Research Interests
Post-Kantian German Philosophy (esp. Hegel and German Idealism); Early Modern Philosophy (esp. Spinoza);
Social & Political Philosophy; Metaphysics
Dissertation Project
My dissertation project, tentatively titled "Subject or Substance? Hegel, Spinoza, and the Metaphysical Foundations of Freedom," examines how the metaphysical differences between Spinoza and Hegel shed light on their respective philosophical anthropologies and corresponding theories of freedom. The Spinoza-Hegel debate is not only metaphysically significant and interesting, but also practically and socio-ontologically. Rather than arguing one somehow trumps the other, I see Hegel and Spinoza as two competing alternatives for thinking about metaphysics and freedom.
Papers in Progress
A paper on Hegel's theory of labor and recognition
A paper on Hegel's critique of Spinoza
A paper on Spinoza's theory of individuation and negation
A paper on a Hegelian and Spinozist reflection on the grounding of modality
Future Projects
I also have serious interests in the following topics that I intend to pursue in due course:
Kant's critique of Spinoza in the Third Critique
Hobbes and Spinoza on political power
Jacobi and the dialectic of enlightenment
Spinoza and Freud on affects