About Me

I'm an Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Rhode Island College. [Curriculum Vitae]

Much of my recent work concerns the nature and importance of well-being. Against a widely held view, I think that well-being is in many ways less important than other forms of value, particularly meaning and worth. There are a variety of ways in which we can evaluate lives. We can assess live in terms of welfare—how good they are for the one who lives them. We can assess them in terms of meaning. And we can assess them, more broadly, in terms of worth. In Welfare, Meaning, and Worth (Routledge, 2016), I defend theories of each.

Currently, I'm working on a new book called The Ethics of Imagination: Fiction, Fantasy, and Dreams (OUP, under contract).

I'm also working on introductory book: Philosophy of Film: A Contemporary Introduction (Routledge).

Chris Grau and I co-edited The Oxford Handbook to the Philosophy of Love (OUP, forthcoming). It should be out soon.

I edit two PhilPapers categories: Aesthetics and Ethics and Philosophy of Film.

Teaching

I've taught close to twenty different philosophy courses and several interdisciplinary humanities seminars: The Good Life, Philosophy of Love, Free Will, Bioethics, Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Environmental Ethics, Meta-ethics, Philosophy of Emotion, Moral Responsibility, Philosophy of Death, The Good Life, Philosophy of Film, and Philosophy of Love.

Recently, I've taught Philosophy of Art, Freedom and Responsibility, Philosophy of Love, Meta-Ethics, Philosophy of Film, and Philosophy of Death.

Here are some of my works in progress:

• "A Life Worth Living" (draft)

• "In Defense of the No-Reasons View of Love" (draft)

• "Pleasurably Regarding the Pain of Fictional Others" (draft)

• "Love and Free Will" (draft)

• "Five Theses About Caring" (draft)

Here are some of my published (and forthcoming) articles:

• "The Feels Good Theory of Pleasure"

• "Love and Death: The Problem of Resilience"

• "To Be or Never to Have Been: Anti-Natalism and a Life Worth Living"

• "'Pickman's Model': Horror and the Objective Purport of Photographs"

• "Cinematic"

• "Painful Art and the Limits of Well-Being"

• "Five Tests for What Makes a Life Worth Living"

• "The Ethics of Singing Along: The Case of 'Mind of a Lunatic'."

• "The Good Cause Account of the Meaning of Life"

• "Rubber Ring: Why do We Listen to Sad Songs?"

• "The Power to Make Others Worship"

• "Less Good but not Bad: In Defense of Epicureanism about Death"

• "The Ghost is the Thing: Can Fiction Reveal Audience Belief?"

• "Film as Philosophy: In Defense of a Bold Thesis"

• "Art and Negative Affect"

• "Do Moral Flaws Enhance Amusement?"

• "Immortality and Significance"

• "The Desire-Frustration Theory of Suspense"

• "The Ethics of Humor: Can Your Sense of Humor be Wrong?"

• "Are Video Games Art?"

• "Story Identity and Story Type"

Most of my papers are available here:

• PhilPapers

The best way to get in touch with me is through email: asmuts@gmail.com

CV | Research | Teaching | PhilPapers Profile