tiger roholt

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[philosopher writing about meaningfulness, technology, art/music, phenomenology]

“Subjectivity in Life’s Meaning” – My Talk at Siena University, April 22, 2026

I look forward to delivering a new paper in April, at Siena University. The paper is entitled “Subjectivity in Life’s Meaning.” ABSTRACTThe context for this talk is a relatively new and ambitious subfield of philosophy that is focused specifically on meaning in life. I begin by explaining Susan Wolf’s theory of meaning in life, which… — read more
“Performance, Technology, and the Good Life” (in The Oxford Handbook of the Phenomenology of Music)

My Chapter, “Performance, Technology, and the Good Life,” will be included in the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of the Phenomenology of Music. It is now available at Oxford Academic Online (link below).(Much respect to the editors for tackling and completing this enormous project: Jonathan De Souza, Benjamin Steege, and Jessica Wiskus.) Abstract: This chapter explores the… — read more
Meaning in Practice

“Meaning in Practice” is the title of a paper I delivered in June 2025 at the Seventh International Conference on Philosophy and Meaning in Life, at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. Here is the abstract: Susan Wolf holds that there are two, main conditions that must be satisfied for an activity or project to add… — read more
Read my ‘Smartphones and Meaningfulness’ on the American Philosophical Association Blog

This essay at the APA Blog explores topics discussed in my 2023 book, Distracted from Meaning: A Philosophy of Smartphones (Bloomsbury Academic). — read more
good music

“I’m Always Chasing Rainbows” (The Pied Pipers with Jo Stafford, 1947) “Horizon” (Aldous Harding, 2017) “Geek” (Bettie Serveert, 1997) “She Was” (Camille, 2011) “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” (Ink Spots, 1942) “Going Places” (Kid Creole and the Coconuts, 1981) “The Way It Will Be” (Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, 2011) — read more
Listen to my interview on the ‘New Books in Philosophy’ podcast

Linked below is a podcast interview about my 2023 book, Distracted from Meaning: A Philosophy of Smartphones, on the New Books in Philosophy podcast. (Thanks to Carrie Figdore for a thought-provoking conversation.) Web link Apple Podcasts link Spotify link — read more
‘Distracted from Meaning: A Philosophy of Smartphones’

Two comments from the back cover of my new book: “This is no neo-Luddite broadside against smartphones but a clear and careful philosophical exploration of what makes life meaningful and how smartphone use can either serve or undermine such meaning. Taking aim at the heart of our present age, Roholt’s book is consistently insightful and… — read more
My Writing

I write philosophy of technology, meaningfulness, philosophy of art and music. Below is a list of my books, book chapters, and journal articles (including many links). • Distracted from Meaning: A Philosophy of Smartphones (Bloomsbury Academic, 2022). • “Performance, Technology, and the Good Life,” in The Oxford Handbook on the Phenomenology of Music (forthcoming). • “Being-with Smartphones,”… — read more
about

I am a philosophy professor at Montclair State University. I write about meaningfulness, technology, art and music. My M.A. and Ph.D. are from Columbia University; my B.A. is from the University of Minnesota. I live in Montclair, New Jersey, with my favorite fiction writer, Jill Rosenberg, and Greta, our cat. Contact InformationEmail: tiger.roholt@gmail.com — read more
Being-with Smartphones

My essay, “Being-with Smartphones,” is in Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology 25, no. 2 (2021). Here’s the abstract: In a social situation, why is it sometimes off-putting when a person reaches for his smartphone? In small-group contexts such as a college seminar, a business meeting, a family meal, or a small musical performance, when a person… — read more