about me

I am a full Professor of Philosophy and Co-Director of the Cognitive Science Program at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York.

My research has most recently focused on the ontology of causal powers and the applications of the powers metaphysic for work on questions in the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of agency, and the philosophy of religion.

I am presently working on two major projects on the metaphysics of agency and the metaphysics of the divine. In the former, I am developing a revision of the standard story of agency that incorporates a powers-in-process model of causation for conceiving of intentional agency. Part of this project includes a monograph I am writing with Jesús H. Aguilar (Rochester Institute of Technology) In the latter, I am working on applying a powers ontology to developing a pantheistic metaphysic of the divine. Work on the latter is a continuation of work that was part of the Pantheism and Panentheism Project funded by the John Templeton Foundation (my co-investigator was Yujin Nagasawa of the University of Birmingham).

In addition to the foregoing research areas, I also have research interests in the metaphysics of causation. Most recently, I have begun doing research on both the metaphysics of race and ethnicity and racial cognition.

I live in Ulster County in the Mid-Hudson Valley region of New York State with my spouse, son, and four cats. My parents are both from Latin America (Paraguay and Puerto Rico). My formative years were spent in Alaska and California. When not doing philosophy, I enjoy brewing beer, hiking with my family, mountain biking, reading popular science and science fiction, rock climbing with my son (still in the climbing gym stage), skateboarding, and snowboarding.