Timothy deVries

Timothy deVries came to Cardus after working as a social policy researcher in Toronto, undertaking work primarily for Ontario government ministries. Timothy began his career by teaching courses in art history and visual culture at OCAD University and transitioned into the research field after completing a project on the economic impact of Hamilton’s creative sector in 2007.

Bio last updated December 6th, 2022.

Timothy deVries

Articles by Timothy deVries

  • Economy of Exchange

    Gifts often come with the expectation of reciprocation, writes Timothy deVries. A true gift is hard to come by in our culture and economy of exchange. 

    The gift interrupts this economy, not by denying expectations, but by alluding to realm where there are things that we do not and cannot expect – things that are, nevertheless, good and good for us But people who are incapable of giving gifts may simply be unable to accept them without placing them ...

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  • The Art of Good Intentions

    From the political stage to our neighbourhood backyards, we are a culture saturated with second-guessing the intentions of others. But as Convivium contributor Timothy DeVries argues, intention-guessing can be a trap unless we’re ready to assess against the true, the good, and the beautiful.

    People who live under the sign of transparency are caught in a predicament: if their intentions don’t reflect the similarly moral intentions of the person with whom they interact, their acts or words or deeds will be worthy of condemnation When we’re tempted to think of others (or ourselves) as a ki...

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  • The Character of Love

    Critiquing Facebook CEO Sheryl Sandberg’s self-help book Option B, Cardus grants associate Timothy deVries suggests the best response to personal criticism is to conduct ourselves with words and acts that love and honour God.

    For example, if criticism is not understood in relation to character or identity, but to an action or behaviour, then what sort of actions and behaviours are we talking about? How, indeed, as adults, with ingrained habits and ways of doing things, are we to act and live, if the way we have lived and...

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  • The Artifice of Artificial Intelligence

    Our uneasiness about artificial intelligence, Convivium contributor Timothy deVries argues, stems in large measure from forgetting that it’s only ever a proxy for the intelligence of those humans who create it.

    I once overheard someone talking about whether there was an appropriate way for Christians to approach or think about things such as alien lifeforms or artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence, in this context, is simply a failure to recognize that intelligence that is represented by the pers...

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