Michael McFall earned a B.A. in Philosophy and Political Science from Ashland University, and he received a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Syracuse University. His dissertation explored the role of the family in political society. He focused on the ethical and political importance of reducing instances of child abuse and neglect. He is still researching these and other questions, such as: How important is parental love for a healthy moral psychology? Does everyone have a categorical right to parent? Can a government (justifiably) prevent some of its citizens from bearing or rearing children? What is self-respect, how does it form, and what exactly is it capable of providing? These are all explored in his book Licensing Parents: Family, State, and Child Maltreatment (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2009). He is currently writing essays on marital love, teaching methodology, religious vocation, and Christianity.