Write to understand: Saint Mary’s faculty member David Arndt has published a groundbreaking meditation on writing and philosophy. / Photo courtesy David Arndt
Saint Mary’s Tutor David Arndt Publishes 'Philosophy of Writing' with Bloomsbury
In his new open-access book, Arndt argues that writing is not just communication—but a path to understanding. The free ebook is now available.
Saint Mary’s College of California Tutor David Arndt, an instructor in the College’s Integral Program of Liberal Arts, has published a new book, Philosophy of Writing, with Bloomsbury. Released as an open-access ebook under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license, the book is free to download beginning January 8, 2026, via Bloomsbury Collections, with print editions also available.
In this path-breaking work, Arndt challenges the idea that writing is only a tool of communication, and that speech is superior to writing as a way to move toward truth. Instead, he argues that the practice of writing can itself be a path to understanding.
Drawing on thinkers such as Epictetus, Nietzsche, Hannah Arendt, Michel Foucault, Gloria Anzaldúa, and Toni Morrison, Arndt explores the role of writing in philosophy, and argues that our assumptions about truth, goodness, and beauty have obscured the various senses in which writing can be beautiful, good, and true.
The book has been praised by scholars in both philosophy and English.
“Reading this book is like finding an oasis in the desert: nourishing, joyful, and refreshing,” wrote one educator. A second reviewer said Schopenhauer put it best—“One should use common words to say uncommon things”—and continued: “This book will teach you how to write and show you why writing matters. Both very clear and very sophisticated, it’s a short, deep, beautiful book.”
As a longtime tutor in the College’s Integral Program of Liberal Arts—Saint Mary’s discussion-driven great books curriculum—Arndt draws on decades of classroom experience. He believes that when students are encouraged to approach writing as inquiry rather than performance, insights tend to emerge on their own, and the craft of writing itself is conducive to an authentic search for understanding. “Writing is a liberal art,” he says. “It’s a practice through which we free ourselves from received ideas and move towards truth.”
This is the second book Arndt has published at Saint Mary’s. His first book, Arendt on the Political, was published in 2019 by Cambridge University Press.
Philosophy of Writing is available for free download through Bloomsbury’s open-access platform, with hardcover and paperback editions offered by Bloomsbury.
