Philosophy of economics, philosophy of social science, measurement in social and medical sciences, social organisation of science, philosophy of mental health/psychotherapy/wellbeing, evidence based policy and role of science in governance; explanation, modeling, and laws; values in science and medicine.
During a stint at the Leverhulme Centre for Future of Intelligence I co-authored the report "Ethical and Societal Implications of Algorithms, Data, and Artificial Intelligence: A Roadmap for Research" for Nuffield Foundation and a paper "The Role and Limits of Principles in AI Ethics" that develops the themes of this report.
I was part of the Limits of the Numerical project in 2015-2018 that examined the roles of quantification in social sciences and policy. An edited volume appeared with Chicago UP.
Up to 2022 I was a PI on the project Expertise Under Pressure, which studied ways in which experts overreach when addressing complex and value-laden phenomena.
Current project: Measuring Social and Cultural Infrastructure, Bennett Institute for Public Policy and British Academy.
I gave the Lillehammer Lecture in Philosophy 2024. Here's the handout.
You can watch a video of my remarks "The Fate of Social Sciences in Philosophy of Science" at the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science conference. Here's the written version.
Justifying Measures of Well-being: Between Psychometrics and Philosophy (Leeds, 2012)
Are social scientists experts on values? (ENPOSS keynote lecture, Krakow 2017)
Defining Mental Health (LSE Popper Seminar 2018)
When Well-being Becomes a Number (UCL STS Department Seminar, 2018)
Democratising Measurement: A Case Study in Wellbeing Public Policy (Human Development and Capability Association, 2021, with Mark Fabian)
Utilitas, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, Erasmus Journal for Philosophy and Economics, Ethics, Metapsychology Online Reviews, Oeconomia, Economics and Philosophy, Economic Record, Journal of Moral Philosophy, The Practical Philosopher
I talked about this research in this discussion organised by the Cambridge Centre for Economic Pluralism.