I received my Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Maryland, College Park.
My dissertation, The Structure of Responsibility: Symmetry, Agency, and
Undermining Factors, advocates an attractively simple compatibilist
account of responsibility. Recently, I was a
Visiting Assistant Professor at Carleton College. I've now returned to College Park for postdoctoral work. My research interests are in Ethics and Moral Psychology, especially issues in Moral Responsibility and Action Theory. Much of my work is animated by puzzles regarding a number of widespread philosophical assumptions regarding moral responsibility. Many philosophers have thought that it is just obvious that negligent agents are blameworthy or that coercion exculpates. In my work, I set about asking why: Why are negligent agents blameworthy? Why does coercion exculpate? In pursuing these explanations, I often find that the assumptions are under-motivated or face unexamined problems. A second theme of my research concerns the moral evaluation of agents. Generally, my interest lies in exploring the connections between moral psychology and responsibility, on the one hand, and moral theory, on the other. Both domains are components of an account of the evaluation of agents: we need to know both (1) which things an agent is evaluable for, and (2) the evaluative (moral) status of those things. 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. Last, but not least, I'm an active job candidate - interested parties may click here for my dossier materials. |