About
About Scott M. Sullivan
I'm a philosopher, an author, and a lifelong martial artist. I host The Examined Life, where I translate the great books of the Western tradition — Aristotle, Cicero, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Aquinas — into plain language for serious people who want to live well.
I hold a PhD in philosophy from the University of St. Thomas in Houston and spent years as an adjunct professor before deciding that the most important philosophy doesn't belong in a seminar room.
I've written An Introduction to Traditional Logic and Saint Thomas Aquinas and the Principle of Sufficient Reason, with a new book on the philosophy of mind in progress.
I've taught classical logic, the existence of God, and the thought of Aquinas to audiences well outside the academy — on EWTN, on national radio, and on stages across the country.
I'm also a former U.S. heavyweight kickboxing champion and a fourth-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and I own and teach at Bam Bam Martial Arts in Houston. Twenty-five years on the mat has taught me as much about fortitude, patience, and self-command as any book — and I bring both to everything I make.
A Vision for the Reader
My purpose is simple: to share the deep truths of philosophy with the people they were always meant for.
These ideas should not stay locked in the halls of academia, accessible only to specialists. Philosophy belongs, at least in part, to everyone — as a tool for understanding the world, seeking the truth, and living a good life.
So I don't write for other academics.
I write for ordinary people who are curious, thoughtful, and willing to wrestle with life's biggest questions.
A professor friend once told me, "Writing for academics means ten people in the world will read it, and five of them will disagree." Scholarly debate has its place.
But my mission is different. I want this work to reach past the academy to everyone who longs for wisdom but was never handed the tools to find it.
In this I follow Socrates, who took philosophy into the streets and believed wisdom should be available to all, not hoarded by an elite few.
And I follow Mortimer Adler, who refused to write books for other professors because he knew philosophy's greatest power is its ability to change lives outside the university. I share that conviction completely.
Philosophy, at its best, is a liberating force. Socrates saw it as the way out of the cave — a way to see more clearly and live more wisely. That is what drives everything I make: to bring the timeless wisdom of the great thinkers to the people who are actually looking for it, with rigor and in plain language.
This is my calling. This is why I write. This is why I create.
Vita Examinata — the examined life.
