Brendan Myers

Brendan Myers – Life, Philosophy, and Notable Quotes

A comprehensive portrait of Brendan Myers (born July 4, 1974), Canadian philosopher, druidic thinker, environmental ethicist, and author: his life, ideas, works, and memorable statements.

Introduction

Brendan Cathbad Myers is a contemporary Canadian philosopher and writer whose work lies at the intersection of environmental ethics, virtue theory, spirituality, myth, and neo-pagan thought. Born in 1974, Myers has authored more than twenty books—including works on Druidry, climate ethics, and the history of pagan philosophy—and has been an influential voice in applied ethics and spiritual environmentalism.

His intellectual journey—from early Catholic roots to a salaried academic and a voice in modern pagan and environmental circles—demonstrates a quest to integrate moral character, care for the earth, and a renewed sense of the sacred. Myers challenges mechanistic or reductionist worldviews and asks what it means to live well in relation to nature, community, and the mysteries that lie beyond everyday perception.

Early Life and Education

Brendan Myers was born on July 4, 1974, in Elora, Ontario, Canada, into an Irish-Canadian family.

He pursued his undergraduate studies in drama and philosophy at the University of Guelph, graduating in 1996. master’s degree in philosophy in 1999. PhD in philosophy from National University of Ireland, Galway (NUI Galway).

His doctoral dissertation was titled “Time and the Land: Four Approaches to Environmental Ethics, Climate Change, and Future Generations.”

Intellectual Focus & Philosophical Themes

Myers’s work spans multiple domains, but several recurring themes and commitments stand out:

1. Environmental Ethics & Land Philosophy

A core thread in Myers’s thought is the moral relationship between humans and the earth. He argues against anthropocentric ethics and for a renewed ethical imagination in which the land (or “the living earth”) is a bearer of value, deserving moral consideration. Time and the Land, he explores how climate change, responsibilities to future generations, and our existential orientation toward place must be integrated into a deeper ethical stance.

2. Virtue Ethics, Character & the “Call of the Immensity”

Rather than aligning with utilitarian or deontological ethics exclusively, Myers places emphasis on virtue, character, and responsiveness to what he calls “immensities”: encounters with the earth, other persons, mortality, or mystery that call one to become more than one is. The Other Side of Virtue, he develops the idea that virtue arises as a response to these challenges, shaping how one lives, rather than being static rule-following.

3. Spirituality, Paganism, Myth & Druidry

Myers is not simply a philosophical theorist; he also engages actively with mythic, pagan, and druidic traditions. He converted from Catholicism to paganism during his university years. The Mysteries of Druidry, A Pagan Testament, and The Earth, the Gods, and the Soul, exploring how premodern spiritual cosmologies might respond to modern existential and ecological crises.

4. Critique of Reductionism & Emphasis on Meaning

Myers challenges purely materialist or reductionist worldviews, especially those that discount mystery, ritual, and moral depth. He argues that meaning, wonder, and spiritual imagination should not be relegated to illusion, but taken seriously in how we live.

5. Public Philosophy & Pedagogy

Beyond academic writing, Myers engages in public philosophy: he designs teaching games (e.g., a game called Iron Age: Council of the Clans), runs a small publishing imprint (Northwest Passage Books), gives lectures, and crafts works for general readership.

Major Works

Some notable works by Brendan Myers include (nonexhaustive list):

• Dangerous Religion: Environmental Spirituality and Its Activist Dimension (2004)

• The Mysteries of Druidry: Celtic Mysticism, Theory, and Practice (2006)

• The Other Side of Virtue: Where Our Virtues Came From, What They Really Mean, and Where They Might Be Taking Us (2008)

• A Pagan Testament: The Literary Heritage of the World’s Oldest New Religion (2008)

• Time and the Land: Four Approaches to Environmental Ethics, Climate Change, and Future Generations (PhD dissertation / later publication)

• Clear and Present Thinking: A Handbook in Logic and Rationality (textbook)

• The Earth, the Gods, and the Soul: A History of Pagan Philosophy from the Iron Age to the 21st Century

• The Circle of Life Is Broken: An Eco-Spiritual Philosophy of the Climate Crisis (2022)

He has also written fiction and fantasy works, and has launched collaborative and experimental works via his own imprint.

Personality, Influence & Style

Myers is often described as intellectually adventurous, ethically earnest, and spiritually grounded. He blends scholarly rigor with poetic sensibility, often drawing on myth, symbol, and narrative to illuminate philosophical ideas.

He has a reputation for bridging academic philosophy and lived spirituality—he does not confine himself to purely abstract theory but engages in spiritual practice, community discourse, and activism.

Myers also values accessibility: his works often aim to speak not just to philosophers but to readers seeking meaning, ethical reorientation, or spiritual depth. His use of public media, teaching games, and small-press publishing underscores that orientation.

Notable Quotes

Here are several quotes attributed to Brendan Myers, which reflect his philosophical outlook:

“I do not bow. I do not obey. I do not ‘worship.’”

“The philosophical spirit is not satisfied to simply accept what it is told, no matter how much prestige the teller seems to have. This is true even if the teller is a god.”

“There is nothing natural, inevitable, or necessary about the labyrinth of fear. We can liberate ourselves. There are better ways to live.”

“It’s clear to me that anyone, anywhere, can experience loneliness, isolation, solitude, and estrangement; and most people probably do encounter these things at some point in their lives.”

“All our relationships are person-to-person. They involve people seeing, hearing, touching, and speaking to each other; they involve sharing goods; and they involve moral values like generosity and compassion.”

“My first Kickstarter project created a book called ‘Clear and Present Thinking’, a college-level textbook on logic and critical reasoning, which was made available to the world for free. As a professor myself, I observed that the price of textbooks was too high for some of my students.”

“Homer, Hesiod, Pythagoras, Plato, and Cicero, just to name a few, all lived in pagan societies. Some of the greatest political and military leaders of all time, such as Alexander the Great, Pericles of Athens, Hannibal of Carthage, and Julius Caesar of Rome, were all pagans, or else living in a pagan society.”

These reflect his commitments to critical thinking, spiritual autonomy, moral relationships, but also the challenge of fear, isolation, and the possibility of liberation.

Lessons & Relevance Today

• Ethical Imagination & Ecological Thought
  In an era marked by climate crisis and ecological collapse, Myers’s emphasis on relational ethics to land and “place” invites renewed moral attention to how we inhabit our world.

• Integrating Reason & Mystery
  Myers shows that we need not abandon reason for spiritual life (or vice versa). He invites a philosophy that is open to mystery, myth, and symbol—without sacrificing critical thought.

• Character over Rule-Following
  His virtue-centered approach suggests that ethical life is not merely about obeying rules, but about cultivating resilience, responsiveness, and integrity in the face of large challenges.

• Community & Loneliness
  His reflections on isolation and relationship remind us that modern life often fragments social bonds—and rediscovering meaningful relational spaces is part of ethical and spiritual work.

• Accessible Public Philosophy
  Myers’s use of games, small press publishing, outreach, and bridging academic and spiritual communities is a model of philosophy as vocation, not just scholarly discipline.

Conclusion

Brendan Myers is a living, evolving presence in contemporary philosophy: thinker, writer, spiritual explorer, and educator. His life path—from rural Ontario to academic halls, from Catholic upbringing to pagan reimagining—mirrors much of the intellectual tension in our time: between reason and mystery, human dominion and ecological humility, individual character and collective responsibility.

Through his many books, lectures, and public work, Myers invites readers to engage deeply with meaning, virtue, land, and spirit. His intellectual voice encourages us not simply to think better, but to live better.