I received my Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Maryland, College Park, then braved the Minnesota winter as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Carleton College, before braving the football season as a visitor at Virginia Tech. This year I'm happy to be a visitor at St. Bonaventure University. Starting fall 2012, I'll be a postdoctoral fellow in the Law and Philosophy program at UCLA. My research interests lie at the crossroads of Ethics and Action Theory, specifically in theories of moral responsibility. Much of mainstream moral philosophy is concerned with the evaluation of actions – as right or wrong, justified or unjustified. But it is also important to evaluate agents. When we blame others, or judge that they deserve credit for something, or think them virtuously generous, we are making an evaluation of the agent herself. My research explores how the connections between moral psychology, responsibility, and moral theory come together to inform our evaluations of agents. After all, such evaluations require knowing both (1) which things an agent is evaluable for, and (2) the evaluative (moral) status of those things. Answering (1) is typically the province of work on free will and moral responsibility. These theories tell us under what conditions an agent can deserve credit, our admiration, and our blame. Answering (2) is typically the goal of first-order moral theories. They explain which actions are right and wrong, what things are good and bad, what traits are virtuous or vicious. My work is driven by the belief that these two inquiries cannot be conducted in isolation from each other. More details can be found on my Research page. Some of this work appears or will soon be appearing on my Papers page. I also retain interests in political philosophy, especially the topics of authority, sovereignty, and political obligation. Those interested in a succinct snapshot of my professional materials can check out my dossier. |