Marc A. Jolley is director of Mercer University Press and Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Great Books at Mercer University. He received his PhD in Hebrew Bible (1993). Since 1986, he has been teaching widely in religious studies, Great Books, and philosophy courses on religion, literature, film, ethics. He has taught seminars on Mary Wollstonecraft, Martin Luther King Jr., and offers one on “Thoreau, Emerson, and Transcendentalism.” He is the editor of three essay collections, notably "Why Kierkegaard Matters" and author of "Safe at Home: A Memoir of God, Baseball, and Family." He currently serves on the board of the Thoreau Alliance.

Thoreau Was a Philosopher, and Chances Are, You Are, Too

Sunday, October 25, 2026

7:00 - 8:30 PM

First Parish
20 Lexington Road, Concord

 And livestreamed on Zoom.

Admission is free, but you must register.

Thoreau wrote in his journal: “I am a mystic—a transcendentalist, & a natural philosopher to boot.” This presentation will look at what it means to be a philosopher and what a difference it makes to understand Thoreau as a philosopher. Marc Jolley and David Gordon co-edited "Thoreau and Philosophy," a collection of essays that examine the philosophical value in Thoreau. Thoreau has been written about as an abolitionist, civil rights advocate, surveyor, pencil-maker, naturalist, environmentalist, and writer. But before any of these, he was (and remained) a philosopher. This presentation will look at what it means to be a philosopher and what a difference it makes to understand Thoreau as a philosopher. And, perhaps more importantly, what it means that you are one, too.

 Books will be available for sale and signing.