About Dr. Taylor

Dr. Taylor joined the Memphis Philosophy faculty in 2018. He teaches Asian Religions, Philosophy of Religion, Ethics, Biomedical Ethics, and the Ethics of AI and Big Data. His research interests includes Asian Philosophy (especially Buddhism, Japanese Philosophy and Confucianism), Environmental Philosophy, and Applied Ethics (Data Ethics, Ethics of Information Technology, and AI Ethics).

Dr. Taylor is currently a co-organizer for the International Association for Japanese Philosophy at APA Central. He has served as the Webmaster and Membership Manager for the Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy (from 2014 thru July 2025) as well as the Webmaster for the International Society for Chinese Philosophy from 2017 to 2020.

Select Publications

(forthcoming) “Empty Gestures: Women in the Writing and Accounts of Zen Master Hakuin Ekaku" in Women and Representation in Buddhist Asia: Innovative Pedagogies, Alternative Narratives, and Reimagined Philosophies, edited by Antoinette DeNapoli, Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox, and Kevin Curtis Taylor. SUNY Press.

Taylor, Kevin, and Eli Kramer. 2024. "Spiritual Exercises in the Rinzai Zen Tradition: Imminence and Disruption in Ikkyū Sōjun and Hakuin Ekaku" Religions 15, no. 2: 226. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15020226 

"Data and Growth in Education: A Deweyan Analysis," (2023) Education and Culture: Vol. 38 : Iss. 1, Article 5.  https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/eandc/vol38/iss1/art5

Don’t Lose Your Head: The Interconnectedness of Queen and Highlander. In Queen and Philosophy: Guaranteed to Blow Your Mind. Open Court Press, 2023.

"Mottainai: A Japanese Philosophy of Waste." Japan Up Close. March 24, 2023. https://japanupclose.web-japan.org/techculture/c20230324_3.html 

"This course asks, ‘What is mindfulness?’ – but don’t expect a clear-cut answer." The Conversation. March 23, 2023. https://theconversation.com/this-course-asks-what-is-mindfulness-but-dont-expect-a-clear-cut-answer-201850 

“Mutterings to the Wall.” Eidos. A Journal for Philosophy of Culture 6, no. 3 (2022):  98-115. https://eidos.uw.edu.pl/mutterings-to-the-wall/ 

"The Way of Thought and Practice." Review: Poul Andersen, The Paradox of Being: Truth, Identity, and Images in Daoism. Eidos. A Journal for Philosophy of Culture 6, no. 2 (2022): 92-97. https://eidos.uw.edu.pl/the-way-of-thought-and-practice/ 

"Japan’s ‘waste not, want not’ philosophy has deep religious and cultural roots, from monsters and meditation to Marie Kondo’s tidying up." The Conversation. October 28, 2022. https://theconversation.com/japans-waste-not-want-not-philosophy-has-deep-religious-and-cultural-roots-from-monsters-and-meditation-to-marie-kondos-tidying-up-190123

“Situating Narrative and Systematic Accounts of Wisdom.” Eidos. A Journal for Philosophy of Culture 5, no. 1 (2021): 155-161. https://doi.org/10.14394/eidos.jpc.2021.0011.

"Personalism from India to Japan: Divergence and Convergence of Spirit" in The Cultural Power of Personal Objects: Traditional Accounts and New Perspectives (State University of New York Press, Dec. 2021).

"Friendship in Aristotle and Buddhism: Confluences and Divergences" in Love and Friendship Across Cultures (Springer, 2021) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4834-9_3

"Material Flows: Human Flourishing and the Life of Goods" in A World in Discourse: Converging and Diverging Expressions of Value (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015).

"Classifying the Inhuman: Flora and Fauna in Japanese Buddhist Cosmology" in Cross Currents: Comparative Responses to Global Interdependence (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013).

