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I am an Associate Professor of philosophy at Lehigh University in the old milling town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (it's a bit like this). Before that I had the good fortune of spending some time at Otago University, Dunedin, New Zealand (practically Antarctica). And before that, I was a JSPS postdoctoral research fellow at Kyoto University, Japan (practically paradise).  

I work mostly in analytic metaphysics, but I have strong interests in the history of philosophy, as well as parts of Asian philosophy. The central theme illuminating most of my work is that contemporary concerns over fundamentality and the overarching structure of reality should be understood as being continuous with a very long, illustrious and universal set of philosophical concerns over ultimate explanations.

I can't help but feel a little bit thrilled to be a member of a species that numbers amongst its achievements the development of extreme ironing as a sport.

When I am not working, I like to swim.

You can email me at: rickibliss@gmail.com or rlb314@lehigh.edu