John Kaag

Donohue Professor of Ethics and the Arts and Chair of Philosophy, University of Massachusetts Lowell

John Kaag is the Donohue Professor of Ethics and the Arts and Chair of Philosophy at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and Miller Scholar at the Santa Fe Institute. He is the author of American Philosophy: A Love Story (2016), Hiking with Nietzsche: On Becoming Who You Are (2018), and Sick Souls, Healthy Minds: How William James Can Save Your Life (2020); and coauthor of Henry at Work: Thoreau on Making a Living (2023). He lives outside Boston with his wife Kathleen and their kids.

Written by John Kaag

Painting of an elderly couple in 16th century attire, man in fur-lined coat and woman in white headdress on green background.

LOVE

There’s no good reason to love each other – and that’s a relief

Loving is an unreasonable decision (we are all extremely unpleasant little beasts) and that’s what allows it to survive

by John Kaag

Photo of a serene lake at sunset with the sun peeking through trees, reflecting on the water and a cloudy sky above.

HOME

Thoreau’s economics: the truly precious costs precious little

As Henry David Thoreau learned from living at Walden Pond, the paramount economic skill is knowing how to make a house a home

by John Kaag & Jonathan van Belle