Daniel McInerny

Daniel McInerny is an associate professor and chair of the philosophy department at Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia. He is also a novelist and dramatist.

As a scholar, Daniel is foremost interested in retrieving an Aristotelian understanding of mimetic art, long out of favor among philosophers. At Christendom College, Daniel teaches courses on the Philosophy of Art & Beauty, the Philosophy of Technology, the Philosophy of Culture, and Ethics & Imagination.

He received his BA in English from the University of Notre Dame (1986) and his PhD in philosophy from The Catholic University of America (1994). He has taught and worked at various universities in the United States, including a stint as associate director of the Notre Dame Center for Ethics & Culture, now called the DeNicola Center for Ethics and Culture, at the University of Notre Dame (2003-09). He has taught at Christendom College since the fall of 2019.

On June 3, 2024 Word on Fire Academic published his monograph, Beauty & Imitation: A Philosophical Reflection on the Arts. In March 2023 Chrism Press published his novel, The Good Death of Kate Montclair. Daniel is also the author of a play, The Actor, about the subversive wartime theatrical activities of the young Karol Wojtyla, the man who would become Saint John Paul II, which will premiere at Christendom College in November 2024.

Daniel also writes the Substack newsletter, The Comic Muse, where he shares philosophical and sometimes humorous reflections on the arts and culture.

A native of South Bend, Indiana, Daniel is the youngest child of the late Ralph McInerny, revered philosopher at the University of Notre Dame for over fifty years, and best known by many as the author of the beloved Father Dowling series of mystery novels.

Daniel and his wife Amy have three grown children and one preternaturally adorable grandchild and live in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

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