together, you will begin to see how to develop these skills and become a better reader yourself.

What you’ll find here

Philosophy Walkthroughs offers guided readings of important philosophical texts, designed for curious readers new to the subject. As the project grows, I’m expanding the Walkthroughs concept to include a few different kinds of content:

• Core Series Walkthroughs: In-depth walkthroughs of philosophy texts.

• Topical Walkthroughs: Shorter, thematic guides to big questions and schools of thought, like “What I Wish I Knew About Existentialism” or “Philosophical views on Anxiety,” etc.

• Personal Walkthroughs: Reflections on how I use philosophy to make sense of everyday life, written to be honest, thoughtful, and grounded.

All of it is shaped by the same goal: to make philosophy accessible and alive for you.

About Paid Subscriptions

The Core Series posts will be freely available in the App and on the Web for 2 weeks. After two weeks, App and Web versions of the post will go into the archive behind a paywall. (For more information about my decision to paywall the archive see my post here.) Free subscribers will continue to have access to the email version of every post that was sent to their email inbox.

Topical and personal walkthroughs will be a mixture of free and paid on a case by case basis.

I am looking forward to seeing how this space grows with readers who care about thinking deeply.