"Avoiding Waste with the Japanese Concept of 'Mottainai'. The Philosopher's Zone. August 2015.
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/philosopherszone/avoiding-waste-with-the-japanese-concept-of-'mottainai'/6722720

"Review of Shugendō Now" in Asian Educational Media Service, News and Reviews Issue #41, Summer 2011.
http://www.aems.illinois.edu/publications/filmreviews/shugendo.html

Edited Journal Issues/Special Issues

"Deweyan Approaches to Contemporary Issues at the Intersection of Data and Technology" Education and Culture The Journal of the John Dewey Society: 38 (1): 2022. 

"Deweyan Approaches to Contemporary Issues at the Intersection of Data and Technology" Education and Culture: The Journal of the John Dewey Society 37 (2) (2021): November 2021.

"Deweyan Approaches to Contemporary Issues at the Intersection of Data and Technology" Education and Culture: The Journal of the John Dewey Society 37 (1) (2021): June 2021.

Podcasts

Listen to a podcast of Dr. Taylor's discussion of "Avoiding waste with the Japanese concept of 'mottainai'," on The Philosopher's Zone (Australian Broadcasting Corporation Radio National).

Recent and Upcoming Presentations

Organized Panel with Antoinette DeNapoli and Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox. "Women and Representation in Buddhist Asia: Innovative Pedagogies, Alternative Narratives, and Reimagined Philosophies." American Academy of Religion Southwest Regional Conference. Irving, Texas. February 28 – March 2, 2025.

"Mottainai as Reverence for Objects." 12th East-West Philosophers' Conference: Trauma & Healing. University of Hawai'i at Mãnoa. May 24-31, 2024.

“Intelligent, Interconnected, Invasive: AI Ethics as Hybrid Ethics.” Keynote given as part of the Mid-South Data Science Conference 2024. University of Memphis. April 5, 2024.

"Mutterings to the Wall: Zen and Graffiti." Asian Studies Development Program 31^st National Conference. Boston, Massachusetts. March 7-9, 2024.

Organized Panel with Antoinette DeNapoli and Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox. "Women and Representation in Buddhist Asia: Innovative Pedagogies, Alternative Narratives, and Reimagined Philosophies." Asian Studies Development Program 31^st National Conference. Boston, Massachusetts. March 7-9, 2024.

Webinar. “Deweyan Approaches to Contemporary Issues at the Intersection of Data and Technology.” Hosted by Education and Culture: The Journal of the John Dewey Society. February 23, 2024.

"Make the Crooked Straight: Classical Confucianism and Algorithmic Nudging." University of San Francisco. Annual Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy Conference 2023.

 “Zen and Graffiti.” University of Memphis. NED Talk. November 2, 2023.

 "Obstacles to Deliberative Digital Democracy." DEWEY2023: JOHN DEWEY AND HIS LEGACY FOR EDUCATION. Southern Illinois University Carbondale. October 12-14, 2023.

 “Spiritual Exercises in the Rinzai Zen Tradition: Imminence and Disruption in Ikkyū Sōjun and Hakuin Ekaku.” Karlstad University and Lund University. Workshop: Spiritual exercises, self-transformation and liberation in philosophy, theology and religion. May 22-24, 2023.

"Make the Crooked Straight: Classical Confucianism and Algorithmic Nudging." The 44th Annual Midsouth Philosophy Conference, Rhodes College. Memphis, TN. March 24-25, 2023.

 “Make the Crooked Straight: Classical Confucianism and Algorithmic Nudging.” Intercultural Ethics and Technology. January 27-28, 2022.

 “Mutterings to the Wall: A Comparison of Zen Master Hakuin and Banksy on Graffiti.” Dynamic Encounters between Buddhism and the West. University of Cambridge Online Conference. June 21-22, 2021.

"Selling Mindfulness from Hakuin Zen to Jon Kabat-Zinn." Virtual, USA. 2021 Central Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association. February 26, 2021.

 “Cautionary Accounts of Personal Objects: Traditional Accounts and New Perspectives.” Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL. American Institute for Philosophical & Cultural Thought. March 05 – 07, 2020.