Professor C. Stephen Evans
Kierkegaard, Philosophy of Religion, Ethics, Philosophy of the Human Sciences
Welcome to my website. For information about one of my most recent books, see the link below. Other recent books are listed under 'Published Work.' My CV is also linked under the 'Published Work' section. See 'Public Appearances' for a comprehensive list of links of all the filmed lectures and interviews on YouTube. For information concerning the Accountability as a Virtue project, see 'Current Projects.' Thank you for visiting.
C. Stephen Evans
I am Emeritus University Professor of Philosophy and Humanities at Baylor University (in Waco, Texas), where I have taught since 2001. I also serve as a Professorial Research Fellow, Institute for Ethics and Society at the University of Notre Dame, Australia. My major areas of research include the philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard, philosophy of religion, virtue ethics, and meta-ethics. Prior to coming to Baylor, I taught at Wheaton College (1974-84), St. Olaf College (1984-94), where I served as Curator of the Howard and Edna Hong Kierkegaard Library as well as being a member of the Philosophy Department, and at Calvin College (now Calvln University, 1994-2001), where, besides teaching philosophy, I served three years as Dean for Research and Scholarship and was the inaugural holder of the William Spoelhof Teacher-Scholar Chair, the first endowed chair at Calvin. At Baylor I was named the Cornelia Marschall Smith Professor of the Year in 2018, the highest teaching award at the university.
After graduating from Northside High School in Atlanta, I received my BA from Wheaton College (Illinois) in 1969 and my Ph.D. from Yale University in philosophy in 1974 as a Danforth Fellow. While at Wheaton, I met and married Jan (Walter) Evans in 1969. We will celebrate 50 years of happiness in the fall of 2019. We have three grown children, and two grandchildren. Jan (Ph.D. Michigan State) is Emeritus Professor of Spanish Literature at Baylor. She is an expert on Miguel de Unamuno and has published two books on the Spanish philosopher, novelist, and poet.
My published works include 20 single-authored books as well as five edited volumes. My latest book is Living Accountably: Accountability as a Virtue (Oxford University Press, 2023). Next most recent is Kierkegaard AND Spirituality: Accountability as the Meaning of Human Existence., published with Eerdmans in 2019. Prior to that I published a comprehensive history of Western thought, entitled A History of Western Philosophy: From the Pre-Socratics to Post Modernism (IVP Academic Press). My most recent scholarly monographs are God and Moral Obligation (Oxford University Press, 2013), and Natural Signs and Knowledge of God: A New Look at Theistic Arguments (Oxford University Press, 2010). Other scholarly books include Kierkegaard: An Introduction (Cambridge University Press, 2009); Kierkegaard’s Ethic of Love: Divine Commands and Moral Obligations (Oxford University Press, 2004); The Historical Christ and the Jesus of Faith: The Incarnational Narrative as History (Oxford University Press, 1996); Passionate Reason: Making Sense of Kierkegaard’s Philosophical Fragments (Indiana University Press, 1992), and Kierkegaard's Fragments and Postscript: The Religious Philosophy of Johannes Climacus (originally published by Humanities Press in 1983; republished by Baylor University Press in 2018). More popular recent works include Why Believe? (Eerdmans); Pocket Dictionary of Philosophy of Religion and Apologetics (InterVarsity Press); and Why Christianity Still Makes Sense: A Response to Contemporary Challenges (Baker Academic Press).
My Amazon Author Central URL is www.amazon.com/author/cstephenevans.com
Public Appearances
Filmed Lectures and Podcasts
Kierkegaard on Human Spirituality
Biola University Center for Christian Thought
May 10, 2014
Should Christians Engage in Natural Theology?
Acadia Divinity College 2012 Hayward Lectures
October 15, 2012
A Natural Signs Approach to Natural Theology
Acadia Divinity College 2012 Hayward Lectures
October 16, 2012
Recognizing and Responding to God’s Self Revelation
Acadia Divinity College 2012 Hayward Lectures
October 17, 2012
Can Faith Have Historical Content Without Being Based on Historical Evidence?
Logos Institute for Analytic and Exegetical Theology
The University of St. Andrews
2017
The Freedom of Being Held Accountable
The Center for Christian Thought: Mind Your Heart Conference
Biola University
January 31, 2014
C.S. Lewis's Moral Argument for the Existence of God
Baylor University Institute for Religion
Baylor University
November 18, 2013
Are You Your Brain? Human Persons as Embodied Souls
16th Annual Holmer Lecture at MacLaurinCSF
November 4, 2011
Closer to Truth Interview Series: Theological Anthropology: What is the Human Mind?
January 5 - June 13, 2026
Closer to Truth Interview Series: Skeptical Theism
January 5 - June 13, 2026
Closer to Truth Interview Series: Do Major Religions Worship the Same God?
January 5 - June 13, 2026
Closer to Truth Interview Series: Theological Epistemology: Can We know God (Part 2)?
January 5 - June 13, 2026
Closer to Truth Interview Series: Is Jesus God?
January 5 - June 13, 2026
Closer to Truth Interview Series: What is Virtue in a Theistic World?
January 5 - June 13, 2026
Closer to Truth Interview Series: Sin?
January 5 - June 13, 2026
Closer to Truth Interview Series: Arguing God from Moral Law
January 5 - June 13, 2026
POGOS: Accountability as a Virtue - The Logos Institute Podcast
October 12, 2018
BEYOND Words Radio Interview
September 2, 2019
Why Philosophy Matters
September 19, 2019
On Good and Evil: Discussing the Nature and Morality of God
December 26, 2021
Current Projects: Accountability as a Virtue
Baylor Institute of Religion and the Templeton Religion Trust
The contemporary world talks constantly about accountability. Citizens want politicians to be accountable. Business executives are held accountable to the shareholders for how they run companies. The lack of accountability is devastating for an organization, whether that be a church, like the Roman Catholic Church that has been roiled by sex abuse scandals and cover-ups, or a school, such as Michigan State University, which has been rocked by the behavior of a physician convicted of sexually abusing gymnasts. This concern for accountability is important and justified. However, most of the talk about accountability focuses on holding people accountable. Often, this amounts simply to punishing someone who has been irresponsible. However, Baylor philosopher C. Stephen Evans, along with a multi-disciplinary team of researchers, thinks that it is equally important to think about the importance of accepting accountability. After all, we think punishment is needed precisely in cases where people have tried to evade being accountable. It seems important then to think about what it means to welcome accountability, to recognize that we are all accountable in various ways, and that it is good to embrace being held accountable when certain conditions are present. Evans’ team then proposes to study accountability as a virtue, an excellence that contributes to human flourishing.